Racial Experience as an Alternative Operationalization of Race.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Wayne State University Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0116717 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1534-6617 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00187143 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Hum Biol Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: Detroit, MI : Wayne State University Press
    • Subject Terms:
    • Abstract:
      The study of human variation is central to both social and biomedical sciences, but social and biomedical scientists diverge in how variation is theorized and operationalized. Race is especially problematic because it is a cultural concept that contains implicit and explicit understandings of how collective bodies differ. In this article, we propose an operationalization of race that addresses both racial experience and human biological diversity, placing them within the same ontological sphere. Furthermore, this approach can more effectively advance antiracist pedagogy and politics. We argue that human biological diversity does not have to be in opposition to constructivist notions of race. Rather, racial experience is emphasized as an embodied experience that is as real and as valid as biological variation. By focusing on both racial experience and biological diversity, it becomes more feasible to operationalize race to fruitfully inform the pedagogy and politics of antiracism. To do so, racial experience must be more broadly conceived and should not always equate to negative outcomes. With the recognition that racial experience has the potential to be something other than damaging, an antiracist anthropology can more effectively address issues pertaining to racial health disparities.
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: biology; culture; embodiment; racial experience
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20161015 Date Completed: 20180123 Latest Revision: 20211204
    • Publication Date:
      20240104
    • Accession Number:
      10.13110/humanbiology.87.4.0306
    • Accession Number:
      27737592