Slavery and Social Death

By Orlando Patterson,

Book cover of Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study

Book description

Winner of the Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Award, American Sociological Association
Co-Winner of the Ralph J. Bunche Award, American Political Science Association

In a work of prodigious scholarship and enormous breadth, which draws on the tribal, ancient, premodern, and modern worlds, Orlando Patterson discusses the internal dynamics of slavery in…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Slavery and Social Death as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I am blown away by the scope, detail, and rigor of Patterson’s scholarship.

I think it is easy to imagine that slavery is a simple thing, treating a person like property and forcing them to work. But Patterson showed me that slavery has always been an entire system of meaning, ritual, and social dynamics.

I especially appreciate that Patterson demonstrates the ultimate perversity of the delusion that you could master other people.

From William's list on understanding how power works.

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