Suchergebnisse

The development of a "Black radical" approach to analyzing the connection between race, class, & gender in the contemporary US is addressed. The thought of various 20th-century African American scholars, especially that of W. E. B. Du Bois, is reviewed; despite the relevance of Du Bois's thought for establishing a Black radical critique, it is noted that his works overlook the systematic gender oppression in the African American community. Twentieth-century Black feminist thought is subsequently examined, emphasizing the influence that the Civil Rights Movement & various African American groups (eg, the Black Panthers) had on such thinking. It is then argued that late-20th-century Black radical feminism had recognized the failure in relevant scholarship to link class oppression with both race & gender. The formation of the Black Radical Congress (BRC) in 1998, the movement's principal worldview & primary objectives, & the obstacles currently facing the BRC in meeting its goals are also studied. It is concluded that the BRC must promulgate an approach that acknowledges the connection between class, race, & gender within capitalist societies. 24 References. J. W. Parker

The central thesis of this essay is that The Bell Curve must be situated in the context of right-wing ideology, a changing political economy, and intellectual racism. I contend that the interplay between those who focus their research on the so-called genetic inferiority of some groups and the resultant policy recommendations coming from such arguments must be viewed in the context of racial stratification, gender inequality, class exploitation, and public discourse on who is intellectually able and who is not. Moreover, I contend that changes in cultural meanings and practices about intelligence are heavily constructed through racist science. That is, The Bell Curve is not simply another social science research tract but reflects the politics and ideological imperatives of intellectual racism. Given this, I attempt to move the discussion from a mild intellectual exchange about the "issues" of The Bell Curve to situating this work in social, political, and economic context. The Bell Curve is the latest expression of deeply rooted notions of superiority and inferiority in Western discourses on intelligence. Thus I employ a critical sociology of knowledge framework with an eye on generating a progressive counterresponse to the public reemergence of the intellectual racism expressed in The Bell Curve.