Is Science Racist?

Debating Race

by Jonathan Marks

Every arena of science has its own flash-point issues―chemistry and poison gas, physics and the atom bomb―and genetics has had a troubled history with race. As Jonathan Marks reveals, this dangerous relationship rumbles on to this day, still leaving plenty of leeway for a belief in the basic natural inequality of races.

The eugenic science of the early twentieth century and the commodified genomic science of today are unified by the mistaken belief that human races are naturalistic categories. Yet their boundaries are founded neither in biology nor in genetics and, not being a formal scientific concept, race is largely not accessible to the scientist. As Marks argues, race can only be grasped through the historically, experientially, politically.

This wise, witty essay explores the persistence and legacy of scientific racism, which misappropriates the authority of science and undermines it by converting it into a social weapon.

Genres: Science, Race, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Eugenics, Social Science

140 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2017

Reviews

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published by Polity in March of 2017.

If you have ever had the misfortune to run across one of the alt-right's psuedo-scientific webpages that discuss the genetics of race and how science proves one race is smarter/better/nicer/whatever than other races you will see the need for this book.

Sadly, an author I used to Tweet back and forth with a little re-Tweeted some posts from one of these sites and I got my fill of them during one long evening. They are the internet's version of those young men marching in Charlottesville with the white polo shirts and khaki pants. Like those men, on the surface these sites were pleasant enough until you pay attention to what was being said.

They wrap themselves in pseudoscience that, unfortunately, is twisted around to sound reasonable. It is these types of people that Jonathan Marks is talking about when he notes:

"Every science has had its own set of ethical issues - chemistry and poison gas; physical anthropology and grave-robbing - but there is one question that only scientists working in human genetics and race have to grapple with. And that is: 'What is it about me that the Nazis like so much?'" (p. 25)

Marks explores the relationship between science and politics and how scientists...

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[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously this book wasn't written back when I took the course for my anthropology minor, but this should be included reading for Human Variation classes. It nicely lays out the history of science and its relationship with racism (which isn't nice). Within human groups, variation is larger than that between human groups, and differences are bio-cultural constructions.

[Elliot Ratzman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A weak book. I was hoping for a clear intro to critical race theories of science, or, perhaps, a ABC critique of the claims of race-based science that would snuff out residual undergrad misunderstandings. Instead of a series of slam-dunks clearly set out, this reads like a smug, hurried pep talk to the already-converted using a series of arguments as specious as some of the ones he is trying to dismiss. Marks posits a crisis in science around race, yet the race-believing examples he slips in are marginal and trifling, and one major culprit is a journalist. While some of the intro to race-as-historical-phenom is good, along the way some of Marks’ argument consists of: Nazis would like this study, so the study is bad; this scientist is bad on X, so he must be suspect on Y and Z. He reduces all of eugenics to a right-wing phenom (it wasn’t) and while dismissing the dodgy political commitments of some scientists, fails to note the Marxism or mistakes of scientists he favors (eg, Lowontin).

[Heidi Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
This is a very slight book, but there’s a decent amount of information packed into it. I have read a few other books about the concept of race, and this gave me some new questions and areas to think about. I didn’t love the writing style - in parts it was academic and overwritten, in others in was straight to the point and quick-witted. I would have preferred an entire book of the latter. Also, I felt that the author was quite discriminatory to people with religious beliefs. He made digs while writing about how racism is wrong, which was hypocritical and could alienate anyone with a different belief system to him.

[Chanda Prescod-weinstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

People should just read his book -why I am not a scientist- instead. It's much more carefully written and edited and contains most of the same material but more expansively. The only new material here is the cursory discussion of DNA testing, which is useful. But that should be read in tandem with Nell Irvin Painter's -The History of White People- which covers the same terrain from a historical perspective and more comprehensively.

I do recommend this book for people who only want a short introduction to the topic.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an extended essay arguing that race is an artificial construct. It is used by people to achieve economic, political and social agendas. Therefore, it has no place in scientific theory or research. The focus instead should be on genetic, and cultural diversity, economic inequality, and environmental conditions depending on the subject of study.

The book can be tedious. There are points where it gets bogged down in semantics, and repeats its arguments albeit with different verbiage.

[Karen Gevirtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, well supported, and powerful. I teach it to undergraduates because it makes complex, nuanced ideas accessible in all their complexity and nuance.

[Jessica Zu · Rating 5 out of 5]

yes, science is racist because we as a society allow it to be so and because we propagate the most ridiculous myth that science is apolitical, amoral.

[Margot Stott · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[shib · Rating 3 out of 5]

really good takes but some parts felt like omg holy yap, because i swear the same "studying race doesn't equate to studying human variation" was repeated about a million times, but just merely rephrased to appear as a completely different point.

still an interesting concept and i learned a lot as someone with little anthropological knowledge! in particular, the section on eugenics across different populations was really (mind you, horrifically) fascinating.

#theoriginsofhumansociety #barnardsem1

[Mew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice introduction to science sociology, pinpoints History of the sciences and how stereotypes shapes the scientific researches and interpretation of results. It shows how society shapes sciences and creates false evidence to racial theories instead of science proving any racial evidence with datas and experiments.

[Sam Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for a comparative studies class my sophomore year of college. Marks brings up interesting points but although the book was only one-hundred-something pages, i felt it could have been even shorter. points were reiterated too frequently, but they were insightful.

[I Read, Therefore I Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Marks's essay is a clearly written, fascinating read about the misuse of genetics and anthropology with clear arguments that I found compelling.

[Mills College Library]

500.89 M34 2017

[Diana Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was useful, and also (I did not expect this) extremely funny. It's a little book with a big message: I want to buy a lot of copies to give away.

[Mannie Liscum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This concise informative treatise on race and science is getting added to my required reading for my honor eugenics course at Mizzou!!! Jon Marks knocks it out of the park in a brief 128 pages.