From Savage to Negro: Anthropology and the Construction of Race, 1896-1954 by Le

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Lee D. Baker explores what the racial categories mean to the American public and how these meanings are reinforced by anthropology, popular culture, and the law. Focusing on the period between two landmark Supreme Courts decisions, Baker shows how racial categories change over time.

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

Lee D. Baker explores what racial categories mean to the American public and how these meanings are reinforced by anthropology, popular culture, and the law. Focusing on the period between two landmark Supreme Court decisions-Plessy v. Ferguson (the so-called "separate but equal" doctrine established in 1896) and Brown v. Board of Education (the public school desegregation decision of 1954)-Baker shows how racial categories change over time.Baker paints a vivid picture of the relationships between specific African American and white scholars, who orchestrated a paradigm shift within the social sciences from ideas based on Social Darwinism to those based on cultural relativism. He demonstrates that the greatest impact on the way the law codifies racial differences has been made by organizations such as the NAACP, which skillfully appropriated the new social science to exploit the politics of the Cold War.

Flap

"In direct and pointed contrast to recent efforts to minimize or obscure the significance of race as a factor in social life, Baker argues for renewed emphasis on its ubiquitous social reach and power."--Waldo Martin, author of The Mind of Frederick Douglass

Author Biography

Lee D. Baker is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and African American Studies at Columbia University and Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University.

Table of Contents

  LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS                                ACKNOWLEDGMENTS                                      Introduction                                         Chapter 1History and Theory of a Racialized Worldview            Chapter 2The Ascension of Anthropology as Social Darwinism      Chapter 3Anthropology in American Popular Culture               Chapter 4Progressive-Era Reform: Holding on to Hierarchy         Chapter 5Rethinking Race at the Turn of the Century:W.E.B. Du Bois and Franz Boas                        Chapter 6The New Negro and Cultural Politics of Race           Chapter 7Looking behind the Veil with the Spy Glassof Anthropology

Review

"Through its interrogation of anthropological and political discourses about race and racial formation, From Savage to Negro topples historical myths about the nation's legacy of state-sanctioned segregation and racial difference." * Nation *"From Savage to Negro is more than a historic academic discourse on race and anthropology. It is truly a remarkable elucidation of the construction of race in anthropology and its influence in American politics and must be read." * Black Scholar: Journal of Black Studies and Research *". . . an innovative examination of the 50-year period between Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954), during which "ideas about racial inferiority were supplanted by notions of racial equality" in law, science, and public opinion." * Social Forces *"With care and precision, Baker shows how by the mid-20th century, African American intellectuals and leaders selectively appropriated anthropology­—specifically, the work of Franz Boas—in their efforts to affirm notions of racial equality. Thus, From Savage to Negro documents the paradoxically liberating and normalizing potentiality of anthropological thought." * History of Anthropology Review *

Long Description

Lee D. Baker explores what racial categories mean to the American public and how these meanings are reinforced by anthropology, popular culture, and the law. Focusing on the period between two landmark Supreme Court decisions--Plessy v. Ferguson(the so-called "separate but equal" doctrine established in 1896) andBrown v. Board of Education(the public school desegregation decision of 1954)--Baker shows how racial categories change over time. Baker paints a vivid picture of the relationships between specific African American and white scholars, who orchestrated a paradigm shift within the social sciences from ideas based on Social Darwinism to those based on cultural relativism. He demonstrates that the greatest impact on the way the law codifies racial differences has been made by organizations such as the NAACP, which skillfully appropriated the new social science to exploit the politics of the Cold War.

Review Quote

"Through its interrogation of anthropological and political discourses about race and racial formation, From Savage to Negro topples historical myths about the nation's legacy of state-sanctioned segregation and racial difference."

Details ISBN0520211685 Author Lee D. Baker Short Title FROM SAVAGE TO NEGRO Pages 313 Publisher University of California Press Language English ISBN-10 0520211685 ISBN-13 9780520211681 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY 305.8 Year 1998 Imprint University of California Press Subtitle Anthropology and the Construction of Race, 1896-1954 Country of Publication United States Edition 1st Place of Publication Berkerley Birth 1966 DOI 10.1604/9780520211681 UK Release Date 1998-11-23 AU Release Date 1998-11-23 NZ Release Date 1998-11-23 US Release Date 1998-11-23 Publication Date 1998-11-23 Illustrations 15 black-and-white photos. Audience Professional & Vocational We've got this

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