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Unprecedented advances in genetics and biotechnology have brought
profound new insights into human biological variation. These
present challenges and opportunities for understanding the origins
of human nature, the nature of difference, and the social practices
these sustain. This provides an opportunity for cooperation between
the biological and social sciences one that is capable of prompting
a synergistic exchange of ideas with far-reaching implications. The
Nature of Differencecritically analyses biological explanations for
morality, criminality, race, sexuality, and disability. Based on
the 45th annual symposium of the Society for the Study of Human
Biology, this work synthesizes the perspectives of established
experts in the field of human biology with those studying the
social meanings of human biological variation and scientific
practices in human biological research. Some questions addressed by
The Nature of Difference: Is there a biological basis for morality,
criminality, witchcraft, sexuality or disability? What do
comparisons of humans and apes tell us about society? How do people
draw on scientific methods to justify racism? Why do geneticists
continue to use racial categories in their research? Do ethical
guidelines constrain or facilitate research into human biology? Can
science and society escape from biological determinism? As
biotechnology expands the frontiers of what we know and what we are
able to do, and as the genomic revolution moves out of the
laboratory and into our daily lives, we are faced with a number of
pressing social issues that need to be resolved. Offering an
unparall
The science on race is clear. Common categories like "Black,"
"white," and "Asian" do not represent genetic differences among
groups. But if race is a pernicious fiction according to natural
science, it is all too significant in the day-to-day lives of
racialized people across the globe. Inequities in health, wealth,
and an array of other life outcomes cannot be explained without
referring to "race"-but their true source is racism. What do we
need to know about the pseudoscience of race in order to fight
racism and fulfill human potential? In this book, two distinguished
scientists tackle common misconceptions about race, human biology,
and racism. Using an accessible question-and-answer format, Joseph
L. Graves Jr. and Alan H. Goodman explain the differences between
social and biological notions of race. Although there are many
meaningful human genetic variations, they do not map onto socially
constructed racial categories. Drawing on evidence from both
natural and social science, Graves and Goodman dismantle the
malignant myth of gene-based racial difference. They demonstrate
that the ideology of racism created races and show why the
inequalities ascribed to race are in fact caused by racism. Graves
and Goodman provide persuasive and timely answers to key questions
about race and racism for a moment when people of all backgrounds
are striving for social justice. Racism, Not Race shows readers why
antiracist principles are both just and backed by sound science.
The science on race is clear. Common categories like "Black,"
"white," and "Asian" do not represent genetic differences among
groups. But if race is a pernicious fiction according to natural
science, it is all too significant in the day-to-day lives of
racialized people across the globe. Inequities in health, wealth,
and an array of other life outcomes cannot be explained without
referring to "race"-but their true source is racism. What do we
need to know about the pseudoscience of race in order to fight
racism and fulfill human potential? In this book, two distinguished
scientists tackle common misconceptions about race, human biology,
and racism. Using an accessible question-and-answer format, Joseph
L. Graves Jr. and Alan H. Goodman explain the differences between
social and biological notions of race. Although there are many
meaningful human genetic variations, they do not map onto socially
constructed racial categories. Drawing on evidence from both
natural and social science, Graves and Goodman dismantle the
malignant myth of gene-based racial difference. They demonstrate
that the ideology of racism created races and show why the
inequalities ascribed to race are in fact caused by racism. Graves
and Goodman provide persuasive and timely answers to key questions
about race and racism for a moment when people of all backgrounds
are striving for social justice. Racism, Not Race shows readers why
antiracist principles are both just and backed by sound science.
Anthropology, with its dual emphasis on biology and culture, is--or
should be--the discipline most suited to the study of the complex
interactions between these aspects of our lives. Unfortunately,
since the early decades of this century, biological and cultural
anthropology have grown distinct, and a holistic vision of
anthropology has suffered. This book brings culture and biology
back together in new and refreshing ways. Directly addressing
earlier criticisms of biological anthropology, Building a New
Biocultural Synthesis concerns how culture and political economy
affect human biology--e.g., people's nutritional status, the spread
of disease, exposure to pollution--and how biological consequences
might then have further effects on cultural, social, and economic
systems. Contributors to the volume offer case studies on health,
nutrition, and violence among prehistoric and historical peoples in
the Americas; theoretical chapters on nonracial approaches to human
variation and the development of critical, humanistic and political
ecological approaches in biocultural anthropology; and explorations
of biological conditions in contemporary societies in relationship
to global changes. Building a New Biocultural Synthesis will
sharpen and enrich the relevance of anthropology for understanding
a wide variety of struggles to cope with and combat persistent
human suffering. It should appeal to all anthropologists and be of
interest to sister disciplines such as nutrition and sociology.
