The Paradox of Freedom is an exploration of the life and work of Orlando Patterson, probing the relationship between the circumstances of his life from their beginnings in rural Jamaica to the present and the complex development of his intellectual work. A novelist and historical sociologist with an orientation toward public engagement, Patterson exemplifies one way of being a Jamaican and Black Atlantic intellectual.

At the generative center of Patterson's work has been a fundamental inquiry into the internal dynamics of slavery as a mode of social and existential domination. What is most provocatively significant in his work on slavery is the way it yields a paradoxical insight into the problem of freedom - namely, that freedom was born existentially and historically from the degradation and parasitic inhumanity of slavery and was as much the creation of the enslaved as of their enslavers.

The Paradox of Freedom elucidates the pathways by which Patterson has both uncovered the relationship between domination and freedom and engaged intellectually and publicly with the struggles for equality and decolonization among descendants of the enslaved. It will be of great interest to students and scholars throughout the humanities and social sciences and to anyone interested in the work of one of the most important public intellectuals of our time.

About the Author

David Scott is Ruth and William Lubic Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University.

Orlando Patterson is John Cowles Professor of Sociology at Harvard University.

Reviews

"The Paradox of Freedom retraces the unique odyssey of the world's most eminent scholar of slavery and race in history, at the unlikely crossroads of Jamaica, literature, New Left politics, and sociology at Harvard. Read it: you will be swept along, thrilled, and educated all at once."
-Loic Wacquant, University of California, Berkeley

"Forged in a crucible of life experience as a Jamaican, Orlando Patterson's lifelong exploration of the dialectical tension between freedom and slavery is brilliantly elucidated through dialogic conversation with David Scott, who traces the trajectory of a remarkable and still unfolding intellectual and artistic journey."
-John Bodel, Brown University

Book Information
ISBN 9781509551170
Author David Scott
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint Polity Press
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 226mm * 152mm * 23mm