Centring the Periphery: Chaos, Order and the Ethnohistory of Dominica

The concept of "centring" is used to mean "ordering the world," and Baker links this to ideas in chaos theory, which views order and disorder as mutually generative phenomena rather than static antinomies. Thus strategies to control disorder and create and maintain order may suddenly precipitate change. Baker's application of these theories to an island nation that has received little detailed attention in the past makes this a highly original work, as does his holistic, post-modern perspective. In addition to presenting a sensitive historical analysis, he confronts the dilemma of meaning in peripheral situations and the experience of dependency in the world system. Centring the Periphery is germane to understanding the majority of the world's people and makes a significant contribution to the study of society in developing nations.