《Hirschman C Rise amp; Fall of Race 2016》.pdf

The Rise and Fall of the Concept of Race Charles Hirschman Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology Department of Sociology Box 353340 University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195 Paper Presented at the Annual Meetings of the Population Association of America in Minneapolis, May 1 – 3, 2003. I thank Kia Sorensen for her excellent bibliographical assistance and Karen Brooks, Jennifer Edwards, Amon Emeka, Maya Magarati, and Julie Miller for their thoughtful comments on an early draft. Revised on May 27, 2003. The Rise and Fall of the Concept of Race ABSTRACT Physical, linguistic, and cultural diversity have been salient features of human societies throughout history, but the origins of “race” as a scientific concept is a modern phenomenon created in nineteenth century Europe as Darwinian thought was (mis) applied to account for differences in human societies. Although modern science has discredited race as a meaningful biological concept, race has remained as an important social category because of historical patterns of interpersonal and institutional discrimination. The impossibility of consistent and reliable reporting of race, either as an identity or as an observed trait, means that the notion of race as a set of mutually exclusive categories is disappearing. As a social science term, race will gradually become similar to the amorphous concept of ethnicity. 2 INTRODUCTION To modern eyes, especially American ones, the reality of race is self-evident. Peoples whose ancestors originated from Africa, Asia, and Europe look different in their skin color, hair texture, and facial appearance. Although racial differences may be