Superior : the return of race science / Angela Saini.
Material type: TextPublisher: Boston : Beacon Press, [2019]Description: xiv, 242 pages ; 24 cmISBN:- 9780807076910
- 0807076910
- Return of race science
Item type | Current library | Collection | Shelving location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book | Phillipsburg Free Public Library | Adult Non-Fiction | Adult Non-Fiction | 305.8007 SAI | Available | 36748002467332 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
2019 Best-Of Lists: 10 Best Science Books of the Year ( Smithsonian Magazine ) · Best Science Books of the Year (NPR's Science Friday ) · Best Science and Technology Books from 2019" ( Library Journal )
An astute and timely examination of the re-emergence of scientific research into racial differences.
Superior tells the disturbing story of the persistent thread of belief in biological racial differences in the world of science.
After the horrors of the Nazi regime in World War II, the mainstream scientific world turned its back on eugenics and the study of racial difference. But a worldwide network of intellectual racists and segregationists quietly founded journals and funded research, providing the kind of shoddy studies that were ultimately cited in Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray's 1994 title The Bell Curve , which purported to show differences in intelligence among races.
If the vast majority of scientists and scholars disavowed these ideas and considered race a social construct, it was an idea that still managed to somehow survive in the way scientists thought about human variation and genetics. Dissecting the statements and work of contemporary scientists studying human biodiversity, most of whom claim to be just following the data, Angela Saini shows us how, again and again, even mainstream scientists cling to the idea that race is biologically real. As our understanding of complex traits like intelligence, and the effects of environmental and cultural influences on human beings, from the molecular level on up, grows, the hope of finding simple genetic differences between "races"--to explain differing rates of disease, to explain poverty or test scores, or to justify cultural assumptions--stubbornly persists.
At a time when racialized nationalisms are a resurgent threat throughout the world, Superior is a rigorous, much-needed examination of the insidious and destructive nature of race science--and a powerful reminder that, biologically, we are all far more alike than different.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 208-226) and index.
Prologue -- Deep time -- It's a small world -- Scientific priestcraft -- Inside the fold -- Race realists -- Human biodiversity -- Roots -- Origin stories -- Caste -- The illusionists -- Black pills -- Afterword.
"A powerful look at the non-scientific history of "race science," and the assumptions, prejudices, and incentives that have allowed it to reemerge in contemporary science Superior tells the disturbing story of the persistent thread of belief in biological racial differences in the world of science. After the horrors of the Nazi regime in WWII, the mainstream scientific world turned its back on eugenics and the study of racial difference. But a worldwide network of unrepentant eugenicists quietly founded journals and funded research, providing the kind of shoddy studies that were ultimately cited in Richard Hernstein's and Charles Murray's 1994 title, The Bell Curve, which purported to show differences in intelligence among races. If the vast majority of scientists and scholars disavowed these ideas, and considered race a social construct, it was still an idea that managed to somehow make its way into the research into the human genome that began in earnest in the mid-1990s and continues today. Dissecting the statements and work of contemporary scientists studying human biodiversity, most of whom claim to be just following the data, Saini shows us how, again and again, science is retrofitted to accommodate race. Even as our understanding of highly complex traits like intelligence, and the complicated effect of environmental influences on human beings, from the molecular level on up, grows, the hope of finding simple genetic differences between "races"--to explain differing rates of disease, to explain poverty or test scores or to justify cultural assumptions--stubbornly persists. At a time when racialized nationalisms are a resurgent threat throughout the world, Superior is a powerful reminder that biologically, we are all far more alike than different"-- Provided by publisher.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Prologue (p. ix)
- Chapter 1 Deep Time (p. 1)
- Chapter 2 It's a Small World (p. 25)
- Chapter 3 Scientific Priestcraft (p. 38)
- Chapter 4 Inside the Fold (p. 53)
- Chapter 5 Race Realists (p. 71)
- Chapter 6 Human Biodiversity (p. 87)
- Chapter 7 Roots (p. 109)
- Chapter 8 Origin Stories (p. 126)
- Chapter 9 Caste (p. 145)
- Chapter 10 The Illusionists (p. 166)
- Chapter 11 Black Pills (p. 181)
- Afterword (p. 203)
- Acknowledgments (p. 206)
- References (p. 208)
- Index (p. 227)