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The domestic geopolitics of racial capitalism

Author

Listed:
  • Pavithra Vasudevan

    (University of Texas at Austin, USA)

  • Sara Smith

    (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the racialized burden of toxicity in the US as a case study of what we call “domestic geopolitics.†Drawing on the case studies of Badin, North Carolina, and Flint, Michigan, we argue that maintaining life in conditions of racialized toxicity is not only a matter of survival, but also a geopolitical praxis. We propose the term domestic geopolitics to describe a reconceived feminist geopolitics integrating an analysis of Black geographies as a domestic form of colonialism, with an expanded understanding of domesticity as political work. We develop the domestic geopolitics framework based on the dual meaning of domestic: the inward facing geopolitics of racialization and the resistance embodied in domestic labors of maintaining life, home, and community. Drawing on Black feminist scholars, we describe three categories of social reproductive labor in conditions of racialized toxicity: the labor of keeping wake, the labor of tactical expertise, and the labor of revolutionary mothering. We argue that Black survival struggles exemplify a domestic geopolitics of everyday warfare against racial capitalism’s onslaught.

Suggested Citation

  • Pavithra Vasudevan & Sara Smith, 2020. "The domestic geopolitics of racial capitalism," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 38(7-8), pages 1160-1179, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:38:y:2020:i:7-8:p:1160-1179
    DOI: 10.1177/2399654420901567
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Anne Saville & Alison E. Adams, 2021. "Environmental justice in the American south: an analysis of black women farmworkers in Apopka, Florida," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(1), pages 193-204, February.
    2. Caroline Faria & Vanessa A Massaro & Jill M Williams, 2020. "Feminist political geographies: Critical reflections, new directions," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 38(7-8), pages 1149-1159, November.

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