Here, we offer some thoughts on the notion of race. We investigate the measure to which race is a social construction serving to conceal relations of power, rather than a category rooted in any 'intrinsic' or 'biologically determined' reality. In the latter connection, we allude to the manner in which an appeal to 'scientific' or 'scientistic' vocabulary often serves to conceal and distract from the injustices created by racial division, pointing to the need to consider more carefully what is intended by 'scientific discourse'. We look also at the analogous dynamics which arise in connection with ethnicity, and draw somewhat on the analysis of Franz Fanon.
Among the challenges we encounter in our public conversations is a welter of confusion around crucial terms which, though widely used, are rarely defined... or at least rarely defined explicitly. The consequence is a situation where rather than aiding progress in conversation, they frequently impede it. This is one effort to encourage remedy of this impasse by at least approaching the definition of some of these terms...
Monday, April 25, 2016
Approaching Definitions - What is Race?
Labels:
Black,
Class,
Ethnicity,
Foucault,
Franz Fanon,
Non-violence,
Nonviolence,
Pseudo-Science,
Race,
Racism,
Science,
Violence,
White
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