Doctoral Dissertation Research: Shared Consciousness and Collective Action

本论文研究了在1791-1804年海地革命（现代最成功的奴隶起义）之前，非洲人的集体意识（或共同的身份和思维方式）的起源和影响。本研究拟考察1750年至1791年间集体意识与重要抵抗形式之间的关系。该项目解决了以下问题。受非洲启发的仪式在塑造集体意识方面发挥了什么作用？这种集体意识如何影响逃离奴役的模式？在海地革命前的几十年里，逃离奴役的模式是如何以及为什么随着时间和空间的变化而变化的？初步结果提出以下假设。首先，受非洲启发的仪式活动为反叛者提供了提高反对意识、争取自由和动员新兵的空间。其次，离家出走者的社会关系、对特定目的地的了解、自信的行为和更长的逃跑时间似乎是一种对立意识的合理指标。第三，逃亡者对结构性和环境的机会窗口（如自然灾害，殖民地法律的变化，地理上接近孤立地区）做出战略性反应。为了验证这些假设，Co-PI将进行(a)对超过11,000个数字存档的海地逃亡奴隶广告进行定性和定量内容分析；(b)有系统地审查美洲和欧洲几个主要档案馆保存的主要文件；(c)对研究期间和之后发表的重要二手资料进行系统审查；(c)在今天的海地进行定性实地研究。关于海地革命前因的研究结果将提高我们对共同意识、社会联系和网络以及人类文化表达在集体行动过程中的作用的理解。

Shared Consciousness and Collective ActionThis dissertation investigates the origins and influence of Africans' collective consciousness (or shared identity and way of thinking) in the years prior to the 1791-1804 Haitian Revolution, the most successful slave uprising of the modern era. This research proposes to examine the relationship between collective consciousness and important forms of resistance between the years 1750 and 1791. The project addresses the following questions. What was the role of Africa-inspired rituals in shaping collective consciousness? How did this collective consciousness influence patterns of escape from enslavement? How and why did patterns of escape from enslavement change over time and space in the few decades before the Haitian Revolution?Preliminary results suggest the following hypotheses. First, Africa-inspired ritual events were gathering spaces for rebels to raise oppositional consciousness, campaign for freedom, and mobilize recruits. Second, runaways' social ties, knowledge of specific destinations, self-assertive behaviors, and longer durations of escape seem to be reasonable indicators of an oppositional consciousness. Third, runaways strategically responded to structural and environmental windows of opportunity (such as natural disasters, changes in colonial law, and geographic proximity to isolated zones). To test these hypotheses, the Co-PI will perform (a) qualitative and quantitative content analysis of over 11,000 digitally archived Haitian runaway slave advertisements; (b) a systematic review of primary documents held in several key archives in the Americas and Europe; (c) a systematic review of critical secondary sources published during and since the period of study; and (c) qualitative field research in present-day Haiti. The findings on antecedents to the Haitian Revolution will improve our understanding of the role of shared consciousness, social ties and networks, and human cultural expressions in collective action processes.