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The illusion of isolation: The Gullah/Geechees and the political economy of African culture in the Americas

Publication ,  Journal Article
Matory, JL
Published in: Comparative Studies in Society and History
October 8, 2008

The Gullah/Geechee people are the locus classicus for the study of "African survivals" in North American culture. As such, they have been saddled with the duty to generate universal principles for the explanation of Africans' acculturation, adaptation, and cultural resistance in the Western hemisphere, and they provide the main North American test case for explanatory principles generated elsewhere in the Americas. Yet, the well-studied Gullah/Geechee case, like the Afro-Atlantic world generally, holds untapped lessons about the historical genesis of cultures and ethnic identities worldwide. Is isolation the normal precondition and conservator of cultural and ethnic distinctiveness? And do the enslaved and their descendants choose their ancestors' ways and identities mainly when and where isolation from the oppressor has made the oppressor's cultural alternatives unavailable? The existing literature on the Gullah/Geechee people of the southeastern U.S. coast and islands says "yes" to these questions, which also stand at the heart of both black Atlantic and global cultural history. © 2008 Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History.

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Published In

Comparative Studies in Society and History

DOI

EISSN

1475-2999

ISSN

0010-4175

Publication Date

October 8, 2008

Volume

50

Issue

4

Start / End Page

949 / 980

Related Subject Headings

  • Anthropology
  • 4408 Political science
  • 4401 Anthropology
  • 4303 Historical studies
  • 2103 Historical Studies
  • 1601 Anthropology
 

Citation

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MLA
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Matory, J. L. (2008). The illusion of isolation: The Gullah/Geechees and the political economy of African culture in the Americas. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 50(4), 949–980. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0010417508000406
Matory, J. L. “The illusion of isolation: The Gullah/Geechees and the political economy of African culture in the Americas.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 50, no. 4 (October 8, 2008): 949–80. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0010417508000406.
Matory JL. The illusion of isolation: The Gullah/Geechees and the political economy of African culture in the Americas. Comparative Studies in Society and History. 2008 Oct 8;50(4):949–80.
Matory, J. L. “The illusion of isolation: The Gullah/Geechees and the political economy of African culture in the Americas.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 50, no. 4, Oct. 2008, pp. 949–80. Scopus, doi:10.1017/S0010417508000406.
Matory JL. The illusion of isolation: The Gullah/Geechees and the political economy of African culture in the Americas. Comparative Studies in Society and History. 2008 Oct 8;50(4):949–980.
Journal cover image

Published In

Comparative Studies in Society and History

DOI

EISSN

1475-2999

ISSN

0010-4175

Publication Date

October 8, 2008

Volume

50

Issue

4

Start / End Page

949 / 980

Related Subject Headings

  • Anthropology
  • 4408 Political science
  • 4401 Anthropology
  • 4303 Historical studies
  • 2103 Historical Studies
  • 1601 Anthropology