LECTURE 12 - THE GEOGRAPHY OF RACE

1. Introduction

    

2. Race is not a meaningful biological concept
   1. Race is a complex human phenomenon
   2. Race as discrete categories
   3. Discrete categorization of any aspect of human variation is not meaningful
   4. We select certain traits to use as basis for classification, and not others--arbitrarily
   5. Biologically speaking, there is only one race: the human race.

    

3. Understanding human variation
   1. Human variation exists
   2. Human variation appears to have a geographical basis
   3. But all human populations have migrated, producing children with members of other groups
   4. CLINES
      1. Clines are not discrete - vary geographically but not discretely
      2. Traits do not covary

    

4. Race is a meaningful social concept
   1. Race is real
      1. Social category used to divide groups of people, both globally and within a society
      2. Racial categorization has real effects
      3. Racial categorization varies from society to society

    

5. Effects of social categories of race in the US: geography, poverty, and forms of racism
6. Summary
   1. Race as a biological category is a myth
   2. Race as a social category has meaningful geographic effects, and these imply important differences in wealth, lifespan, and health.