UNIT 13 RACE AND RACISM REVISION NOTES

 Definitions of Race

Race definitions in the mid-20th century viewed from two perspectives:

1. Evolutionary Perspective:
   • Geographic distribution plays a crucial role in race formation.
2. Breeding Populations Perspective:
   • Focus on breeding populations forming a collection of common traits, not fixed over time.

Key Definitions by Scholars:

• Hooton (1946):

  • Race is "a group whose members present individually identical combinations of specific physical characters that they owe to their common descent."

• Dobzhansky (1944):

  • Races are populations differing in the incidence of certain genes, capable of gene exchange across geographic boundaries.
  • Race differences are objective, and the number of recognized races is a matter of convenience.

• Boyd (1950):

  • Race is "a population differing significantly from other human populations in the frequency of one or more genes."
  • The recognition of races depends on the chosen gene loci.

• Mayr (1963):

  • Race, as a subspecies, is "an aggregate of phenotypically similar populations inhabiting a geographic subdivision of a species’ range, differing taxonomically from other populations."

• Baker (1967):

  • Race is "a rough measure of genetic distance in human populations, functioning as an informational construct in human biology research."

Common Themes in Race Definitions:

• Geographic distribution is vital in race formation.
• Genetic traits are shared among people related through common ancestry (breeding populations).
• Race is not solely about physical description but has been used historically for social classification and ranking.

Historical and Social Context of Race:

• Originated in Western science in the 18th century.
• Used to classify and rank humans into inferior and superior types.
• Spread globally through international commerce, slave trade, colonial conquest, and administration.
• Race was a tool of social division.
• Anthropology’s history with race is complex, initially investing in the concept, then denying its scientific existence, and now viewing race as a social construct recognized by phenotype (physical appearance).

Concept of Race and Racism

Race

• Historical Background:

  • Anthropologists in the 18th century began studying human physical variations.
  • Term "race" first used by Buffon, a French naturalist in the 18th century (Joshi, 2015).

• Classification Criteria:

  • Observable: Skin color, hair color, hair form, nose form.
  • Metric: Stature.
  • Biological: Blood groups, blood enzymes.

• Cultural Variations:

  • Human groups also diversify based on language, food patterns, dressing style, behavior, etc.

Race and Ethnicity

• Definition of Ethnic Group (Montagu, 1942):

  • Populations maintaining physical and cultural differences through geographic and social barriers.

• Frederik Barth's Work (1970):

  • Ethnic groups distinguish themselves based on presumed common ancestry and shared cultural traits.
  • Preference for endogamy (mating within the same ethnic group) provides a biological entity to the ethnic group.
  • Ethnic boundaries vary: cultural, linguistic, religious, economic.

• Shared Common Ancestry:

  • Both race and ethnicity involve shared common ancestry.
  • Differences:
    • Race:
      • Unitary: Individuals can only belong to one race.
      • Hierarchical: Built-in inequality in power.
    • Ethnicity:
      • Multiple affiliations: Individuals can identify with multiple ethnic groups.
      • Socially constructed: Both race and ethnicity are seen as social constructs.

• Impact of Racial Categories:

• Used to discriminate and distribute resources unequally.
• Influence on legal protection standards.

Racism

• Concept Origin:

  • Race concept led to racism, which falsely links intellect and cultural traits with physical characteristics like skin color, nose form, and hair color.
  • Misconception: Intellect and cultural traits inherited like biological features.

• Superiority Assumption:

  • Assumption that one group is superior to others.
  • Resulted in eugenic movements, notions of racial purity, and persecution.

• American Anthropological Association Statement on Race (1998):

  • European-Americans fabricated cultural/behavioral characteristics for each race, associating superior traits with Europeans and inferior ones with blacks and Indians.

• Forms of Racial Bias:

• Religion, language, food, dress patterns, etc.
• Instances of racial intolerance causing diplomatic crises (e.g., Shahrukh Khan frisked at a US airport, harassment of Punjabi students in Australia).

Racism as a Social Disease

Definition of Racism

• Prejudice or Discrimination: Against individuals based on their race, perceived race, biology, ancestry, or physical appearance.
• Assumptions:
  • Behavior is determined by biology.
  • Involves stereotypes that certain genetic backgrounds dictate specific behaviors.
  • Can be personal or institutional, explicit or implicit.

