Theories of Race and Ethnicity

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer discusses the concept of race. The writer points out that the concept of race is not valid from a biological point of view, due to what has been discovered through DNA research. The writer claims that the work of Michael Banton and Henry E. Hale, and the essays of Michael J. Bamshad / Steve E. Olson and Satel give the reader plenty of ideas from which to cull out the meaning of "race" and "ethnicity." The writer concludes by pointing out that there really is no "race" per se; the world is made up of cultural groups based on their own attraction and relationship to others of like cultures.

From the Paper:

"That said, the issue is more complicated than merely saying that race and biology are now officially divorced, and that is simply because medicine is involved. And in the past, when medicine became intertwined with race, ethnic peoples of color and biology, a reader learns to his utter horror, shame and brutally callus disregard for human life, is sometimes not far behind. For example, Satel explains that when the "Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment" was conducted (hundreds of sharecroppers - African-Americans - were part of the experiment but never told they had syphilis), those humans (incredibly) were not given penicillin, and many died. Using humans as guinea pigs in a study of what happens to the body when syphilis is left untreated borders on the viciousness of some of Nazi Germany's "human experiments" on innocent Jews."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Banton, Michael. (1995). Rational Choice Theories (Theories of Ethnicity). American Behavioral Scientist, 38(3), 478-498.
• Banton, Michael. (2000). The Idiom of Ethnicity (Debate). Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 26(3), 535-543.
• Bamshad, Michael J., & Olson, Steve E. (2003). Does Race Exist? Scientific American, Retrieved 14 Jan. 2007 from http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleId=00055DC8-3BAA-1FA8-BBAA83414B7FOOOO
• Hale, Henry E. (2004). Explaining Ethnicity. Comparative Political Studies. 37(4), 458.
• Satel, Sally. (2001). Medicine's Race Problem. Policy Review, Hoover Institution. Retrieved 15 Jan. 2007 from http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/3462856.html.

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