Yolanda T. Moses

Race, Higher Education, and American Society

This article explores three connected premises: first, that folk beliefs about the immutable nature of race are prevalent in society today; second, that there is a social and cultural reluctance to discuss the American racialized worldview; and, third, that there is the potential for American policy makers and society at large to reembrace biological determinism and social Darwinism at the millennium. The author suggests that anthropologists have a major role to play in educating a wider public about race, cultural pluralism, and diversity in education. Anthropologists should do this by (1) articulating for a general audience what race is and what it is not; (2) providing an anthropological analysis of higher education as a public right or a public good; (3) providing an anthropological analysis of the contemporary American culture of education and educational success; and (4) explaining American paradoxical behavior concerning affirmative action.

Race and Racism in the Twenty-First Century

Race and racism in the contemporary globalized world is a product of historical forces that still resonate today. With a focus on the United States and its relation to race–racism research both in the United States and abroad. By reexamining the Atlantic slave trade, social scientists and historians tie its establishment to the development of the modern world economy. This article then examines the specific ways that these linkages are still operative in the United States and globally. The author also suggests new research strategies for understanding the specific ways to expose the depth of these structural racial inequalities, and how to begin to eradicate them.

Next Steps for a Public Anthropology of Race

: Joseph Jones is contributing editor for the AAAs RACE Project column in Anthropology News.