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쏋 쏋 쏋

Race and Ethnicity:

In 1999, 21-year-old Benjamin Smith spent the July 4th weekend cruising in his car in Chicago
and central Indiana areas shooting at African Americans, Orthodox Jews, and Asians. In this
three-day shooting spree, two were killed and nine were wounded before Smith shot and killed
himself during a police chase. The African American killed was Rick Birdsong, a former basket-
ball coach at Northwestern University. He was jogging with his children when he was shot in the
back. Won Joined Soon, a Korean graduate student at Indiana University, was killed outside of a
Korean church.
Benjamin Smith was a former member of the World Church of the Creator, which is
currently led by Matt Hale of East Peoria, Illinois. Hale refers to himself as Pontifex Maximus
and teaches that only white Anglo-Saxons are true human beings, descendants of Adam and Eve.
Jews are believed to be illegitimate offspring of Eve and Satan, and African Americans and other
people of color are descendants of inferior non-Adamite anthropoids called “mud people.” The
church believes that the United States should be “cleansed” of all Jews and nonwhites.
The church’s Web site features a discussion of the mental inferiority of African Americans, with
a reference to Canadian psychologist Philippe Rushton’s “scientific” research confirming
this view.
Although groups such as the World Church of the Creator are small, with only a few
thousand members, their influence seems to be on the rise. For many years, most social scientists
believed that racism and ethnic conflict were going to decline. However, the Southern Poverty
Law Center ([Link]), a group that has been a leading authority on reporting hate groups,
indicates that since 2000 there are a record number of 926 hate groups in the United States, an
increase of more than 50 percent. These hate groups include Klu Klux Klan cells, Neo-Nazi
sects, white nationalists, racist skinheads, and other merchants of hate. Despite the fact that the
current U.S. president is an African American and the United States has politicians who are

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2 Chapter 1 • Race and Ethnicity: Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives

Jewish, Muslim, and Hispanic, hate groups and and discrimination persists in U.S. society (and
racism are still a reality in U.S. society and the elsewhere throughout the world). The claim that
world. race or ethnicity does not matter any longer in the
Some commentators have suggested that United States or elsewhere has to be viewed with
since Obama was elected as president, the United a great deal of skepticism.
States has become a post-racial society. In And in other parts of the world, extremist
one major interpretation of this post-racial phe- racist and ethnic groups have emerged within the
nomenon, Obama represents the fulfillment of past two decades. For example, in the former East
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famed “I Have a Germany there has been a rise of a neo-Nazi
Dream” speech in 1963 in which he suggested a movement among German youth who resent the
future U.S. society where all humans would be immigration of nonwhites into their society.
judged by the content of their character, rather Ethnic extremism among the Hutu and Tutsi
than the color of their skin. This interpretation of peoples in Central Africa has resulted in tragic
post-racial suggests that President Obama’s elec- genocidal policies. Conflicts among Serbs,
tion has ended prejudice and discrimination based Croatians, and Bosnians in Yugoslavia, Tamils
on skin color or ethnicity and the reduction of and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, Jews and Arabs in
inequality in income, education, and political Israel, and so-called “white Europeans” and “peo-
power. However, as the various chapters in this ple of color” in the United States are ongoing.
textbook will indicate, the term post-racial Everywhere one looks, ethnic conflict seems to
appears to be a greatly exaggerated interpretation be emerging worldwide. Although the causes of
of Barack Obama’s 2008 election. Racial prejudice these conflicts are very complex, ethnic and race
conflicts remain a continuing global problem in
the twenty-first century.
Currently, we live in societies that are
becoming more globalized, with more extensive
contact among peoples of different ethnic back-
grounds and cultures. Globalization refers to the
expansion and interlinking of the world’s econ-
omy through the spread of market capitalism,
communications technology, and industrializa-
tion and their consequences. One of the results of
globalization has been the transfer of capital,
technology, labor, and media throughout the
world. Global migration trends have been radi-
cally transformed since the 1950s. Immigration
from Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia,
Africa, and the Middle East—the so-called Third
World—to the industrial societies of Europe,
the United States, Australia, and Canada has
increased substantially. For example, England
and France have growing numbers of immigrants
from their former colonies in Africa and Asia.
Furthermore, the societies in the Third World are
also being transformed by new trends in immigra-
tion. Refugees and migrants are becoming
President Barack Obama. increasingly mobile throughout the world.
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Chapter 1 • Race and Ethnicity: Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives 3

