Nathan Harrison: A Case Study in African American Masculinity

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The expected societal roles of African American men in the past have been discussed across a variety of fields, including masculinity studies, ethnic studies, and Black feminist studies. Included in the literature are discrepancies about the influence of the dominant white hegemonic masculinity and its role in creating an ideal for African American men. Using the historical documents and artifact assemblage from Nathan Harrison, a formerly enslaved man, this paper will analyze how he performed his masculinity in a volatile setting. Harrison continued to face systemic racism in Southern California. As he negotiated his masculine identity within the close-knit community on Palomar Mountain, he confronted Jim Crow laws and other forms of overt discrimination from the primarily Anglo-American population that was in power. As he navigated these different environments, Harrison created a space where he could maintain his own identities, separate from the expectations of the larger population.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2022 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology