Use of “race” is increasingly qualified in anthropology, a trend that challenges but also potentially legitimizes and reifies
the concept. What do anthropologists see as the future of concepts of race, ethnicity and use of the term “race”?
Despite official pronouncement from the Human Genome Project that race does not reside in genes, some research suggests existing clusters of genes. Furthermore, the FDA has recently approved Nitro Med’s marketing of BiDil—reportedly effective in treating heart failure in African Americans—as the first “ethnic drug.” What can anthropology contribute to the growing debates over race and genetics and race and health?
Research indicates that perception of human difference and discrimination are not innate but learned in family, school and other environments. How can anthropology better inform parents, teachers and students of distinctions between human biological variation and “race” and help shape K–12 curriculum and other learning vehicles in the process?
How can anthropology help move us beyond the understanding of the social construction of race to make a difference
in race relations and social justice in the US and abroad? What role should anthropology play in contributing to the goal of racial justice, discussions of colorblindness and debates of affirmative action?
What roles do language, perception and cognition play in our understanding of race and human variation? How can anthropology contribute to the development of a new, non-race-based language of human biological variation in the US and abroad?
The 2000 US census and recent explosion of literature on Afro-Latin communities suggests that there are others who have been rendered academically invisible by race. What role should anthropology play in identifying and addressing the political concerns of such emerging communities?
A recent article suggests for the first time, more blacks are coming to the US from Africa than during the slave trade
(“More Africans Enter US Than in Days of Slavery,” New York Times, February 21, 2005). How can cross-cultural research help
us to understand the potential relevance of this and other demographic trends for future racialized diasporic identity formations, especially in light of the growing genetic ancestry identification industry?
Responses to Sept 11 suggest race continues to undermine public appreciation of acknowledged (if misunderstood) cultural,ethnic and self-identifications. How should anthropologists apply their knowledge to reveal how race, racialization and racism influence public conceptions of human variation?
Beyond observing that race is “a biological fiction,” how can anthropologists speak directly to the unique questions and
needs of so-called multiracial children?
What do international, cross-cultural, historical, economic and political perspectives contribute to our current under-
standing of race and human variation?
How do anthropological methods and theories help or hinder interdisciplinary research and education efforts on race and
human variation?