Societies that may have been very homogeneous from one another’s cultures, thereby discovering
or ethnically similar in the past are now facing that multicultural environments can enrich one’s
questions about their increasing multicultural and experience and be extremely rewarding.
multiethnic differences. In any case, many people are seeking
As we will see in later chapters, U.S. society answers to basic questions regarding these new
in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries changes in race and ethnic trends within their soci-
faced similar issues. Immigrants flowed into the eties in the twenty-first century. What are the
United States from many areas of the world. reasons for these continuing race and ethnic con-
Currently, the United States is again encountering flicts and problems? Do the claims of people like
the challenge of multiculturalism. For example, a Matt Hale and the World Church about superior
typical elementary school in Los Angeles may and inferior racial groups have any scientific
have as many as 20 different native languages spo- validity? What are the significant distinctions
ken by members of the school population. In 2000, among the races? What is the difference between
California became the first U.S. state where the race and ethnicity? What is the basis of one’s
white ethnic population became a minority. Due to ethnic identity? Why do some societies and
the increase of Hispanic and Asian populations, countries have less race and ethnic conflict than
the white ethnic population was 49.9 percent. others? Why has there been a recent increase in
Event calendars in daily newspapers announce racial and ethnic conflict around the globe? Have
ethnic festivals in major U.S. cities that originated these racial and ethnic conflicts always existed?
in many nations. All of these changes have Under what conditions do increases in race and
resulted in some reservations regarding the new ethnic conflict occur? Under what societal condi-
ethnic patterns and multiculturalism in the United tions do race and ethnic prejudice and discrimina-
States. In 1991, the distinguished historian Arthur tion develop? In what interracial and interethnic
Schlesinger wrote a book entitled The Disuniting situations can race and ethnic prejudice be
of America, which argued that ethnic and racial reduced? Under what conditions do different
separatism was the major obstacle for a truly inte- ethnic groups live peaceably together and benefit
grated multicultural society in the United States. from each other’s experience?
Schlesinger believes that extreme versions of mul- Sociologists and anthropologists are cur-
ticultural education and what he terms the “cult of rently engaged in major research efforts in an
ethnicity” are tearing apart the U.S. social and attempt to answer some of these questions. In
political fabric. He suggests that the growing fact, both disciplines have an intimate acquain-
emphasis on multicultural heritage exalts racial tanceship with questions about race and ethnicity
and ethnic pride at the expense of social and polit- issues. Anthropology was the first field devoted
ical cohesion. On the other hand, other scholars, to systematic scientific investigations into ques-
such as Nathan Glazer in his book We Are All tions about race and ethnicity. These questions
Multiculturalists Now, argue that all children persist as one of the fundamental priorities
should be taught mutual tolerance and respect for within the research efforts of contemporary
all of the various ethnic groups in U.S. society. anthropologists.
As societies become more multicultural and This textbook will cover some of the most
multiethnic, they confront new challenges. In important research on race and ethnicity by both
many circumstances, ethnic groups may be in sociologists and anthropologists. Although the
competition with each other over political and authors of the various chapters are anthropolo-
economic resources. In other cases, they may be at gists, most of them have drawn from sociological
odds over religious or other cultural differences. studies, too. But, first, we will discuss the interre-
Conversely, some people are benefiting from the lationship between these questions about race and
multicultural trends in their society by learning ethnicity and the discipline of anthropology.
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4 Chapter 1 • Race and Ethnicity: Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives

ANTHROPOLOGY: THE FOUR FIELDS universal history using the concept of unilineal
AND RACE AND ETHNICITY ISSUES evolution.1 They constructed a model of a hierar-
chy of societies that could be ranked from savage
The word anthropology stems from the Greek to civilized based on differences in society,
words anthropo, meaning “human beings” or culture, technology, and race.
“humankind,” and logia, translated as “knowledge Since the nineteenth century, anthropology
of” or “the study of.” Thus, we can define anthro- as a field has continued its research efforts of dif-
pology as the systematic study of humankind. The ferent societies, cultures, and “races.” However,
field of anthropology emerged in Western society beginning in the twentieth century, many of the
in an attempt to understand non-Western peoples. ideas of nineteenth-century theorists were thor-
Europeans, including Christopher Columbus, had oughly criticized and debunked through systematic
been exploring and colonizing the world since the and scientific research techniques. The efforts of
fifteenth century. They had encounters with non- nineteenth-century anthropologists need to be
Western peoples in the Americas, Africa, the understood within their own historical setting.
Middle East, and Asia. Various European travel- These early anthropologists did not have a very
ers, missionaries, and government officials had precise understanding of the concept of “culture,”
described some of these non-Western societies, nor did they comprehend the roles of genetics and
cultures, and races. By the nineteenth century, heredity. The development of a more thorough
anthropology had developed into the primary concept of culture and a scientific understanding of
discipline and science for understanding these heredity and genetics did not develop until the
non-Western societies, races, and cultures. The twentieth century. Because of their limited under-
major questions that these early nineteenth- standing of culture and heredity, they labored
century anthropologists grappled with had to do under many misconceptions about non-Western
with the basic differences and similarities of societies, cultures, and races. One of the basic
human societies, cultures, and races throughout underlying assumptions was that their own society
the world. and culture were superior to those of any other.
The predominant explanation that nine- This is an example of what is known as ethno-
teenth-century anthropologists offered to explain centrism, the belief that one’s own society and
the differences and similarities among human culture are superior to any other. In addition,
societies, cultures, and races became known as during the nineteenth century, most of these early
unilineal evolution. Charles Darwin had devel- anthropologists were convinced that their own
oped his theory regarding the evolution of life in so-called “race” was superior to that of any other
1859, with the publication of his book On the “race.” This is known as racism, the belief that
Origin of Species. Many anthropologists of the there are distinctive biological “races” and that one
nineteenth century were influenced by Darwin’s can rank and categorize superior and inferior
thesis, and attempted to apply these evolutionary biological “races” within the human species.
concepts to the study of human societies, cul- It was only after twentieth-century anthro-
tures, and races. These early anthropologists took pologists absorbed the new findings of genetics
the descriptions of early historians, archaeolo- and heredity, developed a more sophisticated
gists, classical scholars, travelers, missionaries, comprehension of the concept of culture, and had
and colonial officials for their basic data. Based a better appreciation of concepts of “race” and
on these data, they proposed that all societies and “ethnicity” that these earlier views could be
cultures had developed from early, original criticized exhaustively. One of the major anthro-
“savage” stages through a stage of “barbarian- pological projects that critiqued these early views
ism,” and eventually some evolved into “civi- was associated with the efforts of Franz Boas
lized” stages. Thus, these early anthropologists (1858–1942). Boas had been born, educated, and
developed models of the stages of humankind’s trained in physics in Germany. Later, he became
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Chapter 1 • Race and Ethnicity: Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives 5

