Mixed Race Studies

Scholarly perspectives on the mixed race experience.

Another example of the challenges associated with the use of population descriptors can be found in the frequent use of the terms European, African, and Asian. These continental terms are tremendously broad in scope. At the Tokyo meeting, for example, it was noted that even among the Japanese researchers, there was no unitary understanding of what populations should be considered “Asian.”

More importantly, these terms can, in some contexts, be interpreted as referring to white, black, and Asian, the three classic, and socially constructed “races.” There continues to be a great deal of academic work that highlights the degree to which these broad “racial” categories are, in reality, social constructs. Although we should not overlook the correlation between “race” and socio-economic inequality involving factors such as health care and medical care, such discussion has usually arisen within the context of some North American and European societies. However, outside of these societies, the divergence between samples and population descriptors is also problematic. When the actual samples in the name of “European”, “African”, and “Asian” are taken from certain limited groups, without taking into account significant diversity within each region, it is unlikely that such broad terms have any scientific meaning, at least from the perspective of genetics on the global level. Moreover, the research results may be taken as supporting the classic “racial” categories, with any discovered “differences” misinterpreted as genetically determined “racial differences.”

The importance of the distinction between race and ethnicity cannot be overemphasized as the latter pays close attention to (presumably) shared cultural factors such as language, diet, and religion. When considering the contribution of environmental as well as genetic factors to diversity within each continental region, the scientific validity of the use of such broad terms to describe samples becomes even more questionable.

Yasuko Takezawa, et. al., “Human genetic research, race, ethnicity and the labeling of populations: recommendations based on an interdisciplinary workshop in Japan,” BMC Medical Ethics, (Volume 15, Issue 1, December 2014). p2-3. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6939-15-33.

The Great Seducer: writings on Gilberto Freyre, from 1945 until today (O Grande Sedutor: escritos sobre Gilberto Freyre de 1945 até hoje)

Posted in Biography, Books, Brazil, Caribbean/Latin America, Media Archive, Monographs, Social Science on 2012-05-30 18:55Z by Steven

The Great Seducer: writings on Gilberto Freyre, from 1945 until today (O Grande Sedutor: escritos sobre Gilberto Freyre de 1945 até hoje)

Cassará Publishing House (Blog)
2011
724 pages
16 X 23 cm
ISBN: 978-85-64892-01-9

Edson Nery da Fonseca, Professor Emeritus
University of Brasilia

The book is the result of more than sixty years of study and research and offers a unique and intimate not only on the thought of Freyre, but also about his personal life. Over 135 papers that comprise the collection of articles and essays, Nery da Fonseca presents the genesis of the thought of Gilberto Freyre, identifying intellectuals and artists in a variety of chains, with which Freyre dialogued lifelong and tells stories and curious details . In addition, summarizes the main features, but also sheds new perspectives and points out aspects little or nothing known about the author’s thought of Casa-Grande & Senzala. The work is aimed at all interested in the work of Freyre, but also to all those who appreciate the art of writing.

Tags: Cassará Publishing House, Edson Nery da Fonseca, Gilberto Freyre

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Mixed Race Studies

The Great Seducer: writings on Gilberto Freyre, from 1945 until today (O Grande Sedutor: escritos sobre Gilberto Freyre de 1945 até hoje)

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