Jassem Shukr

MW 12:45-2:10PM
RACE ASSIGNMENT SPRING 15
DIRECTIONS: READ THE INFORMATION IN THE THREE (3) PUBLICATIONS LISTED
BELOW AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.
A. Race: The Power of Illusion (PBS) at www.pbs.org/race
B. Our textbook pgs 96-98
C. How Real Is Race?
https://karacv.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/how_real_is_race.pdf

1. Ancient societies such as the Greeks divided people according to: (1)
A. Physical appearances
B. Skin color
C. Race
D. Religion

2. Race has a genetic basis (1)

A. True

B. False

3. Of all organisms, modern humans (1)

A. Are one of the most genetically diverse species
B. Have evolved into at least two subspecies
C. Have evolved into different races
D. All of the above
E. None of the above

4. Two Afro-Americans can be as genetically different from each other as a

Chinese and Afro-American human. (1)
A. True

False

5. Most genetic variation exists between races, not within them. (1)
A. True

B. False

6. Our nation was founded on the principle that All men are created
equal. Yet, U.S. early economy was based heavily on slavery. Explain how
this contradiction was rationalized. (3)
Slavery predated race. Throughout history societies have enslaved others often as a
result of war but not because of race. In America, a unique set of circumstances led
to the enslavement of peoples who looked similar.
7. Why did Blumenbach consider Caucasians to be superior? (2)
He claimed that Adam and Eve were Caucasians and every other race came to be
inferior due to their geographical location and poor diets like the Africans with the
sun and heat. The original was Caucasian and every other race just degenerated
into their present state.
8. In the U.S. the general public has been conditioned to viewing races as:
(1)
A. Natural
B. Based on physical differences
C. Separate divisions
D. All the above
E. None of the above

9. Skin color is NOT directly related to hair texture. (1)

A. True

B. False

10. Race is a biologically meaningful concept? (1)

A. True

B. False

11. What is the origin of the Caucasian racial term? (2)

Attempts were made to classify humans into natural geographically distinct races
in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. A female skull that was perfectly preserved
was found in the Caucasus mountains near the supposed location of Noahs ark and
the origin of humans, hence the origin of the name Caucasian for those of
European Ancestry.
12. According to scientists, are U.S. racial categories valid? Explain your
answer (3)
The U.S racial categories are not valid because the biological attributes used to
define races and create racial classifications rely only on a few visible, generic traits
and ignore the remaining majority of human variation that exists.
13. What is a cline? Give an example (3)
A cline is a gradual change of a feature of phenotype in a species over a
geographical area such as skin color.
14. One important advantage of racial background to physicians is that it
helps them properly diagnose and treat diseases. (1)
A. True

B. False

15. One study has demonstrated that (1)

A. Contemporary racial variation accounts for over 90% of all human variation.
B. Racial classifications are stable and fixed over time
C. Racial differences in IQ disappeared when socioeconomic factors were
controlled
D. Some races are pure.

16. Race is a cultural invention (1)

A. True

B. False