RACE AND ETHNICITY

Why Do We Look Different? Create a list of

ethnicities/races that we have in our world.

Write a list of PHYSICAL characteristics that they have

Come up with a hypothesis as to why looking this way (through evolution) would have benefited them

Some Answers... Skin color is based on

the body’s need to absorb UV rays and convert cholesterol into Vitamin D

Bergmann’s Rule-In colder regions, warm-blooded animals will have stockier builds because it allows them to be more efficient at retaining body heat.

Definitions RACE-biologically speaking, a race is a group of

organisms of the same species that share similar physical and genetic attributes, and specific geographic regions...they are subdivisions of a single species

Race is passed down genetically How many Canus familiaris races can you think of?

On a side note, HABITUATION and ASSIMILATION (changes throughout one’s life, for example, getting used to living high on a mountain with low oxygen) are not genetic or passed down! They are also reversible!

Important to Note... Race is not important

biologically to our species. Every race can mate with every race

Therefore, anthropologists don’t like to study races as much as they like to study ancestry (knowing your lineage will help you understand your physical self and needs)

Cultural behavior is not genetically linked to geographic areas

Most behaviors of a race are learned

Why Is Hard to Define Human Races?

Humans mate with other races! What do you call the race of a child who

has parents that are Native American and Asian?

Is a Greek person black or white? How many race groups do you make?

Genetic Relationships of Human Races

Racial Typing

First evidence of classifying humans comes from ancient Egypt in their cave drawings

They classified humans by skin color: Egyptians were red, those south were black, those north were white, and those to the east were yellow

In 16th century, Europeans travelled the globe, and accused anyone of not being white Christian to be a savage

The less European looking you were, the more savage you were considered to be (which meant you were less intelligent and less moral)

Some went as far as to say that savages were not even apart of the human species, this made it easier to abuse and enslave them

Biological Determinism This is the idea that your biological self determines

everything that you are Naturalists in the 1800’s started looking at brain and

skull size, chin and nose size, etc.

Since they thought that one’s genetics determined their

behaviors, they started to advocate for state regulation of marriage, family size, and if one would even be allowed to reproduce

This became known as eugenics, which is creating a superior master race.

What is the greatest known historical even of eugenics? Why is creating a master race considered suicidal?

Still Happening Today... Today, the U.S Military still uses its old-school

letter identification system on some paper work to classify ethnicities N-Negro C-Caucasian M-Mongoloid (Asian) R-Native American (Redskin)

Culture If our genetics do not define our

“races” behaviors, then what does? Culture!

Cultures differ because people live in different conditions

One’s culture is an adaptation to their unique environment

Today, culture has changed dramatically, and way faster, due to mass communication and mass movement of people

So What is Ethnicity? Many people use “race” and “ethnicity”

interchangeably. This is wrong! An ETHNIC GROUP is a collection of people who share

some cultural characteristics because they share a common ancestry, and this culture has been passed down by learning

Ethnic groups often persist because people were marrying their own race for quite some time in history

Ethnic groups are often bonded by traditions and rituals, and they usually identify with a specific geographical region, even if they do not live there

Ethnic groups are difficult to define. Why?

Ethnic Cleansing Sometimes, the values of ethnic groups

are in conflict with each other Tyrannical leaders will often pit one ethic

group against another The attempt to eliminate an ethnic group

is called genocide

Ethnic Identity Most people feel at ease when interacting with

members of their own ethnic group, however, many people like to travel to learn about other ethnic groups!

Having an ethnic identity provides people with a specific identity, which they often manifest in the following aspects of culture: Music/artistic preferences Food preferences Child-naming traditions Language or dialect Religion or value system

Mixing Ethnic Groups In 1985, a couple anthropologists classified 6 ways in

which different ethnic groups have interacted in recent history Pluralism-several intact, identifiable culture groups coexist in

a single society Assimilation-ethnic minorities are absorbed into the greater

society Legal Protection of Minorities-ethnic groups coexist in a

society but they are hostile towards one another Population Transfer-occurs when minority groups can’t coexist

with the dominant population or the dominant population does not want to coexist with the minorities

Long-term Subjugation-ethic groups are politically and economically repressed, either legally or through social pressures

Genocide-the mass murder or extermination of a ethnic group by another one

Homework 1. What is your race? /2 2. What is your ethnicity? /5 3. Besides WWII, research another example of

ethnic cleansing or genocide. There are lots in history! Write a couple of paragraphs about what happened, and cite your source or website! /8

4. Besides genocide, there are 5 other ways that anthropologists believe that different ethnic groups can “mix”. Find an example of each of the other 5 (pluralism, population transfer, etc). You can work with a partner for this one. /5