Settler Colonialism

This work analyses the politics of anthropological knowledge from a critical perspective that alters existing understandings of colonialism. At the same time, it produces insights into the history of anthropology.

Organised around a historical reconstruction of the great anthropological controversy over doctrines of virgin birth, the book argues that the allegation reveals a great deal about European colonial discourse and little, if anything, about indigenous beliefs.

By means of an Australian example, the book shows not only that the alleged ignorance was an artefact of the anthropological theory that produced it, but also that the anthropology concerned has been closely tied into both the historical dispossession and the continuing oppression of native peoples.

The author explores the links between metropolitan anthropological theory and local colonial politics from the 19th century up to the present, including the concept of settler colonialism, and the ideological and sexual regimes that characterise it.