Podcast: How Race was Made Flashcards
What was mistaken as a biological fact?
There were three races (Asian, White, and Black) Phrased much less nicely
How did we get race?
We constructed race
Westerners called themselves white (and were inventors of race)
Race: possibly started in Greece
(Before: ppl used to look at each other and see different shades, but what did that mean)
Before race was socially constructed, how did people think about other races?
How ppl lived, Where ppl lived, the climate, what’s the landscape like, how much water?
How do they look?
- Could see skin differences
If Ancient greeks didn’t “see” race, did they think everyone is equal?
No!
Southern darkers greeks were called barbarians
BUT: easter white greeks and persians were also looked down upon
They were the best! and only them! (all non greeks were inferior (cuz of where and how they lived)
How did slavery work in history?
Ppl of every colour got enslaved
(Ex. slave = from term slavic)
Did people always rank people?
Usually (like Aristole thought the Mediterranean climate created the best people)
But Elkadomas (his rival) god and nature made all men free. Always been thinkers understanding that we are all people, who admired other cultures.
Some people praised other cultures vocally? Why were their opinions dismissed and repressed?
They were enslaving a lot of the cultures that were being praised. So bad for business
Ex. guy praised Mali in Africa ( couldn’t have that cuz they were enslaving Africans)
Who invented race? and Racism?
Gomes de Zurara
- Hired to write stuff on Prince Henry
- The first time Europeans went directly to sub-Saharan Africa to get slaves, rather then using North African middleman
- Zurara lumped together captives (and claimed Henry was bringing them to Christianity)
- Said it was an improvement to their lives in Africa (Said they lived like beasts)
- He’s the first articulator of racist ideas (combined African identities to discriminate all Africans)
Who was behind Gomez?
Portuguese government and those who wanted to promote slave trade
- Therefore race was invented to push the positive reception of the slave trade
What was the change in Race after scientific revolution and enlightenment?
People started categorizing everything (including people)
Arguing over how many races (some saying 4, some saying 3) - Always been an issue for racial science that some ppl don’t fit neatly in these boxes
Explain how race is both real and unreal?
It is a social construct
But its effects are real (Can predict various Inequalities based on race - ex. lack of school or police violence)
With racism, what came first, racist attitudes or exploitation?
Exploitation!
People set out with malicious objectives (Columbus, Slavery)
Set up cultural norms and science to explain their exploitation.
Why is it harder to look at exploitation as the cause of racism?
Exploitation was so engrained in our systems (Western imperialism and development of the US)
To look at exploitation as the cause you have to look at more fundamental structures and ideas about the culture. Harder to look at that.
