Creole Economics: Caribbean Cunning under the French Flag

by Katherine E. Browne

Overview

Browne draws on a decade of ethnographic fieldwork and interview data from all socioeconomic sectors to question the common understanding of informal economies as culture-free, survival strategies of the poor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780292783379
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	01/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	409,590
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Katherine E. Browne is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Colorado State University.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments

Part One: Groundings Chapter 1: Elements Chapter 2: Social Histories: The Weight of France in Martinique Part Two: Frameworks Chapter 3: Cultural Economies: Relating Social Values to Economic Theory in Martinique Chapter 4: Afro-Caribbean Identities: Postcolonial Tensions and Martinique's Creole Débrouillard Part Three: Practices Chapter 5: Adaptations of Cunning: The Changing Forms of Débrouillardism Chapter 6: Opportunism by Class: The Profit and Status of Undeclared Work Chapter 7: Women, Men, and Economic Practice: Different Routes to Autonomy and Status Epilogue: Imagining the Future of Creole Economics

Notes Glossary References Cited Index

What People are Saying About This

Richard Price

"In this innovative work, Browne pierces the silence that has hidden the world of creole economics in the literature on the Antilles. The men's social world of creoleness has been much written about. But the ways that creoleness infuses everyday economic life, the ways that these practices that were built up in resistance (first to slavery, later to colonialism) actually operate, has never before been laid bare. A fine example of how anthropology still has something original to teach us."

Editorial Reviews

"Persuasive and engagingly written, Creole Economics should be required reading in anthropology, economics, and Caribbean Studies courses."

American Anthropologist

"In addition to being a beautifully written and deeply empathetic account, Browne’s book is visually striking…The result is a callaloo of careful scholarship and imagery that is both enjoyable to read and a significant contribution to economic anthropology and Caribbean studies."

American Ethnologist

"She has produced a highly personal yet analytically rigorous account of a French Caribbean isle, and to her great credit, she presents complex intellectual terrain as a most enjoyable read."

Journal of Economic History