Although I haven't gotten a hold of the Ford Film yet, from my understanding race is simply another genetic strand of our DNA that holds as much significance as any other trait. While I can agree that race may not exist, pertaining to the definition that it strongly separates humans biologically, there are socially constructed races in Kenya that do create division.
As Sutton described in the "Settlement of East Africa," appearance was something that was used to categorize people (especially by the Europeans), immediately creating a hierarchy. "...the 'Hamites' have commonly been envisaged as the 'more European-like' of Africans--in other words those peoples with lighter skins, thinner lips and straighter noses... has won a romantic admiration from the European observers. He has been hailed as innately superior, especially be he light-skinned" (39). Sutton declares this a myth in his title because of the unfair credit 'Hamites' have received; the politically correct name is Caucasoid. While the name and perception may be a myth, how that myth has influenced politics in Kenya is pertinent. Despite how these people are recognized, their appearance has shaped the way they are viewed from Europeans and Africa, and initiating a different culture and identity for this "group." People of different appearances assimilate to their own cultures, and are molded into becoming their "race."
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
One interesting thing about "race" is that the meaning of that word changes rapidly through history, and the science changes with equal speed. That's one indication, for me, that it is a socially constructed concept. Even the term "Hamite" was in common use as a race category just 40 years ago, replaced by "Caucasoid" which is now equally suspect. IMagine if the meaning of "gravity" changed that often--it would reflect some serious scientific ambiguity.
Post a Comment