Anthropology on Air
Anthropology on Air is a podcast brought to you by the Social Anthropology department at the University of Bergen in Norway. Each season, we bring you conversations with inspiring thinkers from the anthropology world and beyond. The music in the podcast is made by Victor Lange, and the episodes are produced by Sadie Hale and Sidsel Marie Henriksen. You can follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anthropologyonair. Or visit www.uib.no/antro, where you can find more information on the ongoing work and upcoming events at the department.
Anthropology on Air
#21 Slavery and Genocide: Jamaica, the US South & the Historical Sociology of Evil w/ Orlando Patterson
Welcome to a special two-episode series of Anthropology on Air!
In this and the previous podcast, you will listen to selected parts of a lecture series on the subject of slavery and freedom with professor of Sociology at Harvard University, Orlando Patterson. The lectures were held in December 2023 at various locations in London and were recorded by our colleague, Rolf Scott.
This episode features the second lecture given by Patterson titled ‘Slavery and Genocide: Jamaica, the US South and the Historical Sociology of Evil’ at the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. After this introduction, the episode jumps straight into the lecture which examines the connection between genocide and slavery with a case focus on Jamaica. Patterson begins by describing slavery through the concept of ‘natal alienation’ before connecting slavery with common definitions of genocide.
He then provides a comparative history of slavery in Jamaica and the United States, in order to argue that what happened in Jamaica between 1655 and 1838 was not only slavery but also an elongated genocide of ethnocultural destruction, physical killing and brutalisation on a large scale, and the denial of existence of millions of people. Finally, Patterson touches upon how the traumatic memory affects Jamaicans today. During the lecture, Patterson refers to some statistics and figures which can be found by following the video-link in the show notes.
If you are interested in learning more about Patterson’s work, you can also listen to his first lecture on the paradox of freedom here on the Anthropology on Air podcast channel, and you can find videos of both lectures in full length including an open conversation session on YouTube. Links are provided in the show notes.
We hope you enjoy the episode.
Resources:
- Lecture series: https://therai.org.uk/events/lecture-professor-orlando-patterson-the-paradox-of-freedom-a-socio-historical-approach/
- Video of this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vurr2AwIu0M
- Video of the second lecture on slavery and genocide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW7Nw5aFAgE&t=8s
- Video of open conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHZsNu62mas&t=4085s