RACE Is it real?

Is there such a thing as “Race”? Most anthropologists disagree with the idea of race as an objective, natural category into which particular individuals with their physical characteristics can be placed

Anthropologists say race is a classification of people based on perceptions and distinctions that come far more from culture than from nature It’s a CULTURAL CONSTRUCT rather than a BIOLOGICAL REALITY

Reasons 1. Genetic variations are more likely within a race than between races so races are not genetically discrete populations Modern homo sapiens evolved within the last 15,000 years so there hasn’t been enough time for genetic divergence

Reasons 2. Most of the differences between individuals that we attribute to race are only physical (i.e. skin color, shapes of facial features, hair characteristics, etc.) Other categories could be used & we would get different races (i.e. blood type, shape of teeth, etc.)

Reasons 3. Just how many races are there? Most would say three Mongoloid, Caucasoid, and Negroid but these are based on the history of contact between Europeans and certain peoples of Africa and Asia Different cultures develop different classifications

Reasons Racial classifications also change over time – for instance a century ago, the newly immigrated Irish were considered a race outside of the “whites” that already lived in the U.S.

Reasons 4. Cultural differences within the same race Africans have a different ancestry than African Americans

Why does this matter? Racial terms have connotations, making it hard for people to use them neutrally Stereotypes about various races are deeply embedded in our cultural knowledge Race is also often confused with “ethnicity”

Why does this matter? Race is currently a part of the way people identify themselves to one another It is an important part of an individual’s social identity – idea of “racial pride” which is often a positive force in people’s lives but can also be used negatively

Why does this matter? It is also a major – perhaps the major – source of division in many of the world’s nations