The Missionary, the Catechist and the Hunter Foucault
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The Missionary, the Catechist and the Hunter <UN> Studies in Critical Research on Religion Series Editor Warren S. Goldstein Center for Critical Research on Religion and Harvard University (U.S.A.) Editorial Board Roland Boer, University of Newcastle (Australia) Christopher Craig Brittain, University of Aberdeen (U.K.) Darlene Juschka, University of Regina (Canada) Lauren Langman, Loyola University Chicago (U.S.A.) George Lundskow, Grand Valley State University (U.S.A.) Kenneth G. MacKendrick, University of Manitoba (Canada) Andrew M. McKinnon, University of Aberdeen (U.K.) Michael R. Ott, Valley State University (U.S.A.) Sara Pike, California State University, Chico (U.S.A) Dana Sawchuk, Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada) Advisory Board William Arnal, University of Regina (Canada) Jonathan Boyarin, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (U.S.A.) Jay Geller, Vanderbilt University (U.S.A.) Marsha Hewitt, University of Toronto (Canada) Michael Löwy, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France) Eduardo Mendieta, Stony Brook University (U.S.A.) Rudolf J. Siebert, Western Michigan University (U.S.A.) Rhys H. Williams, Loyola University Chicago (U.S.A.) VOLUME 4 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/scrr <UN> The Missionary, the Catechist and the Hunter Foucault, Protestantism and Colonialism By Christina Petterson LEIDEN | BOSTON <UN> Cover illustration: The last stamp created by the Greenlandic artist Jens Rosing for the Greenland national postal service. Kalaallit Nunaat - Grønland, Stamp 3kr Dogs pulling sled. 2007, © Jens Rosing c/o Pictoright Amsterdam 2014. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Petterson, Christina. The missionary, the catechist, and the hunter : Foucault, protestantism and colonialism / by Christina Petterson. pages cm. -- (Studies in critical research on religion ; VOLUME 4) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-23605-9 (hardback : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-90-04-27316-0 (e-book) 1. Missions-- Greenland. 2. Protestant churches--Missions--Greenland. 3. Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984. 4. Subject (Philosophy) I. Title. BV3690.P48 2014 266’.41982--dc23 2014008123 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 1877-2129 isbn 978-90-04-23605-9 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-27316-0 (e-book) Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Global Oriental and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. Brill has made all reasonable efforts to trace all rights holders to any copyrighted material used in this work. In cases where these efforts have not been successful the publisher welcomes communications from copyright holders, so that the appropriate acknowledgements can be made in future editions, and to settle other permission matters. This book is printed on acid-free paper. <UN> Til far og mor ∵ <UN> Contents Series Editor’s Preface ix Acknowledgements X Notes on Previously Published Material XII Introduction 1 Approaching Christianity and Colonialism 2 Motivation 6 Theoretical Framework 10 Background 13 Synopsis of Chapters 18 1 Setting the Scene: The Practice of Orthodoxy in Colonial Greenland 21 Mary Magdalene and Habakuk: A Heresy Takes Place 25 Racialised and Gendered Heresies 32 Masculinities in the Making 33 A Matter between Men 35 In the Manner of Women 47 2 Complicating Governmentality: Colonialism, Protestantism, and Greenland 55 Pastoral Power and Governmentality 55 Colonialism and Governmentality: Outlining the Issues 62 3 The Lutheran Pastorate in Theory and Practice 73 The Protestant Pastorate in Practice 74 Constructing Lutheran Society in Accordance with Natural Law 78 Catechism and Family 84 4 Catechists in the Making: Labour, Writing, and Gender 96 Writing, Gender, and Abstraction 97 The Introduction of Writing in Greenland 104 Oral Cultures and Colonial Writing 105 Recording the Oral Traditions 109 Cultivated Estrangement 114 <UN> viii contents 5 The Ontological Status of the Hunter or The Production of Nature 121 The Instruction of 1782 as Racialised Discourse 121 Race, Class, and Nature 127 The Discourse on the Hunter 138 6 Rewritten Pasts and Scripts for the Future: Heart of Light 151 The Colonial Conditions of Heart of Light 155 Imagining the Inuit Community 158 Nationalising and Allegorising Greenland: National