Race Flashcards
George Fredrickson
Notes how slave owners distorted biblical teachings to justify the abnegation of blacks, referencing the book of genesis and the curse of Ham
- however he notes how 1667 Virginia declared that even converted slaves could be kept as slaves because of their heathen ancestry - this highlights the transition from religion to skin colour as the reason for black subordination
Joseph Graves
Ancient civilisations acknowledge physical differences among its peoples and it was often concluded that non Greeks were barbarians. However, this status could be revoked if by adopting and conforming to Greek culture – race isn’t always a fixed entity and can be associated more with more with culture and belonging
“in the late Middle Ages neither black nor white skin was assigned a fixed place of origin. European accounts of travel to China in the fourteenth century described the people there as “white” and Chinese women as fair-skinned and “most beautiful.” In European eyes the Asian “barbarians” on the borders of the Middle Kingdom, however, had black skin”
- This highlights the illegitimacy of race – race is often relative to the politics of the relationship with the native people – it isn’t something set in stone but is rather a classification which can be altered depending on relations and other other socioeconomic factors
“in the late Middle Ages neither black nor white skin was assigned a fixed place of origin. European accounts of travel to China in the fourteenth century described the people there as “white” and Chinese women as fair-skinned and “most beautiful.” In European eyes the Asian “barbarians” on the borders of the Middle Kingdom, however, had black skin”
- This highlights the illegitimacy of race – race is often relative to the politics of the relationship with the native people – it isn’t something set in stone but is rather a classification which can be altered depending on relations and other other socioeconomic factors
