Lecture Notes: Racism Concept - Origins and Modern Interpretations

Flashcards covering the concept of race, ethnicity, nationality, historical origins of racism, and the role of scientific theories and slavery in its development, based on lecture notes.

According to Michael Bowman Howard and Howard Wynagh, what is race?

Race is a socially constructed identity where the content and importance of racial categories are determined by social, economic, and political forces.

What does it mean for something to be a 'social construct'?

A social construct is something that people built or created, meaning it is not biological and has no biological origin, but is an idea or identity created by people through interaction.

What forces determine the content and importance of racial categories?

Social, economic, and political forces.

What is the definition of ethnicity?

Ethnicity is shared cultural heritage, which typically involves common ancestors, language, and religion.

What is the definition of nationality?

Nationality is a legal relationship between an individual person and the state, affording the state jurisdiction over the person and affording the person protection of the state; it refers to which country one is a citizen of.

What does race always refer to?

A color (e.g., black, white, red, yellow, brown).

What does ethnicity usually refer to?

A continental region (e.g., African, Asian, European, Caribbean); Hispanic is noted as an exception.

What does nationality always refer to?

A specific country or state (e.g., French for France, Canadian for Canada, Mexican for Mexico, American for America).

Did ancient civilizations like Egypt, Greece, and Rome exhibit modern racism?

No, they showed little suggestion of modern racism, although they accepted the institution of slavery and made ethnocentric judgments of other societies.

What is ethnocentrism?

Ethnocentrism is a worldview whereby one judges other cultures by the standards of one's own culture and regards one's own way of life as normal and better than others.

Who is credited with inventing the racial categories we know today?

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach.

Which race did Blumenbach incorrectly believe to be the original race?

The Caucasian race.

Where were the oldest human remains found?

Africa.

From what does the Caucasian race get its name, according to Blumenbach?

From the people living in the Caucasus Mountains, whom Blumenbach believed to be the most beautiful and therefore the original race.

What are the three historical events that contributed to our modern understanding of racism?

Enslavement of millions of Africans in the plantation economies in the New World (Western chattel slavery), European imperialism, and scientific racism (e.g., Social Darwinism and pseudoscientific theories of European superiority).

What was craniology?

Craniology was the pseudoscientific study of the shape and size of human skulls to determine a person's potential and characteristics, used to support racist theories.

What is the theory of Social Darwinism?

Social Darwinism refers to theories that emerged in the second half of the 19th century, which tried to apply the evolutionary concept of natural selection to human society, suggesting races had evolved into separate subspecies.

What is eugenics?

Eugenics is the pseudoscientific idea of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics and prevent 'degenerate' traits.

How did the actions of Hitler and the Nazis impact the social sciences regarding racist theories?

Many social scientists were mortified when Hitler took their racist theories to their logical conclusion (genocide), leading to a complete reversal in the social sciences to become allies against racism after World War II.

What was a key difference regarding the children of slaves in Western chattel slavery compared to traditional slavery?

In Western chattel slavery, children of enslaved mothers automatically inherited the slave status, and slave masters often enslaved their own children, which was not común in traditional slavery where children of slaves could often become free or assimilated.

How did shared history and culture differ in Western chattel slavery compared to traditional slavery, and what was the impact?

In traditional slavery, masters and slaves often shared history and culture, making dehumanization difficult; in Western chattel slavery, the vast cultural and physical differences between white masters and black slaves facilitated their dehumanization.

How did the factory model of production on plantations contribute to racism in Western chattel slavery?

It created both spatial segregation and a rigid hierarchy, treating slaves like property and animals rather than humans, contrasting with traditional slavery where slaves often lived and ate with their masters.

What was the significance of the 1857 Dred Scott decision in the context of Western chattel slavery?

It legally sanctioned the dehumanization of slaves by ruling that they were property, not entitled to the rights of citizens, and were considered less than human (a fraction of a person).