Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Economic Organization and Cultural Cohesion of Fugitive Slave Communities in 19th-Century Kenya

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Under the supervision of Dr. Adria LaViolette, Lydia Wilson will conduct an archaeological investigation of settlements established by fugitive slaves in 19th-century Kenya. The project's goal is to delineate how the position of fugitives as refugees from enslavement shaped the economic, social, and cultural organization of their villages. Literate outsiders interacted little with runaway slaves, and, consequently, the written record offers limited insight into their communities. Archaeology provides a valuable window onto these refugees' lives through analysis of the material record they left behind. The project will specifically compare the cultural cohesion and economic organization of fugitive slave groups and the coastal hinterland communities that neighbored them. As the first archaeological study of fugitive slave settlements in Eastern Africa, this project will illuminate the lives of people little understood by scholars in any field. The study will also promote interregional analysis of slavery and slave resistance by expanding the comparative perspective already fostered by similar research in Mauritius, Brazil, the Caribbean, and the mainland U.S. Finally and most broadly, this project will contribute to cross-disciplinary understandings of community creation. Fugitive slave communities typically formed more rapidly than communities forged under less perilous circumstances. This accelerated rate of development allows scientists to use fugitive slave groups to better understand group formation: in the absence of shared traditions and practices, what holds newly formed communities together? This project's Eastern Africa focus offers a distinct cultural context and power dynamic in which to consider community formation. Runaways in Eastern Africa typically negotiated a much more fluid social environment than did their counterparts in the New World. This project's analysis of fugitive slave community creation in a very different power dynamic than those previously studied in the Americas will help to clarify how power dynamics affect and/or disrupt group formation. Beyond its academic importance, the proposed project offers several broader impacts. The National Museums of Kenya (NMK) is a participant in the UNESCO Slave Routes Program, and one of its aims is the development of a museum on slavery. The proposed project, which will be affiliated with the NMK, promises to advance such goals. By incorporating NMK archaeologists, the project will also promote local participation in Kenyan archaeology. The project is equally committed to disseminating its research results to public audiences. Planned outreach strategies include on-site school tours during excavation and the creation of curricular materials. The development of on-site educational tourism may further integrate local communities into the research process. A longer-term goal is the creation of a website explicating the project for both professional and public audiences. Project results will also be shared at academic conferences and in publication in professional journals. Through participation in these broader scientific discourses, the author will strive to promote an awareness of her work among researchers with related interests. Finally, the project will support the graduate education and professional development of the author.