Review of "Possessing Polynesians: The Science of Settler Colonial Whiteness in Hawai`i and Oceania" by Maile Arvin (Duke University Press)
Arvin explains how dispossessing Polynesians was predicated on a logic of settler colonialism inflected by white supremacy. Casting Polynesians as white—specifically, as “almost white”—as opposed to distancing Polynesians from Caucasians, simultaneously provided white settlers the justification they...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cultural Studies Association
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Lateral |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.25158/L9.1.19 |
| _version_ | 1819227241689645056 |
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| author | Christine Rosenfeld |
| author_facet | Christine Rosenfeld |
| author_sort | Christine Rosenfeld |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Arvin explains how dispossessing Polynesians was predicated on a logic of settler colonialism inflected by white supremacy. Casting Polynesians as white—specifically, as “almost white”—as opposed to distancing Polynesians from Caucasians, simultaneously provided white settlers the justification they needed to occupy large swaths of Oceania and precluded Polynesians from enjoying the full set of rights available to non-almost whites. By establishing a clear racial continuity between settlers and Polynesians, possession through whiteness made whiteness indigenous to the islands; doing so “suited [settlers’] own claims of belonging to Polynesia while [also soothing] colonizers’ racial anxieties about those they dispossessed.” Throughout the book, Arvin argues that anti-Blackness was as pronounced and as integral in possessing Polynesians as whiteness and calls for future research that more centrally examines the specific and nuanced functions of whiteness, Blackness, and Indigeneity in Melanesian and Micronesian contexts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T10:38:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d022ce0f1dca4990bdb1a88f7adb0e1a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2469-4053 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T10:38:16Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | Cultural Studies Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Lateral |
| spelling | doaj.art-d022ce0f1dca4990bdb1a88f7adb0e1a2022-12-21T17:50:14ZengCultural Studies AssociationLateral2469-40532020-06-019110.25158/L9.1.19Review of "Possessing Polynesians: The Science of Settler Colonial Whiteness in Hawai`i and Oceania" by Maile Arvin (Duke University Press)Christine Rosenfeld0George Mason UniversityArvin explains how dispossessing Polynesians was predicated on a logic of settler colonialism inflected by white supremacy. Casting Polynesians as white—specifically, as “almost white”—as opposed to distancing Polynesians from Caucasians, simultaneously provided white settlers the justification they needed to occupy large swaths of Oceania and precluded Polynesians from enjoying the full set of rights available to non-almost whites. By establishing a clear racial continuity between settlers and Polynesians, possession through whiteness made whiteness indigenous to the islands; doing so “suited [settlers’] own claims of belonging to Polynesia while [also soothing] colonizers’ racial anxieties about those they dispossessed.” Throughout the book, Arvin argues that anti-Blackness was as pronounced and as integral in possessing Polynesians as whiteness and calls for future research that more centrally examines the specific and nuanced functions of whiteness, Blackness, and Indigeneity in Melanesian and Micronesian contexts.https://doi.org/10.25158/L9.1.19polynesiahawaiisettler colonialismwhitenessanti-blackness |
| spellingShingle | Christine Rosenfeld Review of "Possessing Polynesians: The Science of Settler Colonial Whiteness in Hawai`i and Oceania" by Maile Arvin (Duke University Press) Lateral polynesia hawaii settler colonialism whiteness anti-blackness |
| title | Review of "Possessing Polynesians: The Science of Settler Colonial Whiteness in Hawai`i and Oceania" by Maile Arvin (Duke University Press) |
| title_full | Review of "Possessing Polynesians: The Science of Settler Colonial Whiteness in Hawai`i and Oceania" by Maile Arvin (Duke University Press) |
| title_fullStr | Review of "Possessing Polynesians: The Science of Settler Colonial Whiteness in Hawai`i and Oceania" by Maile Arvin (Duke University Press) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Review of "Possessing Polynesians: The Science of Settler Colonial Whiteness in Hawai`i and Oceania" by Maile Arvin (Duke University Press) |
| title_short | Review of "Possessing Polynesians: The Science of Settler Colonial Whiteness in Hawai`i and Oceania" by Maile Arvin (Duke University Press) |
| title_sort | review of possessing polynesians the science of settler colonial whiteness in hawai i and oceania by maile arvin duke university press |
| topic | polynesia hawaii settler colonialism whiteness anti-blackness |
| url | https://doi.org/10.25158/L9.1.19 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT christinerosenfeld reviewofpossessingpolynesiansthescienceofsettlercolonialwhitenessinhawaiiandoceaniabymailearvindukeuniversitypress |