Thanks Suman: this is correct!!!!! Nearly all South Asians except those with curly hair (?some 'Hill Tribes' or 'dravidian' groups, I believe) are Caucasian (and, for that matter, Aryan).
Mark R D Johnson
Director, MSRC/CEEHD
De Montfort University
Leicester LE2 1RQ
0116 201 3906
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From: Health of minority ethnic communities in the UK on behalf of SUMAN FERNANDO
Sent: Sun 11/01/2009 16:19
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: use of the word "Caucasian"
I agree with Lisa. For those interested in history of the myth of 'race' as a biological entity: I believe this term started when Blumenbach (mid-19th C) decided that shape of skull was best indicator of 'race' and that a skull found in the Caucasus mountains was typical of skulls of a particular race of people spread thru' Europe, North Africa and Middle-East. Incidentally today, "All Caucasian people are known as 'blacks' by Russian people." This is from an article in The Guardian some years ago at the time of the Russian attacks in Chechnya and intense racism in Russia against people from Chechnya. Perhaps still applies.
Suman
Suman Fernando
<http://www.sumanfernando.com>
Hon. Senior Lecturer in Mental Health
European Centre for Migration & Social Care (MASC)
University of Kent at Canterbury, Kent CT2 7LZ
Visiting Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences
London Metropolitan University
________________________________
From: Health of minority ethnic communities in the UK [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lisa Fontes
Sent: 11 January 2009 15:26
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: use of the word "Caucasian"
Hi All!
I thought maybe we could get a little dialogue going about the word "Caucasian" which I find highly problematic, but which seems to persist even among enlightened people.
The word Caucasian began to be used for "white people" when the major racial groups were termed Negroid, Mongoloid and Caucasoid. It was coined when people thought racial groups were largely biologically determined and not--as we now know--mostly socially determined and virtually meaningless from a biological standpoint.
I cringe when I see the word "Caucasian" used for people of European origin. It has strong racist connotations for me. I use "white people" or "people of European origin" or--when in the United States--"European Americans". Granted, none of these terms is perfect--but I find them less problematic than the term "Caucasian.' What do others think?
Lisa Fontes, Ph.D.
Author: Interviewing Clients Across Cultures: A Practitioner's Guide (2008, Guilford Press)
Child Abuse & Culture: Working with Diverse Families (2008, Guilford Press)
