Khadene Harris, PhD

Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Center for African and African American Studies 

Rice University

Abstract:

This talk considers the theoretical potential of the plantationocene when viewed from the perspective of Dominica’s historical archaeology. Coined just over a decade ago, the term ‘plantationocene’ was an attempt to characterize more precisely the devastating transformation of diverse ecologies into enclosed plantations that relied on coerced labor. Despite the compelling premise, the plantationocene has been criticized for advancing a view of the plantation that obscures the racialization of power and the interventions made by the Caribbean's laboring class. Drawing on archival and archaeological research, this talk narrates the formation of the plantationocene on Dominica and elaborates on the network of objects, people, and ideas that the working agricultural class mobilized in response to the demands of the plantation economy. 

Bio:

Khadene Harris is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology also appointed to the Center for African and African American Studies at Rice University. A historical archaeologist, her research explores the intersection of race, slavery, and capitalism in the Caribbean. Her current project focuses on the transition from slavery to freedom on the island of Dominica, with special emphasis on the social and economic networks of the laboring class. Her research uses imported and locally made ceramics, the house and yard complex, and oral accounts to narrate community histories under colonial rule.