The Unpeculiar Institution: Patterson's Global Perspective on Enslavement

Over the course of a distinguished career, Orlando Patterson has become the most prominent social scientist examining enslavement on a global scale. In this review essay, I consider the distinctive advantages offered by Patterson’s historiographic approach, which pairs large-N cross-cultural evidence with deeply contextualized studies of specific slave societies. Patterson’s innovative methodology differs from previous historiography on the institution of slavery, including revisionist history, ideal type comparisons, and analytic comparative history. Drawing on substantive examples from Enslavement: Past and Present, I suggest ways that Patterson’s contextual comparative perspective can improve our understanding of slavery and ethnoracial subordination throughout human history.

Duke Scholars

Author Martin Ruef Sociology