Victorian Evolutionary Thought and Racism Today Essay by Top Papers

The perception of race today (specifically, in Academia) has certainly been molded by the Victorian evolutionary scientists, anthropologists and social theorists of the rough Victorian period (turn of the century), according to George W. Stocking's article, "The Dark-Skinned Savage: The image of Primitive Man in Evolutionary Anthropology. This article discusses the viewpoints of the quintessential Victorian thinkers, in terms of ethnography: Charles Darwin, Edward B. Taylor, Louis Spencer and Henry Morgan. Discussing how these people set up modern hierarchical (and decidedly western) ethnic ideals, this article also applies their works to how we are (or could be) racist today: within the Academic Community.