The Coexistence of Race and Racism: Can They Become Extinct Together?

Posted in Anthropology, Books, Media Archive, Monographs, Social Science on 2009-11-16 23:04Z by Steven

The Coexistence of Race and Racism: Can They Become Extinct Together?

University Press of America
June 2005
204 pages
Paper 0-7618-3213-0 / 978-0-7618-3213-3

Janis Faye Hutchinson, Associate Professor of Anthropology
University of Houston

Race and racism are interconnected historically and in the modern world. This connection is related to changing social, political, and economic conditions that impact how we think of others and ourselves. Race and racism are also connected to biological discoveries that justify how we think of others and ourselves. The main focus of this book is the examination of these connections. It is argued that while both race and racism are social constructions, the justification for racism changed as the definition and attributes of races were modified to correspond with new developments in biology and genetics.

Whereas biological discoveries are one side of this construction, changing social situations represent the other. That is, racism also responds to changing social, political, and economic conditions that alter its justification. In addition, scientific constructions of race are impacted by social factors that serve to direct the “scientific disclosures” on human diversity. These factors form the context for the intricate relationship between race and racism.

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one-drop rule

Posted in Definitions on 2009-11-16 18:34Z by Steven

The one-drop rule is a historical colloquial term for a belief among some people in the United States that a person with any trace of African ancestry is black.

See also: hypodescent.

Wikipedia

For more information, see Winthrop D. Jordan’s (Paul Spickard, ed.) “Historical Origins of the One-Drop Racial Rule in the United States,” in the Journal of Critical Mixed Race Studies (Volume 1, Issue 1, 2014).

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