Exceptional Violence: Embodied Citizenship in Transnational Jamaica

By reaching back to the period long before British Imperial rule and extending her harrowing tale of state formation forward into the present neoliberal moment, anthropologist Deborah Thomas’ investigation of embodied citizenship in transnational Jamaica has—to put it mildly—a lot to offer. Whether or not readers have particular interests in Caribbean or Africana studies, they will find invigorating insights on nearly every page of this thoroughly researched study. The themes explored throughout the five empirical chapters include horrific violence in class-riven neighborhoods, conflicting frames deployed across different national media environments, the ethnicization of those caught up in combatting political factions, shifting respectability and racial respect discourses, attempts to govern the sexuality of systemically dominated women, disputes focused on popular culture (policies) and the commercialized authenticity of long oppressed “indigenous” populations, and the destabilizing consequences of mass migration and hopeful forms of (non-”masculinist”) grassroots organizing. Although the multiple strands of analysis pose a problem for the reviewer, they are woven together with such acumen that they remain a joy for the reader.

Rather than trying to engage “everything” superficially, I want concentrate on what matters most. While at times one gets the sense that Thomas cares mainly about racism and sexism, the real target of this incredibly well-read author’s latest book is culturalism.

What does the charge of culturalism mean in the context of this study? Thomas presents an array of governmental, journalistic, and everyday accounts making clear that, generally speaking, by now “everybody knows” what really lies behind the murders, rapes, beatings, and gang-related aggression that continue (e.g., the Christopher “Dudus” Coke affair in 2010) to plague Jamaica …