In the past few sessions, we have focused on the composition of race and whether or not it is justified by science. Consequently, the notion of culture has also presented itself in our reading, as well as classroom lectures. Going back to Alain Locke's piece, he argues that race and culture are variables, but not constants. They are significant but not organic or causal relationships. According to Locke, race is a matter of "social heredity" and not biological. Therefore, we need to view race as a culture-type or social-type. Through Locke's Reversal of Emphasis, we see that Locke argues it is culture that influences race. So according to this idea, we must say that culture produces the traits that distinguish races.
If this is the case, can we say that race is still relevant? Yes. We have to regard it as one of many conditions that we value in culture. So does that mean a specific race is characterized by a specific culture? Sure there are common characteristics that are widely associated with different races, but I do not think one's race necessarily defines his or her culture. For example, a person can be African American, but that does not mean he or she will identify with every aspect of the African American culture. What if that person does not live in an environment where black life is a main factor? That does not mean the person is not African American. He or she just identifies with a different culture than what is commonly associated with African Americans.
The way I see it is a person's race is essentially defined by his or her physical characteristics and not necessarily the culture in which the person identifies with. Races are constructed with several cultures, and there is not just one culture to describe each race. Every race is made up of a huge array of cultures, and I think that is what makes this whole concept of race so interesting.
So here's a video that I found that basically gives an example of what I mean by your race does not define your culture. You can watch the whole thing, but I mainly focused on the first two minutes. And fair warning: it gets pretty vulgar, but we've all heard this stuff before so just keep an open mind.
And tell me what your take is on the relationship between race and culture. Do you think one has more of an influence on the other? Why?
Have a great weekend!
I agree with you that race is separate from culture. In addition to the reason you gave, I think race doesn't necessarily go along with culture because the physical characteristics that we use to identify race have existed before modern cultures were formed. Different cultures have developed over time; the cultures that exist now are not the same ones that existed one thousand years ago. However, there were still people with the defining physicical characteristics one thousand years ago. If we were suddenly able to go back a thousand years and see people, we would still judge the people we saw as being black or white or something else even though cultures were different.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that race is separate from culture. I also believe, however, that race can influence cultural practices, but that environment can play a major role in determining cultural traditions. I actively participate in some cultural practices that are primarily linked to the African-American race. Nonetheless, this may be a direct cause of the environment in which I was raised. I don't think that everyone can identify with whatever cultural practices society tends to pair with their race. For instance, if an Asian child is adopted by a black family, it probably will not have the same cultural experience as an Asian child raised by an Asian family. Race, however, cannot be altered due to one's environmental surroundings because it is something you are born with that is completely out of your control.
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