Paper short abstract:

Looking through the three lenses—history, science, and the impact of race on the everyday lives of people (racism), this project presents the myths and realities of race, namely that race in the United States: 1)Is a recent human invention, 2) is about culture, not biology and 3)Race and racism are embedded in our institutions and everyday life. Although the materials that make up this project are aimed at a lay audience (a traveling museum exhibit, a public website, and educational materials as noted above) they parallel and complement what educators will want students to understand and discuss about race in the classroom. How do we in the 21st century link together race, culture, and structural inequality? How do we as anthropologists explore the importance of race inside the discipline of anthropology and outside the academy? What exactly do we have to say about race?

Paper long abstract:

In 2001, the AAA launched the planning for a public education project that we ultimately called "Race: are we so different?" (See www.understandingrace.org for a listing of the national advisory board, many organizational collaborators and the sponsors; NSF and the Ford Foundation.) The project is designed as a museum exhibit, a robust interactive website, and educational materials to educate scholars, undergraduate and graduate students, K-12 teachers, K-12 students, and the adult public about issues surrounding "race" and human variation. Because most adults in the United States continue to hold some version of the idea that race is based on some essentialist notions of biology and that biology must explain at least some of the racial differences in behavior, economic status and disease, one major purpose of this project is to develop an effective educational program and curricular materials to discredit these widely-held myths. The project is intended to show how culture actually creates race over time in a dynamic and ever-changing way. Specifically, the education program looks at the origins of "race"; explains human biological diversity and the biological implications of race; considers the social and cultural construction of race; provides a cross-cultural perspective on "race"; and addresses the misconceptions of "race" and human biological diversity that result in racism. Research implications from this almost decade old project will be discussed. Content from the project has been seen by over a million people. Presenter will share findings about what is being learned; and what new research questions are being asked.

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