Race and Ethnicity An Anthropological Focus on the United States and the World

Ethnic unrest and tension are prevalent in the contemporary world. Newspapers and television news are rife with stories about ethnic violence among the peoples of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Africa, Sri Lanka, India, Ireland, the Middle East, and the United States. Thus, as globalization rapidly expands and both undermines and strengthens ethnic and national identities, an understanding of race and of ethnicity issues becomes more pertinent. This book is an introductory survey of the basic concepts and research in the field of anthropology on race and ethnicity in the United States and throughout the world. Anthropologists have been doing research on race and ethnicity for more than a hundred years and have developed a profound understanding of race and ethnicity issues. However, these anthropological insights have not been communicated widely. Race and ethnicity issues: have had immense effects on both U.S. and global political trends and have created innumerable tensions and misunderstandings among different groups. An anthropological understanding of race and ethnicity has clarified some of these misconceptions and may help relieve some of these tensions. One of the major objectives of anthropology is to comprehend both the differences and the similarities among different groups of humans throughout the world. A major lesson derived from anthropological research is that as different groups learn about each other's cultural values, norms, behaviors, goals, and aspirations, the less likely they are to maintain rigid stereotypes and misconceptions about one another. Thus, one of the practical results of anthropological research is a reduction in racism, ethnocentrism, and animosities and tensions. As students learn to discern what anthropologists have learned about race and ethnicity issues, they are more likely to be able to adjust and become more productive citizens in an increasing multicultural and globally integrated world. A comprehensive understanding of race and ethnicity issues is a fundamental aspect of a well-rounded liberal arts education. This text is a collection of state-of-the-art but highly readable essays for undergraduate students. Part I deals with the basic concepts of race and ethnicity. Chapter 1 introduces the discipline of anthropology to students who may have never had a course in anthropology. Chapter 2 focuses on the concept of race, and what anthropologists have learned about "race" based on paleoanthropological, archaeological, population genetics, and other related research for the past hundred years or so. The concept of race has been subject to extensive investigations by both physical and cultural anthropologists, and these research findings need to be communicated to the student in a comprehensible manner. Chapter 3 is devoted to the history of "scientific" racialism and how it emerged as a means of promoting simplistic understandings of race and culture, which, in turn, have fostered forms of racism and misunderstandings throughout the world. One of the major lessons that has emerged from anthropological research, beginning with Franz Boas, is that culture is separate from biology or so-called "racial" characteristics. Students need to have a fundamental understanding of this important finding. Chapter 4 addresses the various features that are expressions of ethnicity or ethnic boundary markers, such as religion or linguistic differences. This chapter discusses concepts and theories of assimilation, pluralism, prejudice, discrimination, primordialist and circumstantialist approaches, nationalism and identity politics, and other basic concepts and theories for understanding race and ethnicity issues. Chapter 5 is an essay on the research of psychological anthropologists and others who have been investigating the universality or naturalism of ethnicity and ethnocentrism. This chapter is provocative and will result in a great deal of critical thinking for thScupin, Raymond is the author of 'Race and Ethnicity An Anthropological Focus on the United States and the World', published 2002 under ISBN 9780130606891 and ISBN 0130606898.