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Race Theory
2 ways of looking at Race among people
1. Race - A local geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics.
A. mongoloid
B. Caucasoid
C. Negroid
2. Race - A term that can be used scientifically for many species but not people.
A. The Human Species is the least genetically diverse species.
B. The Human Species has not been around long enough for subspecies to develop in which subspecies are what we generally refer to as being different Races.
C. In any given population of people, about 85% of all possible phenotypes are present and 94% are present on any given continent.
-To take two mongoloids and compare them would show as much variation as comparing a mongoloid to a Caucasoid.
Race was something the government created.
1. Race is most commonly used to create discrimination.
- Discrimination is not always negative, but a common purpose is to create superiority of groups.
2. Race was first added to the census 1790 making it a prominent issue since then.
3. Races were defined for the census in 1977
With the determination of Race comes 3 major problems
1. Segregation
- Something we all learn about in high school and are told is bad and shouldn’t be practiced anymore in the US.
2. Racial Profiling/prejudice
3. Stereotypes
Discuss the work Boas did with immigrant populations.
He was hired to determine if different races from europe should be allowed into the country or not and if race had any weight to determine their potentioal as humans.
What were some of his conclusions regarding race?
He found that no racial characteristics caused a person to be inferior.
Determined that the idea of race is of no use to science because the definition is impossible to define.
What is Biological Determinism?
Biological Determinism is the idea that your genes determine who you are as a person and there is no outside effect.
How did Boas feel about this concept?
He was against it and felt that genes were not the only thing that developed a person and made them inferior or superior.
What position did Boas take regarding Eugenics?
He was against the idea of Eugenics and keeping certain cultures out of the United States.
