Race and Other Arbitrary Categorizations

Groups: Your Color groups

Goals:

    • To give an example of discordant and concordant variation

    • To illustrate the arbitrary nature of racial (and other cultural) categorizations

    • To solidify the concept of race as a cultural construct in the minds of students

Procedure:

    1. Within your color group, compare birth dates. Divide into roles based on your age, as follows:

        1. Youngest member of group: recorder The recorder will take notes on the group's discussion. If anything needs to be turned in, the recorder will do so.

        2. Second-youngest member: time-keeper The time-keeper makes sure the group stays focused on the activity and completes the steps on time.

        3. Second-oldest member: presenter The presenter will speak for the group during the whole class discussion.

        4. Oldest member: leader The leader makes sure every voice is heard, and helps encourage the group to stay on-task

    2. The recorder should write each person's full name on the top of a sheet of paper.

    3. I will hand out a small pack of cards. Each card has a stick figure drawn on it. The figures exhibit variation across certain traits. On your sheet of paper, answer the questions below:

        1. What letter is written in the upper right-hand corner of the cards?

        2. What are three traits that exhibit variation on these cards? (ex.: hair color)

        3. What are the possible states of variation for each trait? (ex.: hair color can be blue or green)

        4. Divide the figures on the card into two races, using any criteria that you wish. List the card numbers that you placed in each group. (ex.: Race 1 = #1 and #3, Race 2 = #2 and #4)

    1. Now swap your deck of cards for a deck with a different letter in the upper right hand corner. Answer the same questions for this new deck.

    2. Take five minutes as a group to discuss: Why are the two decks of cards different? How do these differences relate to the anthropological concept of race that we've discussed in class?

    3. Presenters should be ready to talk about their answers with the whole group

Take-home Messages:

    • Racial categories are arbitrary ways of dividing real human diversity

    • Most human diversity is discordant, not concordant (that is, traits do not track), making racial categories even more arbitrary

    • Most human differences are continual, not categorical, again making racial categories even more arbitrary

Reflection

Take five minutes to reflect on the activity. How does this activity illustrate the concept of race as a culturally-constructed category? What questions do you still have about this topic?