(no subject)

[novapsyche]

How is it that I've never heard of Ashley Montagu? I must read some of his works.

John Henrik Clarke quotes him, saying, "In his book, Race, Science and Humanity, (p. 111) Dr. Ashley Montagu refers to the belief in race as a 'widespread contemporary myth in the Western World.' He further states that, 'It is the modern form of the older belief in witchcraft.'"

Comments

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised you hadn't heard of him until now, especially since he's one of the big names for discussing race as a social construct.

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

Well, I didn't go out of my way to take Afro-American courses in college. The only texts I came across that deconstructed race were those in my core classes (Anthro of American Culture, Theory and Method in American Studies). The soc classes I took focused more on the intersection of gender, sex and power (in fact, that was the title of one of my classes).

The archaic myth of race

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

Racism is mentioned quite a bit in the works of Plato. He subtly ridicules it while overtly supporting it. It was the national policy of the Egyptians, Hindus, and other "advanced" cultures. It was an aspect of the power structure of decrepit cultures at the time of Plato. It's no wonder he poked fun at it.