Race, Racism, and Science: Social Impact and Interaction / Edition 1

by John P. Jackson, Nadine M. Weidman

Overview

Since the eighteenth century when natural historians created the idea of distinct racial categories, scientific findings on race have been a double-edged sword. For some antiracists, science holds the promise of one day providing indisputable evidence to help eradicate racism. On the other hand, science has been enlisted to promote racist beliefs ranging from a justification of slavery in the eighteenth century to the infamous twentieth-century book, The Bell Curve,whose authors argued that racial differences in intelligence resulted in lower test scores for African Americans.

            This well-organized, readable textbook takes the reader through a chronological account of how and why racial categories were created and how the study of “race” evolved in multiple academic disciplines, including genetics, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. In a bibliographic essay at the conclusion of each of the book’s seven sections, the authors recommend primary texts that will further the reader’s understanding of each topic. Heavily illustrated and enlivened with sidebar biographies, this text is ideal for classroom use.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813537368
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	09/29/2005
Series:	Science and Society Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

JOHN P. JACKSON, JR., is an assistant professor in the department of communication at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

NADINE M. WEIDMAN is a lecturer in history of science at the Harvard University Extension School and the author of Constructing Scientific Psychology: Karl Lashley's Mind-Brain Debates.

Table of Contents

Series Editor's Preface
Prologue
1. The Origins of Racial Science, Antiquity-1800
2. The Establishment of Racial Typology, 1800-1859
3. Race and Evolution, 1859-1900
4. The Hardening of Scientific Racism, 1900-1945
5. The Retreat of Scientific Racism, 1890-1940
6. The Liberal Orthodoxy, 1940-1960
7. A Multicultural Science of Race, 1965 to the Present
Chronology
Glossary
Documents
Bibliography
Index
About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

The authors . . . offer a general synthesis of the enormous literature on the topic in bibliographic essays, and a narrative overview of the history of race ideology . . . Recommended. Secondary school and undergraduate libraries.” —Choice

From the Publisher