Historicizing Race

Posted in Books, Europe, History, Literary/Artistic Criticism, Monographs on 2022-03-09 04:05Z by Steven

Historicizing Race

Bloomsbury Academic (an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing)
2018-02-22
200 pages
9 x 6 inches
Hardback ISBN: 9781441184245
Paperback ISBN: 9781441143679
Ebook (Epub & Mobi) ISBN: 9781441158246
Ebook (PDF) ISBN: 9781441180162

Marius Turda, Professor in 20th Century Central and Eastern European Biomedicine
Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom

Maria Sophia Quine, Senior Research Fellows
Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom

The idea of race may be outdated, as many commentators and scholars, working in a broad range of different fields in the sciences and humanities, have argued over many years. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most persistent forms of human classification. Theories of race primitivism (the idea that there is a ‘natural’ racial hierarchy and ranking order of ‘inferior’ and ‘superior’ races), race biologism (the belief that people can be classified by genetic features which are shared by members of racial groups), and race essentialism (the notion that races can be defined by scientifically identifiable and verifiable cultural and physical characteristics) are deeply embedded in modern history, culture and politics.

Historicizing Race offers a new understanding of this reality by exploring the interconnectedness of scientific, cultural and political strands of racial thought in Europe and elsewhere. It re-conceptualises the idea of race by unearthing various historical traditions that continue to inform not only current debates about individual and collective identities, but also national and international politics. In a concise format, accessible to students and scholars alike, the authors draw out some of the reasons why race-centred thinking has, in recent years, re-emerged in such shocking and explicit form in current populist, xenophobic, and anti-immigration movements.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • 1. History
  • 2. Culture
  • 3. Nation
  • 4. Genealogy
  • 5. Science
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Index
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