Ideas of race: Theories and Practice

GRADE 11 – TOPIC 3:

IDEAS OF RACE IN THE LATE 19TH

AND 20TH CENTURIES

CHAPTER 1:

THEORIES AND PRACTICE

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WHAT IS A PEER?

• A person of the same legal status: a jury of one's peers.

• A person who is equal to another in abilities,

qualifications, age, background, and social status.

• Something of equal worth or quality: a sky-scraper without peer.

• A nobleman.

• A member of any of the five degrees of the nobility in

Great Britain and Ireland

(duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron).

• A companion.

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Would you consider these two ladies peers?

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KEY QUESTION: What were the consequences when theories about race and racial differences became integral to

government policies and legislation in the 19th and 20th

centuries?

• THE THEORIES WAS SUPPOSEDLY BASED ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. (CAUSE)

• THUS, THE GOVERNMENT MADE LAWS THAT DISCRIMINATED UNFAIRLY BETWEEN THEIR CITIZENS. (EFFECT)

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IS IT POSSIBLE TO ESCAPE THE IDEA OF RACE AND RACISM IN SOUTH

AFRICA?

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I THINK SO, BECAUSE THESE ARE PHOTOS OF MYSELF AND MY PEERS:

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RACISM

• UNFORTUNATELY, RACE AND RACISM IS PART OF OUR HISTORY, DESPITE THE END OF APARTHEID, AND WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH ISSUES OF RACE IN OUR DAILY INTERACTIONS WITH PEOPLE.

• RACE AND RACISM ARE STILL REAL FEATURES IN OUR SOCIETY...

• BUT WHAT IS RACISM AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

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19TH CENTURY

• EUROPEANS, AMERICANS AND AUSTRALIANS BECAME OBSESSED WITH IDEAS OF RACE.

• TRIED TO CLASSIFY SOCIETY INTO RACE GROUPS.

• MAIN IDEA WAS TO PROVE THAT WHITES ARE SUPERIOR TO OTHER RACES – ESPECIALLY BLACK PEOPLE.

• THEY TURNED TO SCIENCE TO TRY AND PROOF IT.

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DEFINITION OF RACISM

• FALSE IDEA THAT CERTAIN PEOPLE ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS.

• RACISTS BELIEVE THAT IT IS ACCEPTABLE TO EXCLUDE OR DOMINATE CERTAIN GROUPS ON THE GROUNDS OF THEIR RACE.

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CLASS DISCUSSION

1. SKIN COLOUR IS ONE WAY TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST EACH OTHER. WHAT ELSE DIVIDE PEOPLE? (WHO DO WE DISCRIMINATE AGAINST IN OUR OWN LIVES?)

2. WHY DO YOU THINK SOUTH AFRICA IS STILL DEALING WITH ISSUES OF RACE?

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Chapter 1 – Theories and practiceUnit 1: Notions about hierarchies of race in the

19th century

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Scientific Racism

• Scientific research were done by Americans and Europeans to justify discriminatory practices in their countries.

• Many of the research were firstly based on physical differences to proof white people as superior.

• Scientific racism is theories about race which are based on scientific research with the purpose to proof that one race is better than the other.

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Hierarchy of Races

• Scientific racism used science to promote the idea that people should be divided into groups:

• They wanted to create a Hierarchy of Races :

• Ranking people from highest to lowest, from best to worst, from important to unimportant.

• But their theories was subjective, and are therefore now known as Pseudo-scientific racial theories. (pseudo=false and misleading)

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There was however one accurate scientific racism discovery:

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Johann Blumenbach’s Pseudo-scientific theory

• German scientist...1795

• Divided human kinds into 5 groups, based on the geographical areas in which they lived.

• Negro = Africa

• Mongolian = Asia

• Malay = Southeast Asia

• American Indian = the Americas

• Caucasian = Europe

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Johann Blumenbach’s Pseudo-scientific theory

• He called the groups “races”.

• Believed Caucasians were the beautiful race and that all other races were degeneration from the original type.

• No scientific facts...only his personal preference.

• His own subjective judgement.

• Many Western societies accepted his theory as fact.

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Samuel MortonPseudo-scientific theory

• American scientist...mid 19th century.

• Believed each group was created separately and with different abilities.

• Intelligences linked to brain size.

• Measured skulls from around the world...found that Caucasian’s skulls are bigger: more intelligent = superior to other races.

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Samuel MortonPseudo-scientific theory

• His theory shaped the thinking of politicians, journalists, religious leaders.

• People started to believe that some races are superior to other races.

• They thought his research was based on scientific grounds = accepted his research as the truth.

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