Racism at the Dawn
of the Twenty-First Century
It is widely believed that racism remains a major international problem at the dawn of the twenty-first century. The term is used in some countries and in some circles to describe hostility and discrimination directed against a group for virtually any reason. The French, for example, sometimes use the term to describe biases founded on age, gender, or sexual orientation. Usually, however, the act of racializing the Other seizes upon differences that are “ethnic” in some sense. According to political scientist Donald L. Horowitz, ethnicity “is based on a myth of collective ancestry, which usually carries with it traits believed to be innate. Some notion of ascription, however diluted, and affinity deriving from it are inseparable from the concept of ethnicity.” 1 The marks or identifiers usually associated with ethnicity are language, religion, customs, and physical characteristics (inborn or acquired). One or more (sometimes all) may serve as sources of ethnic divi
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Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information:
Book title: Racism:A Short History.
Contributors: George M. Fredrickson - Author.
Publisher: Princeton University Press.
Place of publication: Princeton, NJ.
Publication year: 2002.
Page number: 139.
This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.
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