Allegory and the Global Community 163 National Allegory: First Take 163 Abject Masculinity 165 National Allegory: Second Take 169 Indigenised Politics 173 An Australian Context 173 Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling 176 Conclusion 183 Bibliography Primary References 189 Secondary References 189 Web References 208 Index 210 <UN> Series Editor’s Preface In The Missionary, the Catechist, and the Hunter: Foucault, Protestantism, and Colonialism, Christina Petterson examines the role that religion plays in the Danish colonization of Greenland. She examines the mechanism by which the Danish spread Lutheranism among the indigenous (Inuit) population, paying special attention to inequalities of class, race and gender. Central to this process were Catechists, non-ordained assistants to missionaries, who were trained and educated by them, and helped spread Christianity. Petterson uses critical categories in her analysis of religion namely Foucault’s concepts of gov- ernmentality and pastoral power. This enables her to demonstrate how the process of colonization is not simply economic or political but it entrails a process of subjectification where the identity of indigenous population is transformed. The book is an excellent example of critical research on religion and thus fits well into the series. Warren S. Goldstein, Ph.D. Center for Critical Research on Religion www.criticaltheoryofreligion.org <UN> Acknowledgements This project began as a doctoral thesis in what was then the Department of Media, Music and Cultural Studies at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. It was completed as a book in Germany, where I lived and worked as a postdoc- toral fellow at the Graduirten-kolleg ‘Geschlecht als Wissens-kategorie’ at Humboldt University in Berlin. I would like to thank series editor Warren S. Goldstein and Production Editor Michael J. Mozina for their hard work and valuable assistance in the publication of the book. The research took shape in Australia, Europe, and in the Arctic, and in each place, I incurred many professional, personal, and material debts. First, I would like to thank my supervisors, Goldie Osuri, Anthony Lambert, and especially Anne Cranny-Francis. My deep gratitude also goes out to my assessors, Lyn McCredden (Deakin University, Australia), Søren Thuesen (Copenhagen University, Denmark), and Lars Jensen (Roskilde University, Denmark) for their enormous encouragement and constructive criticism. I am also grateful for the support, interest, and generosity of the staff and my fellow students in the Department of Media, Music and Cultural Studies, in particular Nicole Matthews, Jon Seltin, Maria Giannacopoulos, Elaine Kelly, Elaine Laforteza, Holly Randell-Moon, Gretchen Riordan, Nikki Sullivan, Jessica Cadwallader, and, from the Department of Anthropology, Lisa Wynn. During my visits to Greenland, I enjoyed the kind hospitality of Ilisimatursarfik (the University of Greenland). Colleagues who had a direct influence on my work through conversations, discussions, feedback on papers, and so on, include Birgit Kleist Pedersen, Karen Langgård, Birgitte Jakobsen, Jette Rygaard, Gitte Tròndheim, Inge Seiding, Kathrine and Thorkild Kjærgaard, and Mariekathrine Poppel, as well as my former students, who all took a great interest in my work. The Greenlandic Archives, and archivists Niels Frandsen and Ole Christiansen, helped enormously by providing access to manuscripts, extended hours, and plenty of coffee. I would also like to extend a warm thank- you to Finn Lynge for his encouragement and kindness. The Department of Arctic Studies at Copenhagen University provided me with hospitality in a highly authentic setting during my stays in Denmark, including generous access to a truly remarkable library housed in old ware- houses on the very dock where the whaling ships from Greenland once offloaded their precious cargos. Colleagues and friends in Greenland and Denmark helped me by scanning articles, dissertations, and book excerpts. For this assistance, I am particularly indebted to Søren Holst, Hans-Jørgen Wallin Weihe, Birgit Kleist Pedersen, <UN> Acknowledgements xi Flemming A. J. Nielsen, Inge Seiding, Kennet Petersen, Katrine Kjærgaard, Bolette Olsen, and Lise Uhrskov (for her long-distance archive checks). Then there were those who took the time to answer my emails, in particular Matt Chrulew, Henrik Wilhjelm, Birgitte Sonne, Mette Rønsager, and the staff at the Department of Arctic Studies. I would also