The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Anthropology is the first instalment of The SAGE Handbook of the Social Sciences series and encompasses major specialities as well as key interdisciplinary themes relevant to the field. Globally, societies are facing major upheaval and change, and the social sciences are fundamental to the analysis of these issues, as well as the development of strategies for addressing them. This handbook provides a rich overview of the discipline and has a future focus whilst using international theories and examples throughout. The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Anthropology is an essential resource for social scientists globally and contains a rich body of chapters on all major topics relevant to the field, whilst also presenting a possible road map for the future of the field. Part 1: Foundations; Part 2: Focal Areas; Part 3: Urgent Issues; and Part 4: Short Essays: Contemporary Critical Dynamics.

Race and Ethnicity

Race and Ethnicity

Race and ethnicity
Lesley Jo Weaver Erik L. Peterson

Introduction: The Race Discipline

It can be hard not to view anthropology's relationship with race as scattered, even self-contradictory. At various points in the discipline's history, anthropologists have emphasized human unity across racial groups on one hand – the obvious physical similarities and ability of all humans to interbreed – to suggest a single story of common descent for all races. Along with that perspective came the now largely accepted idea that race is a social, rather than a biological, construct. At other points, however, anthropologists have emphasized human difference – the just-as-obvious distinctions in language, appearance, and lifeways that might run so deep ...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles