Land, Labor, and Difference: Elementary Structures of Race

Abstract

Argues for a new approach to comparative and particularly cross-colonial studies, in which significant generalizations are made without jeopardizing the individuality of particular situations. The case for this method is made through a close look at the basic colonial relationships, particularly miscegenation, whereby land and labor were differentially exploited, focusing on the histories of four colonized peoples - African Americans, Native Americans, Afro-Brazilians, and Australian Aborigines - and the varied workings of racialized categories in the processes of exploitation to which these peoples were subjected. The article tackles both a topic of great concern to historians working on varied times and places and raises methodological issues of potential interest to all members of the discipline. Addresses why Dawes Act 160 Acre allotments were not necessarily a "better deal" than the failure of 40 acres and a mule.