Anthropology and the racial politics of culture /

Baker (Duke Univ.) continues his explorations of anthropology's contributions to the study of race and culture that he began in From Savage to Negro: Anthropology and the Construction of Race (CH, Jul'99, 36-6350). The current book addresses two fundamental questions: What is the connection between anthropology as a discipline and the racial politics of culture? What is the connection between anthropology as a discipline and the cultural politics of race? Chapter 1 focuses on African Americans, with special attention to the research of the Hampton Folk-Lore Society of Virginia. Chapter 2 focuses on Native Americans and their perceptions of and reactions to so-called "Indian exhibits" at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition. