“If Races Don’t Exist, Then Why Am I White?”: The Race Concept Within Contemporary Forensic Anthropology

Posted in Anthropology, Articles, New Media, Papers/Presentations on 2009-12-30 00:24Z by Steven

“If Races Don’t Exist, Then Why Am I White?”: The Race Concept Within Contemporary Forensic Anthropology

Focus Anthropology: A Publication of Undergraduate Research
Issue VIII: 2009
Kenyon University
20 pages

M. Todd Gross
Western Michigan University

It is fundamental for human beings to ask why and how things happen. Looking across the globe it is clear that this human tendency to explore our world manifests itself in a multitude of ways and in response to a variety of experiences. Among those who partake in the exploration of our world, some think the most honest way to answer the questions of “why” and “how” are through science. Broadly speaking, science is stated as analysis based upon observations made of an objective, observable reality. Since it involves the exploration of an objective reality, the accuracy of the labels and terms used to describe that reality are of utmost importance. In this paper, various issues will be examined in the biological and social sciences to show that the use of the race concept for Homo sapiens by forensic anthropologists is inaccurate and is both biologically and socially irresponsible. Available to forensic anthropologists are more responsible alternatives for assessing human skeletal remains, such as matching various morphological characteristics to those individuals found on missing person reports.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1
Race as Biology? 1
Race as Culture 3
Race in Forensic Anthropology 6
Misperceptions of Race in Forensic Anthropology 10
Alternatives to “Racial” Assessment of Human Skeletal Remains 13
Keeping Things in Perspective 15
Conclusion 15
Bibliography 16

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La Mulata: Cuba’s National Symbol

Posted in Anthropology, Articles, Caribbean/Latin America, Media Archive, Papers/Presentations, Social Science, Women on 2009-12-29 23:57Z by Steven

La Mulata: Cuba’s National Symbol

Focus Anthropology: A Publication of Undergraduate Research
Issue IV: 2004-2005
20 pages

Tamara Kneese
Kenyon College

This essay provides a discourse analysis of la mulata as an ambivalent symbol of Cuban national identity. In many ways, la mulata is representative of Cuba’s sexual, racial, and economic hierarchies. On the one hand, la mulata is a living emblem of Cuba’s histories with imperialism and slavery, mirroring Cuba’s exploitation by white male foreigners. On the other hand, la mulata is portrayed as a manifestation of Cuba’s tenacity and diversity, particularly during the Special Period when jineteras, who were often characterized as mulatas, drew tourists and capital to Cuba.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Sugar, Sex, and Marriage
U.S. Tourism, Part I
U.S. Tourism Part II –The Special Period
Images of the Mulata in Brazil and in Cuban-American Consciousness
Conclusions
Appendix
References
Abstract

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