Nature of Race

What do Americans think and#147;raceand#8221; means? What determines oneand#8217;s raceand#151;appearance, ancestry, genes, or culture? How do education, government, and business influence our views on race? To unravel these complex questions, Ann Morning takes a close look at how scientists are influencing ideas about race through teaching and textbooks. Drawing from in-depth interviews with biologists, anthropologists, and undergraduates, Morning explores different conceptions of raceand#151;finding for example, that while many sociologists now assume that race is a social invention or and#147;construct,and#8221; anthropologists and biologists are far from such a consensus. She discusses powerful new genetic accounts of race, and considers how corporations and the government use scientific researchand#151;for example, in designing DNA ancestry tests or census questionnairesand#151;in ways that often reinforce the idea that race is biologically determined. Widening the debate about race beyond the pages of scholarly journals, The Nature of Race dissects competing definitions in straightforward language to reveal the logic and assumptions underpinning todayand#8217;s claims about human difference.

and#8220;Well-written, well-researched, and well-argued, [it] does an excellent job of tracing out the power of knowing how race is defined.and#8221;

Ann Morning is Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at New York University.

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction: What Is Race?

2. What Do We Know about Scientific and Popular Concepts of Race?

3. Textbook Race: Lessons on Human Difference

4. Teaching Race: Scientists on Human Difference

5. Learning Race: Students on Human Difference

6. Race Concepts beyond the Classroom

7. Conclusion: The Redemption of Essentialism

Appendix A. Textbook Sample Selection and List

Appendix B. Interview Research Design and Methodology

Appendix C. Faculty Questionnaire

Appendix D. Student Questionnaire

Notes

References

Index