The Myth of Race

This comprehensive book begins with an anecdote from Guy Harrison, who studied anthropology at university in the 1980s and learned for the first time that biological races do not exist. He wondered why most educated people had not heard that most anthropologists reject the notion of biological races while upholding a cultural theory. I too was in the position of Guy Harrison before reading this book, as I suspect are many of you who read these words. (I asked a biology graduate if she knew this – she did not). The author traces the origins of modern racist ideology to the Spanish Inquisition and 16th century theories of racial degeneration, which became a central justification for Western imperialism and slavery. Since that time, these have been used to argue for inherent defects in particular races, when they are in fact universally distributed. In the 19th century, these ideas fuelled eugenics and fed directly into Nazi propaganda. Sussman explains the important work of Franz Boas in developing what is now the mainstream anthropological view. However, he shows that so-called scientific racism continues to be supported by certain foundations wedded to a conservative ideology. By the end of the book, the reader is entirely clear that 'race is not a biological reality among humans; there are no human biological races' even if this belief forms part of our cultural reality. This is an important corrective to many widespread misconceptions in this field.