Alan H. Goodman is Professor of Anthropology, Hampshire College.
Thomas L. Leatherman is Associate Professor of Anthropology,
University of South Carolina.
The so-called science wars pit science against culture, and nowhere
is the struggle more contentiousOCoor more fraught with
paradoxOCothan in the burgeoning realm of genetics. A constructive
response, and a welcome intervention, this volume brings together
biological and cultural anthropologists to conduct an
interdisciplinary dialogue that provokes and instructs even as it
bridges the science/culture divide.Individual essays address issues
raised by the science, politics, and history of race, evolution,
and identity; genetically modified organisms and genetic diseases;
gene work and ethics; and the boundary between humans and animals.
The result is an entree to the complicated nexus of questions
prompted by the power and importance of genetics and genetic
thinking, and the dynamic connections linking culture, biology,
nature, and technoscience. The volume offers critical perspectives
on science and culture, with contributions that span disciplinary
divisions and arguments grounded in both biological perspectives
and cultural analysis. An invaluable resource and a provocative
introduction to new research and thinking on the uses and study of
genetics, "Genetic Nature/Culture "is a model of fruitful dialogue,
presenting the quandaries faced by scholars on both sides of the
two-cultures debate."
Revised for the first time in ten years, the second edition of
Nutritional Anthropology: Biocultural Perspectives on Food and
Nutrition continues to blend biological and cultural approaches to
this dynamic discipline.
While this revision maintains the format and philosophy that
grounded the first edition, the text has been revamped and
revitalized with new and updated readings, sections, introductions,
and pedagogical materials that cover current global food trade and
persistent problems of hunger in equal measure.
Unlike any other book on the market, Nutritional Anthropology fuses
issues past and present, local and global, and biological and
cultural in order to give students a comprehensive foundation in
food and nutrition.
Unprecedented advances in genetics and biotechnology have brought
profound new insights into human biological variation. These
present challenges and opportunities for understanding the origins
of human nature, the nature of difference, and the social practices
these sustain. This provides an opportunity for cooperation between
the biological and social sciences - one that is capable of
prompting a synergistic exchange of ideas with far-reaching
implications. The Nature of Differencecritically analyses
biological explanations for morality, criminality, race, sexuality,
and disability. Based on the 45th annual symposium of the Society
for the Study of Human Biology, this work synthesizes the
perspectives of established experts in the field of human biology
with those studying the social meanings of human biological
variation and scientific practices in human biological research.
Some questions addressed by The Nature of Difference: * Is there a
biological basis for morality, criminality, witchcraft, sexuality
or disability? * What do comparisons of humans and apes tell us
about society? * How do people draw on scientific methods to
justify racism? * Why do geneticists continue to use racial
categories in their research? * Do ethical guidelines constrain or
facilitate research into human biology? * Can science and society
escape from biological determinism? As biotechnology expands the
frontiers of what we know and what we are able to do, and as the
genomic revolution moves out of the laboratory and into our daily
lives, we are faced with a number of pressing social issues that
need to be resolved. Offering an unparalleled collection of
multidisciplinary perspectives on the meanings of biological
diversity, this book provides readers with a vibrant analysis which
revisits these issues with deepened insight from contrasting yet
complementary perspectives.
Anthropology, with its dual emphasis on biology and culture, is--or
should be--the discipline most suited to the study of the complex
interactions between these aspects of our lives. Unfortunately,
since the early decades of this century, biological and cultural
anthropology have grown distinct, and a holistic vision of
anthropology has suffered.
This book brings culture and biology back together in new and
refreshing ways. Directly addressing earlier criticisms of
biological anthropology, "Building a New Biocultural Synthesis"
concerns how culture and political economy affect human
biology--e.g., people's nutritional status, the spread of disease,
exposure to pollution--and how biological consequences might then
have further effects on cultural, social, and economic systems.
Contributors to the volume offer case studies on health, nutrition,
and violence among prehistoric and historical peoples in the
Americas; theoretical chapters on nonracial approaches to human
variation and the development of critical, humanistic and political
ecological approaches in biocultural anthropology; and explorations
of biological conditions in contemporary societies in relationship
to global changes.
"Building a New Biocultural Synthesis" will sharpen and enrich the
relevance of anthropology for understanding a wide variety of
struggles to cope with and combat persistent human suffering. It
should appeal to all anthropologists and be of interest to sister
disciplines such as nutrition and sociology.
Alan H. Goodman is Professor of Anthropology, Hampshire College.
Thomas L. Leatherman is Associate Professor of Anthropology,
University of South Carolina.
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