Question

Why do scientists no longer believe that race is a meaningful biological concept? Explain using 3 reasons presented in the lecture or supplementary readings (Gravlee, Krieger, or Goodman).n

Answer 1

Although there are small genetic differences that allow geneticists to trace the global migrations of populations, these variations should not be confused with the belief in discrete races because these variations are considered clines, which are gradients of gene frequencies from one population to another based on geography (Brown and Armelagos 2001). The “no biological race” position that was derived from the fact that race is not a scientifically reliable measure of human genetic variation led to the pervasiveness of discourses that evacuated racism from critical debates on difference (Harrison 1995). Mullings (2005) also highlighted the epistemological tension within anthropology between race as a socially and culturally defined category and racism as an ideology.

1. People cannot be reliably divided into racial groups.

2. There are no relationships between traits that are used to categorize people into races (like skin color) and associated stereotypes.

3. Over time, geography and environment influence the genetic structures of human populations through natural selection.

4. There is more diversity within racial groups than between racial groups.

5. All people living today are descended from populations that originated in Africa.

6. All people living today are one biological species.

7. Considerable scientific evidence that supports these arguments has been published since 2000. The new science will help faculty address student misconceptions that race is biological.

“race is not biology” really means “the race concept does not fit what we know about the structure of human variation.” —Clarence Gravlee

Rather than occupying conceptually different universes, we had many points of agreement … we came to our points of agreement from different intellectual histories and with different observations and data … [which] highlighted diverse aspects of the complexly protean idea of race and the dynamics of racism … we felt compelled to educate that race is powerful, but not based in genes or biology, rather [it is] a cultural and changeable concept. (Goodman, Moses, and Jones 2012)