What We Now Know about Race and Ethnicity

Description

Attempts of nineteenth-century writers to establish “race” as a biological concept failed after Charles Darwin opened the door to a new world of knowledge. Yet this word already had a place in the organization of everyday life and in ordinary English language usage. This book explains how the idea of race became so important in the USA, generating conceptual confusion that can now be clarified. Developing an international approach, it reviews references to “race,” “racism,” and “ethnicity” in sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and comparative politics and identifies promising lines of research that may make it possible to supersede misleading notions of race in the social sciences. Michael Banton taught social anthroplogy in the University of Edinburgh 1954-65; political science in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1962-63; and sociology in the University of Bristol 1965-92. He was President of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 1987-89, and from 1986 to 2001 a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Chairman, 1996-98). “Banton’s s book is very thought-provoking: it made me think harder about the theoretical aspects of race and ethnicity than most books I have read recently on the topic. His willingness to challenge taken-for-granted theoretical stances is very bracing. There is also a lot of interesting information in this concise book, including material on the history of race and ethnicity studies that is highly relevant to understanding the field, but is often overlooked these days. His impressive mastery of the field gives readers a very informative and synthetic long and broad view, along with a coherent critique, which while it engages specialist academic also suits the book for an undergraduate audience.” · Anthropos Preface Introduction: The Paradox Chapter 1. The Scientific Sources of the Paradox Two dimensions Taxonomy Typology Darwin and Mendel Two Vocabularies The Power of the Ordinary Language Construct Chapter 2. The Political Sources of the Paradox Social Categories and Their Names After the Civil War Discrimination The ‘One-Drop’ Rule Counter Trends Chapter 3. International Pragmatism The Racial Convention Implementing the Convention Other International Action Naming the Categories Chapter 4. Sociological Knowledge Theoretical or Practical? The Chicago School In World Perspective Social Race? Chapter 5. Conceptions of Racism Writing History Teaching Philosophy Teaching Sociology Sociological Textbooks Political Ends Chapter 6. Ethnic Origin and Ethnicity Census categories Anthropology A New Reality? Nomenclature Sociobiology Ethnic Origin as a Social Sign Comparative Politics The Current Sociology of Ethnicity Chapter 7. Collective Action The Rediscovery of Weber’s 1911 Notes Four Propositions Closure The Human Capital Variable The Colour Variable Ethnic Preferences Opening relationships Conclusion: The Paradox Resolved Select Bibliography Index