Language Of Race
The Language of Race
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Citation
Levinson, Meira. 2003. The Language of Race. Theory and
Research in Education 1, no. 3: 267-281.
Published Version
doi:10.1177/1477878503001003001
Accessed
March 3, 2015 2:04:52 PM EST
Citable Link
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:10860769
Terms of Use
This article was downloaded from Harvard University's DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-ofuse#LAA (Article begins on next page)
The Language of Race
Meira Levinson
(Review of Lawrence Blum, “I’m Not a Racist, But…”: The Moral Quandary of Race (Ithaca;
Cornell University Press, 2002). Theory and Research in Education 1(3), pp. 267-281.)
Lawrence Blum’s book, “I’m Not a Racist, But…”: The Moral Quandary of Race, is excellent and thought-provoking. It is a model of moral philosophy done well, and, as importantly, done with a purpose. At no point does one wonder, as one does with all too much moral philosophy these days, “Why does this matter?” Blum makes it clear from the start why we should care about the language and concepts of race and racism, and he does a brilliant job of integrating careful philosophical analysis with contemporary examples, historical explication, and creative thought experiments.
Blum’s purpose is basically two-fold: first, to fight against racism and racial injustice by proving that the notion of “race” is both descriptively false and morally inimical and replacing it with the more accurate and useful notion of “racialized group”; and second, to enable and promote productive dialogue about racism and racial inequality, especially between members of different racialized groups. He is explicit only about the second of these aims — as he comments in the preface and
The Harvard community has made this article openly available.
Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters.
Citation
Levinson, Meira. 2003. The Language of Race. Theory and
Research in Education 1, no. 3: 267-281.
Published Version
doi:10.1177/1477878503001003001
Accessed
March 3, 2015 2:04:52 PM EST
Citable Link
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:10860769
Terms of Use
This article was downloaded from Harvard University's DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-ofuse#LAA (Article begins on next page)
The Language of Race
Meira Levinson
(Review of Lawrence Blum, “I’m Not a Racist, But…”: The Moral Quandary of Race (Ithaca;
Cornell University Press, 2002). Theory and Research in Education 1(3), pp. 267-281.)
Lawrence Blum’s book, “I’m Not a Racist, But…”: The Moral Quandary of Race, is excellent and thought-provoking. It is a model of moral philosophy done well, and, as importantly, done with a purpose. At no point does one wonder, as one does with all too much moral philosophy these days, “Why does this matter?” Blum makes it clear from the start why we should care about the language and concepts of race and racism, and he does a brilliant job of integrating careful philosophical analysis with contemporary examples, historical explication, and creative thought experiments.
Blum’s purpose is basically two-fold: first, to fight against racism and racial injustice by proving that the notion of “race” is both descriptively false and morally inimical and replacing it with the more accurate and useful notion of “racialized group”; and second, to enable and promote productive dialogue about racism and racial inequality, especially between members of different racialized groups. He is explicit only about the second of these aims — as he comments in the preface and