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An Institution that was a Village: Archaeology and Social Life in the Hansen’s Disease Settlement at Kalawao, Moloka‘i, Hawaii

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Abstract

Archaeological research in the Hansen’s disease settlement at Kalawao, Moloka‘i, Hawaii, has revealed evidence that challenges patterns expected from theoretical and archaeological research on total institutions. While written documents provide evidence for a community with many of the classic elements of places of social control, archaeological remains fit better with models of post-contact Hawaiian village life. This apparent contradiction is revealing for the power dynamics produced in the social life of modern leprosaria, medical institutions created in situations of long-term colonial entanglement.

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Acknowledgments

Pat Kirch and Kent Lightfoot supervised my dissertation research, and I could not have done this work without their wisdom and guidance. The many volunteers who worked on the field and laboratory analysis with me must also be acknowledged for contributing to this work. Field research and travel were funded by the U.S. National Park Service as well as the University of California, Berkeley Stahl Endowment, and the Lowie-Olson Fund. Charles Orser, James Garman and one anonymous reviewer provided encouragement and valuable critical comments about this paper.

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  1. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Washington & Lee University, 204 W. Washington St, Lexington, VA, 24450, USA

    James L. Flexner

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Flexner, J.L. An Institution that was a Village: Archaeology and Social Life in the Hansen’s Disease Settlement at Kalawao, Moloka‘i, Hawaii. Int J Histor Archaeol 16, 135–163 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-012-0171-4

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