The Social Justice Speaker Series Presents:
Anthropology and Race: The Boas School and the Dismantling of Racial Hierarchy
Presenter: Robert Bourgeois, Ph.D.
Date & Time: Thursday December 5th, 2024 from 7:00PM – 8:00PM Eastern Standard Time
Location: Via Zoom
Zoom Link: Emailed with ticket
Cost:
FREE to attend
FREE CE for CPA Members
$15.00 CE Processing Fee for Non-members
Continuing Education: Eligible for 1 CE
Abstract:
A practical implication of the power of culture to shape reality and norms, which is a presupposition of multicultural psychology and counseling, is the necessity for those in the human services to suspend judgment about unfamiliar practices until they understand whether and how those practices are integrated within the cultures of those they serve.
Key words: anthropology, Boas school, race, racial hierarchy, racial determinism, culture, enculturation, epistemology, ethnology
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the three universal stages through which all humans pass, according to the sequence of progressive human development that was central to 19th century anthropological thought.
2. Explain how the terms “Culture” and “cultures” were used by the Boas school and how they represented a rejection of the 19th century progressive cultural hierarchy.
3. Summarize at least two claims and objectives of the eugenics movement in the early 20th century and its relation to scientific racism.
4. Identify the two core methods required for accreditation as an anthropologist in the new cultural anthropology and explain how these practices revolutionized the perception of the cultures under study.
Research Citations
American Anthropologist (2020, March 6 & 11) Race, Racism, and White Supremacy. Beliso-De Jesús, A., & Pierre, J., editors. AnthroSource https://www.americananthropologist.org/online-content/race-racism-and-white-supremacy.
Abraham, K. J. (2024). What is race? Epistemic ambiguity and liberal international order. International Affairs, 100(4), 1615–1633. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiae129.
Baker, L. D. (2021). The racist Anti‐Racism of American Anthropology. Transforming Anthropology, 29(2), 127–142. https://doi.org/10.1111/traa.12222.
Presenter Biography
Dr. Robert Bourgeois is Professor of Anthropology, Humanities, and Religion at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut. He served in the Peace Corps in Ivory Coast and later earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Chicago. At Albertus Magnus College, he is founder and chair of the Justice Panel Committee, which each semester invites speakers and students to engage in panel presentations examining instances of structural injustice through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching.
Post-Webinar Evaluation Form:
Post-webinar evaluation form will be provided during the event and must be completed to receive a Continuing Education (CE) certificate.
The Connecticut Psychological Association (CPA) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Connecticut Psychological Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content. 1 CE credit is available per hour for attendees who are present for the entire program. We ask that all participants return the post-program evaluation form at the conclusion of the program.
CPA and our speakers have not received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program.