interested in geography and culture and did related to the natural sciences. Physical anthro-
research among the Eskimo in the Canadian pologists conduct research in two major areas:
Arctic. Through these experiences he turned to the human evolution and human variation. The
study of anthropology, immigrated to the United majority of physical anthropologists focus on
States, and taught for many years at Columbia human evolution. Some investigate fossils, the
University. While at Columbia, Boas and his preserved remains of bones and living materials
students carried out extensive research in physical from earlier periods, to reconstruct the evolution
anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and cul- and anatomical characteristics of early human
tural anthropology (or ethnology), providing the ancestors. The study of human evolution through
contemporary foundations for the systematic analysis of fossils is called paleoanthropology
investigation of such topics as race, culture, and (the prefix paleo means “old” or “prehistoric”).
ethnicity (Degler 1991; Stocking 1968). One of Paleoanthropologists use a variety of sophisti-
the primary aspects of research that Boas empha- cated scientific techniques to date, classify, and
sized was the “fieldwork” experience in anthro- compare fossil bones in order to determine the
pology. Instead of speculating on various theories links between modern humans and their biologi-
about the evolution of culture based on written cal ancestors. For example, paleoanthropologists
materials, anthropologists had to go into the are studying the relationship of early populations
“field” and do empirical research among the of Homo erectus and Neandertals to determine
people in different societies. their precise connections with modern humans.
In the United States, Boas’s research activi- As we will see in Chapter 3, on race, pale-
ties developed into what has become known as the oanthropologists have been doing basic research
“four-field approach” within anthropology. Most on the evolution of physical characteristics of
U.S. anthropology programs feature four sub- ancestral populations in all parts of the world.
disciplines, or subfields, that bridge the natural Paleoanthropologists have developed elaborate
sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. techniques to measure observable physical char-
These four subdisciplines—physical anthropol- acteristics of humans based on their fossil
ogy, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and remains, primarily fossil bones and teeth. Early
ethnology—give anthropologists a broad, holistic paleoanthropologists tried to establish clear-cut
approach to the study of humanity through space criteria for distinguishing the evolution of various
and time. In addition, all four of these fields have “races” in different regions of the world.
enabled contemporary anthropologists to con- However, modern paleoanthropologists have con-
tribute significantly toward the study of race and cluded that these early attempts were based on
ethnicity. Though these four subfields demarcate simplistic categories of racial differences. Today,
the fields within which most anthropological paleoanthropologists have much more sophisti-
research is conducted, we need to emphasize that cated methods and techniques for differentiating
within these four fields anthropologists draw on ancestral human populations, and they exercise
the findings of many other disciplines, such as extreme caution when evaluating the evolution of
biology, history, psychology, economics, sociol- different races.
ogy, and political science, to examine race and Another group of physical anthropologists
ethnic relations. These four fields, however, offer focuses their research on the range of physical
anthropologists a unique perspective for assessing variation within and among different “modern”
questions of race and ethnicity. human populations. These physical anthro-
pologists study human variation by measuring
physical characteristics such as body size, by
Physical Anthropology
comparing blood types, and by examining differ-
Physical anthropology (or biological anthropol- ences in skin color or hair texture. Human osteol-
ogy) is the branch of anthropology most closely ogy is the particular area of specialization within
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6 Chapter 1 • Race and Ethnicity: Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives

physical anthropology dealing with the compara- possible means of inferring evolutionary relation-
tive study of the human skeleton and teeth. ships within the species. For example, genetic
Physical anthropologists are also interested in studies have been used to determine the physical
evaluating how disparate physical characteristics and evolutionary connections between Native
reflect evolutionary adaptations to different envi- American Indians and Asian peoples.
ronmental conditions, thus shedding light on why
human populations vary. Noting how specific
Archaeology
physical traits have enabled these populations to
adapt to different geographic environments, these Through archaeology, the branch of anthropology
anthropologists reveal how human populations that seeks out and examines the artifacts of past
have developed. Early physical anthropologists societies, we learn much about the lifestyles,
wanted to use biological attributes to classify var- history, and evolution of those societies. Artifacts,
ious living populations throughout the world into the material remains of former societies, provide
distinctive “races.” Eventually, however, physical tangible clues to the lifestyle, environments, and
anthropologists developed advanced research political economies of extinct societies. Some
techniques and methods that led to the abandon- archaeologists investigate past societies that did
ment of simplistic constructions of “race” among not have written documents through which to leave
human populations. As physical anthropologists a record of their past. Known as prehistoric
have learned more about physical variation archaeologists, these researchers study the artifacts
among human populations, they became more of groups such as Native Americans to understand
aware of how difficult it was to classify humans how these people lived. Other archaeologists,
into distinguishable “racial” populations. They called classical archaeologists, conduct research
discovered that traditional biological charac- on ancient civilizations, such as Egyptian, Greek,
teristics such as skin color did not necessarily and Roman, in collaboration with historians and
correlate with other physical characteristics that linguists. Another group of archaeologists, known
demarcate one “race” from another. In fact, the as historical archaeologists, pursue research with
vast majority of anthropologists have rejected the historians and investigate the artifacts of societies
concept of “race” as a useful scientific concept. of the more recent past. For example, many histor-
Thus, today, physical anthropologists have ical archaeologists are probing the remains of plan-
learned to be extremely careful with their assess- tations in the southern United States to gain an
ment procedures in attempting to study biological understanding of the lifestyles of slaves and slave
characteristics and classifications among human owners during the nineteenth century.
populations. Only after intensive analysis do archaeolo-
An increasingly important area of research gists cautiously interpret the data they have
for some physical anthropologists is genetics, the collected and begin to generalize about a past soci-
study of the biological “blueprints” that dictate ety. Unlike the glorified adventures of fictional
the inheritance of physical characteristics. archaeologists, the real-world field of archaeology
Research on genetics examines a wide variety of thrives on the intellectually challenging adventure
questions. It has, for example, been important in of careful, systematic, detail-oriented scientific
identifying the genetic sources of some diseases research that enhances our understanding of past
such as sickle-cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, and societies.
Tay-Sachs disease. Genetics has also become an Modern archaeologists have developed a
increasingly important complement to paleoan- greater in-depth understanding of past societies in
thropological research. Through the study of the various parts of the world, and have shown how
genetic makeup of modern humans, geneticists environmental circumstances and prehistoric or
have been working on calculating the genetic dis- historic conditions have influenced the societal
tance among modern humans, thus providing a development of human populations in different
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Chapter 1 • Race and Ethnicity: Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives 7

