Essay about Race and the Development of Anthropological...

Race is a social construct that has influence all aspects of the American world view and life. The idea of race was constructed in America to justify slavery of Africans, stealing from and killing Native Americans, and prejudice against immigrants. Boas was took a stand on this subject that was not in line with mainstream perceptions on the subject. Another differing view was Du Bois who had some similarities in view and differences from Boas. Even with their legacies showing that race is not a biological reality, the power and impact of race can still be felt today, even though it is seen as a social construct by anthropologists. Racial categories in America was developed to be used as a sorting device. First in the 17th and 18th†¦show more content†¦In the 19th century scientific racism was developed, in relation to the Civil War. Scientific racism was lead by people like Morton who measured brain cavity in multiple skulls and determined from these measurements not only wh ich skulls were bigger, but also if that meant a person was smart, civilized, and various other traits. These conquered with racial stereotypes, placing whites as the most civilized on top, with blacks and Indians on the bottom (The Stories We Tell). His work convinced many people, including leading scientist who hadnt seen race as biological Louis Agassiz, that race could be proven scientifically (The Stories We Tell). The need for this scientific justification of racism came as a byproduct of the Civil War where slavery was abolished, but racism was still firmly entrenched in peoples mind, this science was a way to legitimize people still clinging to their racist beliefs (Roediger, How Race Survived U.S. History, pp. 101-103). There were also discourses about non-white people, namely immigrants. During the mass migrations after the Civil War, the different immigrant groups including the Irish, Eastern Europeans, and such were discriminated against, through over time these groups b ecame white. For example the Irish were seen as a, threat of racial degeneration in the US population (Roediger, How Race Survived U.S. History, p. 136). One of the most outspoken about this idea was Francis Walker yet as the tide ofShow MoreRelated Anthropology and Gender Essay1576 Words   |  7 Pagesthe discipline of anthropology, it was not until the early 1970’s that the field of anthropology and gender, or feminist anthropology emerged. Sex and gender roles have always been a vital part of any ethnographic study, but the contributors of this theory began to address the androcentric nature of anthropology itself. 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This paper will examine two contrasting angles provided by Ruth Benedict’s configurational anthropology in Patterns of Culture and Marvin Harris’ cultural materialism in Cannibals and Kings. Whereas Benedict’s configurational anthropology approaches culture as an expressive art form, Harris’s cultural materialism explains the peculiarities of cultural customs as