Consequences of Racism

• Misconceptions:

  • Physical characteristics wrongly linked to mental, emotional, intellectual, and cultural traits.
  • Some races deemed inferior to others, e.g., "primitive vs. advanced" or "Western civilized vs. others".
  • Belief in biological hierarchy: Black, White, Asian, etc.

• Historical Examples:

  • European explorers considered African tribes like Hottentots and Bushmen subhuman.
  • Colonial rulers referred to Indians as "natives".
  • Social inequalities based on sex, class, ethnicity, and caste.

• Impact:

  • Justified domination, exploitation, and genocide by "superior" races.
  • Reinforced belief in biological differences influencing behavior and practice.

Voices Against Racism

• Ashley Montagu:

  • Criticized race as a social construct, not a biological fact.
  • Opposed the idea that whites and blacks evolved separately.
  • Authored "Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race" (1942).

• Frank B. Livingstone:

  • Argued against the concept of race explaining genetic variability.
  • Highlighted that genetic traits often vary independently.
  • Suggested focusing on patterns of biological variation across geographic space for better understanding of human diversity.

• Jacques Barzun:

• Emphasized that the argument should be about understanding the differences and how to measure them.

Statements on Race

UNESCO Statement (1951)

• Drafted by: Scholars from various disciplines including Ashley Montague, Ernest Beaglehole, Juan Comas, L. A. Costa Pinto, Franklin Frazier, Morris Ginsberg, Humayun Kabir, and Levi-Strauss.

1. Human Unity:

   • All humans belong to a single species, Homo sapiens, derived from a common stock.
   • Divergence of groups due to hereditary and environmental factors.

2. Physical Differences:

   • Caused by genetics and environment.
   • Influenced by natural selection, mutations, gene frequency changes, marriage customs, and breeding structure.

3. Non-Coinciding Groups:

   • National, religious, geographical, linguistic, and cultural groups do not align with racial groups.
   • Example: Americans, Englishmen, and Frenchmen are not races.

4. Classification of Races:

   • Different classifications exist, typically into three major groups.
   • No race is superior or inferior.

5. Mental Characteristics:

   • Not included in racial classification.
   • Intelligence and temperament determined by both innate capacity and environment.

6. Cultural Differences:

   • Not primarily due to genetic differences.
   • Major factor: cultural history and experience.

7. Race Mixture:

   • No evidence of "pure" races.
   • Hybridization has been ongoing without disadvantageous effects.
   • No biological reason to prohibit intermarriage.

8. Human Equality:

• Equality of opportunity and in law are ethical principles, independent of human endowment equality. 

Established Scientific Points on Race

1. Basis for Classification:

   • Only physical (anatomical and physiological) characteristics are valid for classification.

2. Intellectual and Emotional Capacity:

   • No scientific basis for believing in differences in innate intellectual and emotional capacities among races.

3. Within-Race Differences:

   • Biological differences within single races can be as significant as between races.

4. Social and Cultural Changes:

   • Not connected to changes in racial type; genetic differences have little significance in social and cultural differences.

5. Race Mixture:

• No biological disadvantages from race mixing.
• Social outcomes of race mixture are due to social factors.

American Anthropological Association Statement on Race (1998)

Key Points

• Gradual Physical Variations:

  • Physical traits vary gradually over geographic areas.
  • Traits are inherited independently; knowing one trait doesn't predict others.
  • Example: Skin color varies with geography but is not linked to nose shape or hair texture.

• Historical Context of Race:

  • In the 19th century, science mirrored societal views on human differences.
  • Extremes: Africans, Indians, and Europeans were considered separate species, with Africans deemed the least human.

• Race as an Ideology:

  • "Race" was used to divide, rank, and control colonized people.
  • Later, it justified inequalities within Europe.

• Race as a Worldview:

  • Racial beliefs create myths about human diversity and behavior.
  • These myths do not reflect human capabilities or behavior.

• Cultural Behavior:

  • Human behavior is learned and influenced by culture from birth.
  • No one is born with a fixed culture or language.
  • Temperaments and personalities develop within cultural contexts.

• Capacity for Cultural Learning:

  • All humans can learn any cultural behavior.
  • Immigrants in America demonstrate the ability to adopt new cultural traits.
  • Physical differences do not determine cultural learning or behavior.

• Impact of Society and Culture:

  • Acceptance and treatment in society affect individual performance.
  • The racial worldview assigns low status to some groups, granting privilege to others.

• Inequalities:

  • Current inequalities among "racial" groups stem from social, economic, educational, and political factors, not biological inheritance.