Race is a social construct that is not supported by modern science. To understand this, you must understand the biology of skin color and the genetic diversity in humans. Categorizing people by race is not supported by science, but it still has very powerful social and biological consequences.
For this assignment, please refer to the readings, our lesson, and the interactive website Understanding Race opens in new window, created by the American Anthropological Association. You will explore the website and use the following features in your assignment:
- “The Human Spectrum” (https://www.understandingrace.org/TheHumanSpectrum);
- “Race and Human Variation” (https://www.understandingrace.org/RaceAndHumanVariation);
- “Human Variation Quiz” (https://www.understandingrace.org/HumanVariationQuiz).
- “Health Connections” https://www.understandingrace.org/HealthConnections;
- The Global Census (https://www.understandingrace.org/GlobalCensus).
Your Essay
For your assignment, you will write an essay addressing the questions below. Your answers should be supported with EVIDENCE (use citations and explain yourself and make reference to the resources). Your essay should be written in complete sentences, paragraph form, and standard sized text/margins. Write your essay in your own words. Plagiarism is a violation of the student code of conduct.
Questions to Address in Your Essay:
- Is race a biologically accurate way to classify people? Explain
- How much genetic variation exists within the human species? How is that variation distributed among different local populations?
- Why do we see variation in human skin color (i.e., dark and light skin pigmentations are adaptations to what?)?
- What does it mean to say that race has been reified (definition of reify: to make something abstract more concrete or real)? What are some biological or social examples of the way that race has been reified?
- What do we know about the connections between race and health/disease?
- What do you find interesting about the way race is defined in other cultures (refer to the Global Census activity)?
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