Dr. Steeve Buckridge was born and raised in Jamaica. He migrated to the USA where he conducted most of his graduate work. He did his BA at Barry University, MA at the University of Miami and his doctoral studies at The Ohio State University. Prior to his academic career he worked in the fashion and the Hospitality and Tourism industries. He is currently an Associate Professor of African and Caribbean History, Associate Faculty in African and African American Studies, and Assistant Chair of the Department of History at Grand Valley State University. His areas of interests are Pre-Colonial and Colonial Africa, Pre-Colombian and early Colonial Caribbean, Women/Gender and Sexuality, and Material Culture. His research interest takes him to various places in Africa where he has been studying African customs in dress, textiles, and weaving techniques. He has published and has presented numerous papers on dress customs among Caribbean Slaves. He is a recipient of the Ford Foundation fellowship and was based at the University of the West Indies as a Ford fellow. He has lectured in South Africa and served as a visiting professor at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. His book, The Language of Dress: Resistance and Accommodation in Jamaica, 1760-1890 was published by the University of the West Indies Press and released in 2004. His current research examines the production of bark-cloth in Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and its impact on the lives of African slaves.