Racism or a Modality of Biologicism? A Phenomenon Filled with Relationships

The intention of this article is to propose a more appropriate term for the nomination of racist practices and provide a purely relational analytical perspective, through the determination and systematization of the articulations involved. It is a work of theoretical discussion built on three proble...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zeballos, Juan Manuel
Format: Online
Language:spa
Published: Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41343
Description
Summary:The intention of this article is to propose a more appropriate term for the nomination of racist practices and provide a purely relational analytical perspective, through the determination and systematization of the articulations involved. It is a work of theoretical discussion built on three problems, namely: How to name a social phenomenon (racism) that is based on a notion (human races) lacking biological support? What relationships does it include? And what is the reason for its permanence? There are three hypotheses that answer them. Firstly, the enunciative contradiction is resolved by introducing the expression “biology”. Secondly, the relationships it comprises are three: the technical one, between the physical dimension and the other human spheres; the hierarchical one, based on differential evaluations (through the dialectic of the norm-ideal/anomaly-degrading categories); and, the instrumentality one, based on the interests that it promotes and conceals. And, finally, survival is based on such instrumentalization by the hegemonic classes. There are two contributions. On the one hand, and from a somewhat interdisciplinary position, there is the justification of the use of a concept with greater precision. And, on the other, there is a need for clarification of the coupled relationships involved. Methodologically, we proceed by examining historical sources and relevant sociological and anthropological bibliography.