regions. They have illuminated through careful in different cultures. This specialty, called socio-
research how nineteenth-century archaeologists linguistics, focuses on both how language is used
were misled by their simplistic categorizations, to define social groups and how belonging to
and racist and ethnocentric beliefs, in assessing particular groups leads to specialized language
the societal developments of other cultures. Thus, use. For example, a number of linguists have been
recent archaeological research has refuted racist doing research on Ebonics, a distinctive variety of
and ethnocentric views about non-European or American English spoken by some African
non-Western societies. Americans. The term Ebonics is derived from the
words “ebony” and “phonics,” meaning “black
speech sounds” (Rickford 1997). These linguistic
Linguistic Anthropology
anthropologists find that Ebonics is no more a
Linguistics, the study of language, has a long lazy form of English than Italian is a lazy form of
history that dovetails with the discipline of phi- Latin. Instead, Ebonics is a different language
losophy, but it is also one of the integral subfields with systematically ordered grammar and pro-
of anthropology. Linguistic anthropology focuses nunciation usages. Linguistic research such as
on the relationship between language and culture, this has helped to undo racist and ethnocentric
how language is used within society, and how the assumptions about various ethnic minorities.
human brain acquires and uses language. Franz Another area of research of interest to
Boas was the founder of linguistic anthropology linguistic anthropologists is historical linguistics.
in North America, and his pioneering linguistic Historical linguistics concentrates on the compar-
research revolutionized the study of language, ison and classification of different languages to
culture, and ethnicity. discern their historical links. By examining and
As do researchers in other fields within analyzing grammatical structures and sounds of
anthropology, linguistic anthropologists seek to languages, researchers are able to discover rules
discover the ways in which languages are different for how languages change over time, as well as
from each other as well as how they are similar. which languages are related to each other histori-
Two wide-ranging areas of research in linguistic cally. This type of historical linguistic research is
anthropology are structural linguistics and particularly useful in tracing the migration routes
historical linguistics. Structural linguistics of various groups through time, confirming
explores how language works. Structural linguists archaeological and paleoanthropological data
compare grammatical patterns and other linguistic gathered independently. For example, historical
elements to learn how contemporary languages linguistics has been used to confirm the migration
mirror and differ from one another. Structural of the Navajo Native American Indians from
linguistics has uncovered some intriguing rela- Canada down into the southwest region of the
tionships between language and thought patterns United States.
among different groups of people. Do people who
speak different languages with different grammat-
Cultural Anthropology
ical structures think and perceive the world differ-
ently from each other? For instance, do native Cultural anthropology is the subfield of anthro-
Chinese speakers think or view the world and life pology that examines contemporary societies.
experiences differently from native English speak- Contemporary cultural anthropologists do field-
ers? This is just one of the questions that structural work in all parts of the world, from the tropical rain
linguists attempt to answer. Such questions bear forests of Africa and Latin America to the Arctic
on the relationship among language, culture, and regions of Canada, from the deserts of the Middle
ethnicity. East to the urban areas of China. Until recently,
Linguistic anthropologists also examine the most cultural anthropologists conducted research
connections between language and social behavior on non-Western or remote cultures in Africa, Asia,
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8 Chapter 1 • Race and Ethnicity: Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives

