Julius S. Scott
Scott in 2018
Born
Julius Sherrod Scott III

(1955-07-31)July 31, 1955
Marshall, Texas, United States
DiedDecember 6, 2021(2021-12-06) (aged 66)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
ParentJulius Samuel Scott Jr. (father)
Academic background
Education
ThesisThe Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of Revolution
Influences
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Michigan

Julius Sherrod Scott III (July 31, 1955 – December 6, 2021) was an American scholar of slavery and Caribbean and Atlantic history. He was best known for his influential doctoral thesis and later book The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution.[1][2] Scott's original thesis has been regarded as "arguably the most read, sought after and discussed English-language dissertation in the humanities and social sciences during the 20th century", elevating the historian to the position of an intellectual "cult figure among scholars" in the field.[3]

Early life

Julius Sherrod Scott III was born on July 31, 1955, in Marshall, Texas, to Julius Samuel Scott Jr. and Ianthia "Ann" Scott née Harrell. Julius Jr. was a Methodist minister who later served as president of Paine College (1975–1982) and Wiley College (1996–2001); and Ann was a librarian.[3]

According to his mother, young "Scotty" was a bright child with a precise sense for language.[4] In 1961, he began attending MacGregor Elementary School in Houston as one of the first Black students in its newly-integrated first grade class. Despite the instruction being officially integrated, Scotty and the Black girl in his class were only permitted to use a single segregated restroom outside the school. Scotty’s parents learned of this fact only after hearing him say "Thank you, God, for letting me have my own bathroom at school" during his prayers.[3]

After Scotty completed second grade, his parents moved the family to Providence, Rhode Island, where Julius Jr. had accepted a job at Brown University. Scott enrolled at Brown in 1973 and received a bachelor of arts in history from the university in 1977. He attended Duke University for graduate studies, earning a doctorate in history in 1986.

Career

The Common Wind

Scott’s doctoral dissertation "The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of Revolution" formed the basis of his later, highly influential work of the same title. After spending time in North Carolina preparing for field research, in February 1982 he started examining archives of the British Vice admiralty court in Kingston, Jamaica, then proceeded to Port-au-Prince, Haiti in April 1982 to study Haitian archives.[5] He submitted his completed dissertation in 1986.[6]

As an unpublished dissertation The Common Wind was cited hundreds of times in scholarly literature.[7] In Time, historian Vincent Brown called the dissertation "so exciting, original, and profound" that it inspired "an entire generation to create a new field of knowledge about the past".[8] Eugene Holley, writing in Publishers Weekly, described the dissertation as "renowned for its creativity, imaginative research and graceful prose".[9]

Scott initially signed a contract with Oxford University Press to publish the dissertation in book form shortly after completing his degree, but did not agree with suggestions for revision and opted not to publish the book.[7] Aside from a selection from one chapter of the dissertation reprinted in the 2010 volume Origins of the Black Atlantic, which Scott co-edited,[10] the dissertation remained unpublished until a Verso Books editor, referred by another historian, offered to publish the text with minimal revisions.[7] The Common Wind was published by Verso in 2018.

Scott taught at Duke and the University of Michigan, where he was Lecturer of Afroamerican and African Studies. He died on December 6, 2021, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from complications related to diabetes.[3][4]

References

  1. ↑ Finch, Aisha (June 3, 2020). "The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution, by Julius Scott". New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids. 94 (1–2): 121–122. doi:10.1163/22134360-09401010. ISSN 2213-4360. S2CID 219905723.
  2. ↑ Sinha, Manisha (May 20, 2019). "Julius Scott's Epic About Black Resistance in the Age of Revolution". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Roberts, Sam (December 16, 2021). "Julius S. Scott, Groundbreaking Historian of the Caribbean, Dies at 66". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Italie, Hillel. "Julius S. Scott, author of 'The Common Wind,' dies at 66". ABC News. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  5. ↑ Wood, Peter H. (2019). Julia Gaffield, Julia; Daut, Marlene L. (eds.). "Doing Real Research: How Julius Scott Hooked a Marlin, in Forum on the Common Wind: In Honor of Julius S. Scott". H-net: H-Haiti. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  6. ↑ Scott III, Julius Sherrard (1986). The Common Wind: Currents of Afro-American Communication in the Era of the Haitian Revolution (PhD). Duke University.
  7. 1 2 3 Bartlett, Tom (November 2, 2018). "An Underground Sensation Arrives". Chronicle of Higher Education. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  8. ↑ Begley, Sarah (February 15, 2018). "9 Books to Read for Black History Month, According to Scholars". Time. Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  9. ↑ Scott, Julius S. (November 21, 2018). "Spreading the News of Freedom: PW talks to Julius S. Scott". Publishers Weekly (Interview). Interviewed by Eugene Holley Jr. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  10. ↑ Scott, Julius S. (2010). ""Negroes in Foreign Bottoms": Sailors, Slaves, and Communication". In Dubois, Laurent; Scott, Julius S. (eds.). Origins of the Black Atlantic. Routledge. pp. 69–98. ISBN 9780415994453.
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