Having taken a few Anthropology courses in the past, I was familiar with the concept of race as a social construct and not something substantiated by DNA evidence. This week’s lectures and readings really helped me understand exactly what that meant with very clear and scientific information. I think this concept can be hard for some people to grasp, especially with how deeply rooted in everyday life race can be. I appreciated that this class held nothing back while explained how anthropologists view race.
According to The American Anthropological Association (The AAA), “in the United States both scholars and the general public have been conditioned to viewing human races as natural and separate divisions within the human species based on visible physical differences,” however they continued to explain that, “with the vast expansion of scientific knowledge…it has become clear that human populations are not unambiguous, clearly demarcated, biologically distinct groups.” In other words, The AAA’s statement on race is that the idea of humans being different races was created without any actual scientific data to back it up. This means that the races that exist in the United States today are not based on actual human biology, as The AAA further explains: “physical variations in any given trait tend to occur gradually rather than abruptly over geographic areas…physical traits are inherited independently of one another, knowing the range of one trait does not predict the presence of others.” I think it’s very refreshing to see an institution like The American Anthropological Association take such a clear and quantifiable stance on race.
As for explaining this concept to someone completely unfamiliar with it, I would try to be as clear as possible with as much scientific fact to support this idea while also putting it into the simplest words possible. (If only it was that easy, right?) What stood out to me as a good way to convey these concepts about race was the lecture video we watched this week called “Misconceptions of the Race Concept.” The lecture begins by breaking down what “race” is and how it came to be. I think understanding the history and origin of the concept of race is incredibly important in understanding not only why races exist today but how they have remained, even though they vary through time, as a deeply rooted facet of our society.
The video continues by breaking down the various definitions of race. One such explanation, referred to as the Trait Definition states that race is, “a division of a species which differs from other divisions by the frequency with which certain heredity traits appear among its members.” The lecture continues to explain that there are an innumerable number of traits across humankind and that the “types and numbers of traits used yield very different categories.” Further, traits are explained as being independent from each other, called discordance, making this definition of race very problematic. The lecture continues in this fashion, giving definitions of race and then debunking them. To me this is a very effective way of demonstrating how race is clearly something that cannot be supported with scientific and biological fact.
I really appreciate the way Anthropology views race and I think that for people like me coming into the field the concept is a very important one to grasp. Understanding the misconceptions many societies have about race is a very big step in improving the way people are treated.
3 thoughts on “Week Three – Concept of Race”
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Hi, Cait! I was interested in the fact that you say you have taken several Anthropology courses before and how you reiterate in your last paragraph how important it is to understand the concept of race if you want to enter the field. I completely agree! I think Anthropology specifically looks at race differently than many other fields, as it does not fully look at it scientifically but also examines it through a social and historical lens. I also noticed in the statements from the AAA and the AAPA that it is really crucial for all those in the field to have a strong common idea of the concept of race. I don’t think it’s a field where complete variation in the ideas of race is beneficial; the best is for everyone in the field to agree on this one thing at least. So I agree that understanding this is super important if you want to study in the field!
Hello Cait! My parents raised us in a very welcoming and non judgmental household so race was never even a topic growing up. But obviously its become a huge part of our country and very prevalent in the media. But as someone who was never around that and then to become a human biology major and studying humans as a species as a whole, down to the DNA, its so hard for me to understand people who use race as a way to explain someones actions or why they are the way they are. the AAA says” Conventional geographic “racial” groupings differ from one another only in about 6% of their genes. This means that there is greater variation within “racial” groups than between them.” Although the scientific explanation isnt something everyone hears, it is an easy concept to understand and would be beneficial moving forward for humanity.
I agree with you , I appreciate the way that the lectures this week broke down the scientific aspect of biological race and made the concept a lot easier to grasp. I agree the united states has conditioned the nation into letting race divide us and give us reasons to treat one another better or worst. I agree with you on the way that race should be explained to someone who is ignorant on the topic. The history break down is key, because that the start, the first truth before race was used as a tool. Debunking is a great tool as well, when you see something as factual and go on to debunk it, it makes you rethink a lot of concepts fed to us and in this case that important.