the Middle East, Latin America, and the Pacific environmental conditions or political institutions.
Islands, and on the Native American populations in The description of a society is based on what
the United States. Today, however, many anthro- anthropologists call ethnographic data. The gath-
pologists are doing research on their own cultures ering of ethnographic data in a systematic manner
in order to gain a better understanding of their is the specific research goal of the ethnologist or
institutions and cultural values. In fact, as will be cultural anthropologist. Some anthropologists use
seen in chapters in Part II, which focuses on the ethnographic data to do comparative cross-cul-
United States, ethnographers have been actively tural studies of different societies. These compara-
engaged in research on ethnic groups in the United tive studies are extremely important in discovering
States for decades. both differences and similarities among people
Cultural anthropologists use a unique throughout the world—one of the major objec-
research strategy in conducting their fieldwork in tives of the anthropological project.
different settings. Unlike the early nineteenth- Most contemporary cultural anthropolo-
century “armchair” anthropologists, contempo- gists do their research in a much more different
rary ethnologists live for an extended amount of manner than Boas or Malinowski did in the
time within the societies that they study. The beginning of the twentieth century. Today, in the
American Franz Boas and the Polish-born British twenty-first century, many of the so-called natives
Bronislaw Malinowski are two examples of those with whom ethnographers interact are combining
who used this important research strategy in their traditional understanding of their own cul-
twentieth-century anthropology. They knew that ture with formal education, and some are even
the early studies relied too heavily on superficial, choosing to become anthropologists themselves.
nonquantifiable descriptions and comparisons Thus, cultural anthropologists are becoming more
from classical scholars, travelers, missionaries, like colleagues with the people they are studying,
and colonial government officials. collaborating on research projects together.
Boas and Malinowski promoted and institu- Instead of the “lone ranger” cultural anthropolo-
tionalized the practice of doing intensive fieldwork gist doing research alone on an island among
in the various societies around the world—a isolated tribal populations, contemporary anthro-
research strategy called participant observation, pologists are more likely to reside in urban areas
which involves learning the language and culture and work with teams of people from the native
of the group being studied by participating in the population to comprehend the effects of global-
group’s daily activities. Through this intensive par- ization and related processes and change within
ticipation, the ethnologist becomes deeply familiar local regions of the world. And, as we will see in
with the group and can understand and explain the this text, many present-day cultural anthropolo-
society and culture of the group as an insider. gists are working with ethnic groups within their
Presently, many anthropologists use the term etic own society and collaborating on research pro-
to refer to the description of the culture by the jects to gain insights into ethnic interaction and
anthropologist, and emic to refer to the natives’ cultural change within multicultural societies.
point of view of their culture.2 Most U.S. anthropologists are exposed to
The results of the fieldwork of the cultural all four subfields of anthropology in their educa-
anthropologists are written up as an ethnography, tion. Because of all the research being done in
a description of a society. The typical ethnography these different fields, however, with more than
describes the environmental setting, economic 300 journals and 100 of books published every
patterns, social organization, political system, year dealing with anthropological research, no
and religious rituals and beliefs of the society one individual can keep abreast of all the develop-
under study. However, some ethnographies con- ments across the discipline’s full spectrum.
centrate on particular areas such as religious Consequently, anthropologists usually specialize
beliefs and practices, whereas others may focus on in one of the four subfields. Though the four-field
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Chapter 1 • Race and Ethnicity: Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives 9

