Concrete Responses The essays included present a compelling but biased study within the context of class, race and gender. History shows racism has been clearly practiced in the past; however much has been done to correct the unbridgeable and immutable differences in race, gender and class status in the United States. Rothenberg emphasizes, in the collection of essays, past views of Euro-Americans’ superiority in intelligence and abilities over darker skinned races. Throughout the history of the United States, discrimination against race and gender has been documented thus creating various classes according to race and gender. Racism has been defined as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2010).
Nott and Gliddon’s work for example specifically counters Darwin’s theories concerning race but we now know theirs to be fiction.1 The work of Sir Francis Galton, Herbert Spencer and Ernst Heackel was directly influenced by Darwin, hence a number of their theories are now referred to as Social Darwinism, though this has become a somewhat derogatory term.2 Theories descended from Darwinism such as eugenics, embryology and the “survival of the fittest” have been used both to support and dismiss racist principles, such as the justification of the slave trade.3 It must be acknowledged that Darwin’s influence transcended political and ethical arguments. His own work and the work of those influenced by him changed and expanded the realms of biology and natural history.4 The extent of these limits is still being tested today. Today Darwinism is simply a term used to express Evolutionary Theory. However, before Darwin’s ideas were manifested in his books there was little understanding of the progress of man and the reasons for racial variation; in the West, it was taken as fact that there existed superior and inferior races.5 Furthermore, much of this was supported by religious views expressed in the bible and not scientific logical thought. It was believed that human races were of
They also changed their documented history in order to seem that the German Knights had wanted a Third Reich. Also the Nazis created propaganda that made other races look bad, and practically influenced thei people that others were inferior. All this can be compared to Orwell's
This is important because although new settlers were gifted with new land and resources, Westward Expansion resulted in controversial disagreements and even more hardships. Native Americans face many issues that threaten their safety even in this modern day society. are not safe, even in our modern-day society. They are used as objects and are displayed as a ‘good luck charm’ for many college universities and sports teams. According to the article, Native American mascots bring more negativity than the luck they are supposed to bring, “…(1) they [mascots] reflect and reinforce stereotypes, (2) they harm Native Americans, and (3) Native Americans do not have control over them,” (IMHTNA).
The professor stated that the development of different racial groups was due to the theory of genetic drift; we all originally started in the same location and spread outward. This theory got me thinking about how we form racial groups on a smaller scale and how complex it truly is. Race and ethnic group labels in America are not clearly based on criteria that everyone understand, agree with, and can easily see. As a result, someone else may label you in a way that you consider wrong and very offensive. This can instantly create an obstacle when trying to communicate even if the slur was unintended.
Final Essay Questions #1. Explain why anthropologists no longer think the race concept is the best way to understand human variation. There are many anthropologists that argue that race concept is not a scientifically useful term. The reason for this is because race concept is a social construction and race is a relative construct. Arbitrariness of classification varies from place to place and person to person.
Shi Qi Zhu Ms. Harber Am Lit (6) November 14, 2012 In the United States during the 1800s, often times people thought that white people are superior to other races. They also thought that the other races are uncivilized, and it’s the white men’s responsibility to civilize the others. This theory was called White Men’s Burden. Yet this theory has been proved otherwise. In The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain used irony and an unreliable narrator to point out that society often mistakenly categorizes the civilized as the uncivilized, suggesting the society’s moral value is flawed.
Compare the rise of towns in Medieval Europe and the rise of towns in America. The rise of towns in Medieval Europe and around the world was a significant change in the way people lived their daily life. By 1000 A.D, towns in Europe emerged very quickly and by the 13th century, Europe was finally dotted with towns and some of them had 10 000 habitants. This step introduced a new way of living and a brand new organization with a more social life. Whereas the towns in Medieval Europe emerged around the 1000s A.D, Some countries around the world like America saw this event and improvement happen much later.
There was a great deal of backlash regarding the social consequences of eugenics. There were contradictions in evidence shifting the zeitgeist in favor of nurture. Evidence now seemed to support a closer link between social class having and intelligence. Psychologists bean to do more studies on the environmental factors. 1940s – early 1990s The Pendulum swings back to the middle.
S. Gold mentioned that in his article and attributed it to David Stoll. However, this is a conclusion reached based on the issues raised by the part of the American population that sees only the detrimental side of immigration. That attitude is one of fear and paranoia. There has always been a part of society that is very concerned about the purity of the White race. Many of the reasons that the original colonies chose to break from the British and the reason other Europeans came to this country was to live freely, worship freely and create a less repressive society.