David Livingstone Smith discusses race on ‘The Scholars’ Circle’ radio program
On September 18, 2016, David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, was a guest on the radio program "The Scholars’ Circle," which is broadcast by KPFK 90.7 in Los Angeles. He was interviewed about the concepts of race and ethnicity.
Smith explained that people often think of ethnicity as cultural in nature and, therefore, as something that can be altered, while they consider race to be biological and, thus, fixed and unchanging. He pointed out, however, that ethnicities are sometimes transformed into racial notions, such as in the case of the categorization "Hispanic."
Smith argued that in reality, race is not biologically based. It is a notion created by societies, and it can, and does, change over time. The concept of race, moreover, serves as a tool to gain power.
He explained: "Race is a social construct of history and economics… particularly in the context of colonization. So, I think that the notion of race really has racism built into it…It’s a hierarchical notion. It was very helpful for Europeans, in particular, to think of those whom they enslaved and oppressed and those from whom they extracted immense wealth as being fundamentally distinct from themselves…that’s how race works… The very notion of race has power and oppression implicated in it."
To learn more about the College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.une.edu/cas
To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions