Anthropology Chapter 7: Modern Human Diversity — Race and Racism

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering biological and social race concepts, the history of human classification, anthropological critiques of race, and the mechanisms of racism and genocide as described in Chapter 7.

Race (biological)

A proposed subspecies distinguished by geographic, genetic, or morphological differences; anthropologists argue this does not apply to humans as they lack distinct subspecies.

Race (anthropological)

A social and cultural category rather than a valid biological division of human beings.

Racism

A doctrine of superiority used to justify the dehumanization of others based on physical traits.

Scientific racism

The use of supposed scientific evidence to support racial hierarchy and inequality.

Genocide

The systematic extermination of one group by another.

Hypodescent (One-drop rule)

The practice of assigning individuals of mixed ancestry to the subordinate racial group.

Gene flow

The movement of genes between populations through reproduction, which prevents human populations from becoming separate species.

Phenotype

The observable physical characteristics of an individual.

Systemic racism

Structural inequalities that are embedded in social institutions and systems.

Structural violence

Harm caused by unjust social, political, and economic systems.

Epigenetics

The study of how environmental factors influence gene expression.

Flynn Effect

The observed worldwide rise in $IQ$ scores across populations over time.

Cultural race

A socially defined category based on perceived ancestry, appearance, and cultural traits.

Biological variation

Differences in physical traits, such as skin color, height, and hair texture, among individuals and populations.

Casta system

A colonial social hierarchy used in Mexico based on ancestry and racial mixture.

Carolus Linnaeus

An early classifier of human groups by geography and skin color, dividing humans into white Europeans, black Africans, yellow Asians, and red Native Americans.

Johann Blumenbach

The scholar who coined the term "Caucasian" and ranked human groups hierarchically with Caucasians at the top.

Franz Boas

An anthropologist who criticized racial hierarchy and argued that culture, not biology, explains differences in human behavior.

Ashley Montagu

The author of "Man's Most Dangerous Myth," who argued that race is a social myth rather than a biological reality.

Richard Lewontin

A researcher who demonstrated that only about $7\%$ of human genetic variation occurs among racial groups, while the vast majority exists within populations.

Raphael Lemkin

The individual who coined the term "genocide."

Ota Benga

A Congolese Twa man who was exhibited in the Bronx Zoo, illustrating the dehumanizing effects of racist ideology.

Gregory Stanton

The scholar who developed the Eight Stages of Genocide model.

Classification

The first stage of genocide where groups are categorized into "us" and "them."

Symbolization

The second stage of genocide, involving give names or symbols to the classifications.

Dehumanization

The third stage of genocide where one group denies the humanity of the other group, equating them with animals or diseases.

Organization

The fourth stage of genocide, usually organized by the state or terrorist groups, using militias to provide deniability.

Polarization

The fifth stage of genocide where extremists drive the groups apart through propaganda and laws.

Preparation

The sixth stage of genocide where victims are identified and separated out because of their ethnic or religious identity.

Extermination

The seventh stage of genocide, the mass killing legally called genocide.

Denial

The eighth and final stage of genocide where perpetrators dig up mass graves and intimidate witnesses to hide evidence.