Something that made me wonder.

[goteam]

Ok, so apparently PBS has a new series out about the history of the idea of race in the United States, and in particular the evolution of the idea that there are actual biological differences between races, and how really race is a social construct. It's called Race: The Power of an Illusion, and that link goes to the PBS pages about the program,

Comments

[kweerious]

from what i can tell, it seems that race as a social construction concept is faring about as well as the gender as a social construction. what i mean is it appears as though some people are absorbing it on an unconscious level and generally becoming more open minded, but are unable to connect it conscientiously and in their everyday. it's somewhat restricted to academic centers of thought and the literature surrounding it.

[goteam]

That more or less jives with my intuitive (?) understanding of the situation. Which is why the New York Times "everybody knows this already" review was so weird to me. Ok, maybe you think most of the readers of the Times know that (albeit not necessarily in academic jargon-speak like "social construction"), but sheesh! And for another thing, not everybody reads The New York Times. Sigh....