The idea that race is a biological reality has hung on longest and strongest in the parts of biological anthropology that deal with skeletal remains. In this episode we talk with two forensic anthropologists, Sean Tallman and Allysha Winburn, about how typological notions of race and ancestry have changed over time in this segment of the discipline. They have published a recent paper discussing this change (Tallman, S. D., Parr, N. M., & Winburn, A. P. (2021). Assumed Differences; Unquestioned Typologies: The Oversimplification of Race and Ancestry in Forensic Anthropology. Forensic Anthro ..read more

Racial equality is a new idea, right? Wrong! Meet Anténor Firmin, renegade Haitian intellectual of the late 19th century. He traveled all over the world, duked it out with elite scientific racists, hung out with Frederick Douglass, even ran for president -- but was exiled. Twice. On this episode, we discuss the Haitian anthropologist whose work is finally gaining the recognition it deserves, and why you've never heard of him. Here's the script with resources: http://speakingofrace.ua.edu/uploads/1/1/0/5/110557873/joseph_ant%C3%A9nor_firmin.pdf ..read more

In this episode we finish our discussion of skin color with genetic and evolutionary models proposed throughout the 20th and into the 21st century. Spoiler alert: It's complicated! Script and resources available here: http://speakingofrace.ua.edu/uploads/1/1/0/5/110557873/skin_color_-_2.pdf ..read more

What does it mean to “decolonize” teaching and scholarship? Why would we want to do that? And how? We take on these questions and more in a panel discussion with social scientists and established scholars of race Lance Gravlee, John L. Jackson Jr., Stephanie McClure, and Yolanda Moses. Some Resources: Blum, Susan D., and Alfie Kohn, eds. (2020). Ungrading: Why rating students undermines learning (and what to do instead). West Virginia University Press. https://www.powells.com/book/ungrading-9781949199826 Harrison, Faye V., ed. (1991). Decolonizing anthropology: Moving further toward an anthrop ..read more

In this episode we interview historian of science Iris Clever about her research untangling the early 20th century entanglements of the biometricians, physical anthropology, and race. She pursues this topic through the exploration of work by the statistician and Galton protégé, Karl Pearson, and one of Pearson’s favorite students, Geoffrey Morant. Morant, who publicly opposed Nazi racism in the 1930s and 40s maintained the biological reality of race and the possibility of racial differences in mental characteristics. Resources: Clever, I., & Ruberg, W. (2014). Beyond Cultural History? The ..read more

In this episode we talk with Paul Wolff Mitchell, of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, about the skull measurements of 19th century founding father of the American School of Anthropology, Samuel George Morton. Morton used his skull measurements to provide scientific support for polygenism (multiple origins of human races), slavery, and the ranking of races (as we discussed in earlier episodes: Monogenism and Polygenism and Morton and Gould--Polygeny Side B). Mitchell has analyzed Morton’s handwritten notes in an attempt to shed further light on the issue of Mort ..read more

In this episode, Jo invites Alan Goodman back to review Isabel Wilkerson’s book, Caste. They provide some context from a science and history perspective on both caste and race. Here’s the source that Alan refers to: Egorova, Y. (2009). De/geneticizing Caste: Population Genetic Research in South Asia. Science as Culture, 18(4), 417-434. doi:10.1080/09505430902806975 Speaking of Race, Race in India playlist: https://soundcloud.com/user-88955638/sets/race-in-india Wilkerson, I. (2020). Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. New York: Random House ..read more

Did you know that how your neighborhood was assessed by a government agency over 70 years ago had an impact on your health and even your voting rights today? In this episode we talk about how the Home Owners Loan Corporation gave systemic racism in the U.S. a huge boost with their neighborhood ratings from the 1930s to the 1950s! Script: http://speakingofrace.ua.edu/uploads/1/1/0/5/110557873/redlining_health_and_voting.pdf Sources: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (9/23/2020). Growing Disapproval of Protests Against Police. Retrieved from https://apnorc.org/?post_type=project&p ..read more

In this episode, we share an interview with Clarence Gravlee and Connie Mulligan, who talk about their cutting-edge research on racism and its effects on our genes (yes, you heard that right!). They show how experiences of racism have direct effects on the telomeres (the caps on the ends of our DNA) that control aging and cell death, literally wearing down our bodies over time and contributing to many of the race-based health disparities we see today. This work is right in line with our race and health mini-series, as well as our recent episode on racism and the COVID pandemic. Resources: Our ..read more

A brief discussion of what Speaking of Race is all about. Transcript and links: http://speakingofrace.ua.edu/uploads/1/1/0/5/110557873/what_is_speaking_of_race.pdf Episodes mentioned: What you don’t see when you don’t look https://youtu.be/1pwQuN4AM7k THE PROTESTS ABOUT THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD http://speakingofrace.ua.edu/podcast/the-protests-about-the-death-of-george-floyd THE BEGINNING OF RACE http://speakingofrace.ua.edu/podcast/the-beginning-of-race RACE IN BRAZIL http://speakingofrace.ua.edu/podcast/august-26th-2018 RACISM AND BLACK BODIES http://speakingofrace.ua.edu/podcast/racism-and ..read more