P1: GCY Qualitative Sociology [quso] PH243-quas-477915 February 9, 2004 11:46 Style file version Nov 28th, 2002 Qualitative Sociology, Vol. 27, No. 1, Spring 2004 (C 2004) “Racism” and Colonialism: Meanings of Difference and Ruling Practices in America’s Pacific Empire Julian Go This article examines the meanings of “race” and difference in the first years of American colonialism in the Philippines, Guam, and Samoa. Moving beyond exist- ing sociological studies of “race” and “colonial discourse,”I demonstrate that the meanings of racial difference in the U.S. Pacific empire were contemporaneously polyvalent, constituting an overarching field of multiple rather than uniform classi- fications. The different meanings formed the basis for intra-imperial debate among colonizing agents. They also contributed to notable variations in forms of colonial governance and policy across the empire. The implication for future study is that “race” should best be apprehended as a “code” that takes on specific meanings and obtains its social force only in particular contexts of use and utterance. KEY WORDS: race; racism; colonialism; empire. ABBREVIATIONS BMP Bernard Moses Papers, Bancroft Library, University of California-Berkeley CE Clarence R. Edwards Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society CTIP United States Congress Committee on Territories and Insular Possessions ERP Elihu Root Papers, Library of Congress, Manuscript Division FP William Cameron Forbes Papers, Houghton Library, Harvard University TP Papers of William Howard Taft, United States Library of Congress INTRODUCTION It would seem indisputable that modern colonialism in the early twentieth century involved racism. Indeed, during colonial occupation, colonizing groups Correspondence should be directed to Julian Go, Department of Sociology, University of Illinois, 326 Lincoln Hall, 702 South Wright St., Urbana, IL 61801; e-mail:
[email protected].