Abstract
This article proposes a radically interactional approach to how hierarchy is embodied and enacted by different status groups in so-called post-slavery societies in the Sahel.The notion of “fields” is introduced to make analytical room for past-slavery’s interactions with other structural contexts and mechanisms of domination in post-slavery societies. In other words, how do processes such as racialization, decentralization politics, neo-liberal economies, governance of migration, and religious spheres of influence interact with contemporary legacies of, and views on, slavery? I propose to consider how “multiple fields” co-exist and allow one to analytically separate structural inequalities and to uncover how they have root causes linked not only to slavery but also to other hierarchies in contemporary societies.In order to analyze what it means today to categorize or be categorized anachronistically as of freeborn versus slave status, the notion of “stereo-styles” is proposed. Stereo-styles are performative reproductions of modes of social honor drawn from the history of slavery. “Stereo-partners” exist in contemporary relations of hierarchical interdependence. This notion allows one to analyze the micro-level embodiment and behavioral continuities linked to past-slavery that are recycled to preserve, defend, or reinvent social honor and status in post-slavery contexts.The argument is that by combining these notions (fields and styles), a more balanced approach can be envisaged for where to situate past-slavery in post-slavery West Africa.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | International Journal of African Historical Studies |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Pages (from-to) | 381-301 |
| Number of pages | 81 |
| ISSN | 0361-7882 |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |