Race and Nature

Race and nature typically appear to be “natural” rather than social categories. People inherit their race genetically, and nature—whether in the form of a wilderness area or a person's fundamental character—is by definition that which lies outside culture. Yet two bodies of scholarship, critical race and social nature studies, have challenged the naturalness of race and nature. This entry explains the main tenets of critical race and social nature scholarship and explores some of the ways in which critical geographers and other researchers have brought together in productive ways insights from the two areas of study.