Lawrence Blum, Philosophy Department, University of Massachussetts, Boston
Thursday, September 27th 4:30 p.m., King 343
“So, what are you, anyway?”: Race, Ethnicity, and Panethnicity as Social Identities
What is the difference between a race, such as “black,” and an ethnicity, such as “Korean-American”? Some people say they are the same thing. Others say that there are no races, so we should stop calling things races and call them ethnicities instead. But I argue that race and ethnicity are the basis of identities that can be important both socially and to particular (but not all) individuals, and that they differ and have different (social and individual) meanings. In addition, philosophers and sociologists have not paid sufficient attention to “pan-ethnicities” (such as “Asian-American”) as identities distinct from both ethnicities and races. I will map out the important distinctions, and connections, among these three social identities (race, ethnicity, panethnicity), and use them to explore the way that these identities have meaning for individuals, the nature of “mixed” identities, and also the idea that race is a scientifically illegitimate concept.
Lawrence Blum, Philosophy Department, University of Massachussetts, Boston
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