.png){kind=icon}
Taking on the Troublesome Nicholas Wade
One of the co-authors of this book, Agustín Fuentes, has been a major public voice arguing against Nicholas Wade’s book A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race, and Human History. Have students read sections and/or reviews of Wade’s work. In addition, assign these writings:
http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/05/19/a-debate-over-a-troublesome-book/
http://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/news-events/news/detail/human-biology-reviews-troublesome-inheritance
Race: The Power of an Illusion
The three-part documentary Race—The Power of an Illusion is used by many social science teachers and available in most college or university libraries. It is a useful starting point for various discussions and class projects. See www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-teachers.htm for teacher resources and lesson plans related to all three parts of the documentary.
- Have the students in small groups develop 40-second public service announcements in which they explain the apparent contradiction that race is simultaneously real and not real. How clearly can students illustrate the cultural meaning and biological meaninglessness of race?
What Race Are You?
It depends on what criteria a society considers important and includes in its racial classification system. Every one of us is a manifestation of thousands of genetically based traits. Skin color, a central feature of American racial classification, is not inherently more important than any other variable trait. To illustrate the arbitrariness of racial distinctions, group students into “races” based on a variety of other traits.
- Any trait will work, as long as students are comfortable sharing it. For example, eye color, blood type (A, B, O, A/B), connected or detached earlobes, PTC taster or nontaster (test strips are an amusing way of evaluating this in class), amount of body hair, whether students can curl their tongues, whether students are lactase-persistent, left- or right-handed, and so on.
- What kinds of patterning are apparent, if any? (For example, is there any correlation between eye color and handedness? Ear lobes and blood type? Probably not.) Likewise, there is little correlation between skin color and any of the complex behavioral traits that our culture associates with different “races.”
What Is Race?
As you begin your section on race, ask students to explain to you (an alien anthropologist) what exactly “race” is, how many races there are, and how this category relates to geography, biology, behavior, culture, and so on. Usually, without much prodding, students realize the inherent problems with attempting to racially categorize humanity. This discussion also highlights stark differences in the way that students understand “race.” This activity can quickly convince students that race is simply not a scientifically valid way to classify people.