Social scientists have used the term "Creolization" to evoke cultural fusion and the emergence of new cultures across the globe. However, the term has been under-theorized and tends to be used as a simple synonym for "mixture" or "hybridity." In this volume, by contrast, renowned scholars give the term historical and theoretical specificity by examining the very different domains and circumstances in which the process takes place. Elucidating the concept in this way not only uncovers a remarkable history, it also re-opens the term for new theoretical use. It illuminates an ill-understood idea, explores how the term has operated and signified in different disciplines, times, and places, and indicates new areas of study for a dynamic and fascinating process.
Introduction: Creolization: History, Ethnography, TheoryCharles Stewart* Creole Discourse in Colonial Spanish AmericaJorge Canizares-Esguerra* Creoles in British America: From Denial to AcceptanceJoyce Chaplin* The 'C-Word', Again: From Colonial to Postcolonial SemanticsStephan Palmie* Creole Linguistics from its Beginnings, Through Schuchardt, To the Present DayPhilip Baker and Peter Muhlhausler * From Miscegenation to Creole Identity: Portuguese Colonialism, Brazil, Cape VerdeMiguel Vale de Almeida* Indian-Oceanic Creolizations: Processes and Practices of Creolization on Reunion IslandFrancoise Verges* Creolization in Anthropological Theory and in MauritiusThomas Hylland Eriksen* Is There a Model in the Muddle? 'Creolization' in African Americanist History and AnthropologyStephan Palmie* Adapting to Inequality: Negotiating Japanese Identity in Contexts of ReturnJoshua Roth* The Creolite Movement: Paradoxes of a French Caribbean OrthodoxyMary Gallagher* Creolization MomentsAisha Khan
Biography
Charles Stewart teaches in the Department of Anthropology at University College London. He has conducted long-term field research in Greece.