approach tends to be an ideal for anthropology in anthropologists to consider the biological, envi-
this age of proliferating information and research ronmental, psychological, economic, historical,
data, the research in these different disciplines social, and cultural conditions of humans at all
has been important in establishing basic conclu- times and in all places. Sociologists and anthro-
sions regarding race, culture, and ethnicity. pologists do not limit themselves to understanding
As emphasized earlier, anthropology does a particular ethnic group or set of societies but,
not limit itself to its own four subfields to realize rather, they attempt to demonstrate the intercon-
its research agenda. Although it stands as a dis- nections among different societies. This combined
tinct discipline, anthropology is interdisciplinary holistic and global perspective is used throughout
and has strong links to other fields of study. this text to demonstrate how different ethnic
Cultural anthropology, for instance, is closely groups have developed unique interrelationships
related to the fields of history, cultural studies, and patterns throughout the world.
and in particular sociology. In the past, cultural In this age of rapid communication, world-
anthropologists examined traditional, whereas wide travel, and increasing economic interconnec-
sociologists focused on modern societies. Today, tions, young people preparing for careers in the
cultural anthropologists and sociologists explore twenty-first century must recognize and be able to
many of the same societies using similar research deal with the cultural and ethnic differences that
approaches. For example, both rely on statistical exist among peoples while also understanding the
and nonstatistical data whenever appropriate in fundamental similarities that make us all distinctly
their studies of different types of societies. In human. In this age of cultural diversity and
later chapters, we will see how basic sociological increasing internationalization, sustaining this
research has informed ethnographic studies of dual perception, of underlying similar human
ethnicity. A recent, allied field that has influenced characteristics and outward cultural differences,
anthropology is cultural studies, which combines has both practical and moral benefits. Although
a number of disciplines with the concept of cul- nationalistic, ethnic, and racial bigotry are rife in
ture to do research on a number of topics related many parts of the world, our continuing survival
to ethnic and race relations. Likewise, anthropol- and successful adaptation depend on greater
ogy dovetails considerably with the field of mutual understanding and cooperation. Anthro-
history, which, like anthropology, encompasses a pology promotes a cross-cultural perspective that
broad range of events. Studies of ethnicity could allows us to see ourselves as part of one human
not be conducted without a comprehensive histor- family in the midst of tremendous diversity. Our
ical perspective. These fields, as well as others, society needs citizens that have skills in empathy,
which will become evident throughout this text- tolerance of others, and an understanding of a
book, have contributed to the anthropological complex interlocking world. We need world citi-
perspective on race and ethnic relations. zens who can function in inescapably multicultural
Through their interdisciplinary approach, and multinational environments to work coopera-
sociologists and anthropologists have emphasized tively and become productive citizens, as well as
both a holistic and a global perspective. The holis- helping to solve humanity’s pressing problems of
tic and global perspectives enable sociologists and bigotry, poverty, and violence.

References Cited
DEGLER, CARL N. 1991. In Search of Human Nature: The STOCKING, JR., GEORGE W. 1982 [1968]. Race, Culture,
Decline and the Revival of Darwinism in American and Evolution: Essays in the History of
Social Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Anthropology. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago
RICKFORD, JOHN R. 1997. Suite for ebony and phonics. Press.
Discovery 18(2):82–87.
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10 Chapter 1 • Race and Ethnicity: Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives

Notes
1. The British Edward B. Tylor (1832–1917) is one Seneca Indians living in upstate New York.
of the best-known nineteenth-century anthropol- Morgan’s later work included a cross-cultural
ogists. Tylor’s major anthropological and analysis text called Ancient Society (1877),
theoretical works are Primitive Culture, 2 vols which had an enormous influence on nineteenth-
(volume 2 is titled Religion in Primitive Culture, century thought.
part II of Primitive Culture, Harper Torchbooks, 2. The terms etic and emic are derived from the
1871/1958); Researches into the Early History words “phonetic” and “phonemic,” as used in
of Mankind and the Development of Civilization linguistics. Phonetics refers to the different types
(John Murray, 1881); and Anthropology: An of sound units in languages. Thus, there is an
Introduction to the Study of Man (D. Appleton, International Phonetic Alphabet used to desig-
1881/1898). The other well-known nineteenth- nate various sound units of languages through-
century anthropologist is the American Lewis out the world. In contrast, a phoneme is a sound
Henry Morgan (1818–1881). Morgan did an unit that is understood to have a meaning within
early anthropological work entitled League of a particular language. Phonemics refers to the
the Ho-De-No-Sau-Nee or Iroquois (2 vols, New sound units understood by the native speaker of
York), a detailed description of one group of a specific language.