National Races: Transnational Power Struggles in the Sciences and Politics of Human Diversity, 1840-1945

National Races explores how politics and transnational science interacted in the 19th and early 20th centuries to produce racialized national identity discourses. It demonstrates the historical role of physical anthropologists' "national races" in racism, race science, and nationalism, and the tensions between nationalism and transnationalism. The book supplements the traditional focus on France, Britain, and Germany with case studies and examples from other countries and among Jewish anthropologists.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 402 pages
\n Publication date: 01 June 2021
\n Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
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National Races is a groundbreaking collection of essays that explores the intricate relationship between politics, transnational science, and the construction of racialized national identity discourses in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Through a comprehensive examination of the work of physical anthropologists, the book demonstrates the profound historical impact of the concept of "national races" on racism, race science, and nationalism.

Contributors to this volume address a central tension in anthropological race classification. On the one hand, some classifiers were nationalists who explicitly or implicitly used race narratives to promote political agendas. On the other hand, a transnational community of race scholars resisted the centrifugal forces of nationalism and worked collaboratively to develop an interdisciplinary project that used biological race classification to explain the history, geography, relationships, and psychologies of nations.

National Races takes a unique approach by examining transnational science from the perspective of its peripheries. The book supplements the traditional focus of historians on France, Britain, and Germany with a wealth of case studies and examples of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century racial and national identities in countries such as Russia, Italy, Poland, Greece, and Yugoslavia. Additionally, it explores the experiences of Jewish anthropologists within this context.

By delving into the complexities of this historical period, National Races offers a valuable contribution to our understanding of the intersection of politics, science, and identity. It challenges us to reevaluate our assumptions about race, ethnicity, and nationalism and encourages us to explore the ways in which these constructs have been used to justify discrimination, violence, and oppression.

In conclusion, National Races is a must-read for anyone interested in the history, politics, and sociology of race and identity. It provides a rich and nuanced analysis of a critical period in world history and offers valuable insights into the ongoing struggles for social justice and equality.

\n Weight: 602g\n
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 28 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781496225849\n \n