Slavery and Emancipation
The institutions and legacies of slavery have again become a core concern for historical sociologists. In this chapter, I summarize perspectives on enslavement offered by Karl Marx, Max Weber, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Orlando Patterson, tracing them to conceptions of class, power, race, and social status. I then review sociological scholarship that has largely appeared over the last two decades to help us understand the institutional foundations of slavery and its aftermath. The chapter draws on (a) global comparisons across societies with slavery, (b) comparisons between societies with slavery and the same societies once slavery was dismantled, and (c) analyses of historical legacies for descendants of enslaved peoples. While the current bloom of historical research holds much promise, the review also reveals methodological and substantive gaps that must be filled so sociologists can speak to debates on the collective memory of slavery and inequalities experienced by individuals with enslaved ancestors.
