 |
 |
Hi all, I think that there is a good deal of confusion present in debates about race, ethnicity, culture and nationality, and this impacts upon concepts of identity amongst individuals, groups and society (public, communities, professionals and academics). Racially, there are problems with the term 'White' in terms of accuracy, and these are in some ways, comparable to the term 'Asian', which is contested as not reflecting the diversity of Asian people. I believe that in addition to the racial confusion, there is a problem within the 'White' component of society, in that consideration of its own racial and ethnic identity have been the terrain of extreme / white supremacist / reactionary organisations. As a White British contributor to this list, I hope I am not seen as wishing to promote a backward-looking model of racial identity with all that baggage. However, all racial and ethnic identities have their own history, and are embroiled in human history. Should this mean that the White section of society must continue to let a mainly shameful history get in the way of owning an accurate racial identity? I would hope not. The difficulty is that not to engage this as accurately as we do with other racial and ethnic components of society only fosters the cult of white victim-hood - falsely portrayed by the enemies of equality. If this can occur around something as easy as race, then what happens when ethnic, cultural and nationality issues are thrown into the mix? Sorry about a lack of academic referencing, but I hope this has added something to the discussion. I will keep tuned. Regards Pete Hoey Planning Development Officer (Diversity & Substance Use) Safer Stronger Communities Service, Room G01, The Deighton Centre, Deighton Road, Huddersfield, HD2 1JP 01484 226932 / 07966 459243 www.saferkirklees.co.uk ( http://www.saferkirklees.co.uk/ ) Have you visited our e-learning site yet: www.drugtraining4free.co.uk ( http://www.drugtraining4free.co.uk/ ) >>> Raj Bhopal <[log in to unmask]> 12/01/2009 09:15 >>> colleagues, this is a very well developed, and recorded debate, and here are a couple of articles that will lead you into it (Blumenbach was a highly sensitive and non-racist person whose message of human unity was misunderstood): Bhopal R. The beautiful skull and Blumenbach's errors: the birth of the scientific concept of race. BMJ 2007 Dec 22;335(7633):1308-9. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/335/7633/1308?ijkey=ndHaeJfbUjNzplG&keytype=ref Bhopal R S, Donaldson L J. White, European, Western, Caucasian or what? Inappropriate labelling in research on race, ethnicity and health. Am J Pub Health 1998;88:1303-1307 you will also find more in my more general publications: Bhopal R. Glossary of terms relating to ethnicity and race: for reflection and debate. Journal Epidemiology & Community Health 2004;58:441-45. Bhopal RS. Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies; foundations for better epidemiology, public health, and health care. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, pp 357. http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198568179 Raj R S Bhopal, Bruce and John Usher Professor of Public Health Public Health Sciences Section, Division of Community Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH89AG Telephone (0)1316503216 (switchboard extension 1000), Fax (0)1316506909 Departmental website: http://www.chs.med.ed.ac.uk ( http://www.chs.med.ed.ac.uk/ ) Free books and documents on the Epidemic of Coronary Heart Disease in South Asians http://www.sahf.org.uk ( http://www.sahf.org.uk/ ) The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336. Mark Johnson wrote: > 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 > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *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-19^th 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 ( 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) > -- The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.