Overview
The lecture discusses the history and persistence of scientific racism, highlighting how pseudoscience has been used to justify racial inequality and how these ideas have evolved over time.
Origins of Scientific Racism
- Scientific racism is the belief that races have biological, moral, and intellectual differences.
- Carolus Linnaeus was the first scientist to classify humans into races with distinct traits.
- Early scientific racism included measuring brain size with mustard seeds to justify hierarchy.
Intelligence Testing and Eugenics
- Intelligence testing was misused to claim intellectual superiority of certain races.
- Henry H. Goddard gave intelligence tests to immigrants at Ellis Island; low scores were used to promote immigration restrictions.
- Eugenicists believed in improving population fitness through immigration limits and sterilization.
- Over 60,000 people in the U.S. were sterilized due to low intelligence test scores.
Influence and Expansion of Eugenics
- Madison Grant’s 1916 book argued for Nordic superiority and sterilization of "inferior" races.
- Adolf Hitler adopted Grant’s ideas, leading to forced sterilizations and later the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.
Persistence of Pseudoscientific Racism
- In 1994, "The Bell Curve" argued that intelligence is hereditary and varies by race.
- Books and dissertations in the 2000s repeated claims of racial differences in intelligence, promoting anti-immigrant policies.
- Sociologists label these views as pseudoscience—claims lacking real scientific support and driven by bias.
Current Scientific Understanding
- Modern science finds no basis for dividing humans into genetically distinct races.
- Social environment significantly influences intelligence.
- Despite evidence, scientific racism persists and evolves with scientific discourse.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Scientific Racism — The misuse of science to claim inherent differences between races.
- Eugenics — A movement advocating controlled breeding to "improve" population genetics.
- Pseudoscience — Practices or beliefs presented as scientific but lacking real evidence.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review the definitions and historical examples of scientific racism and eugenics.
- Prepare for discussion on the impact of pseudoscience on social policy.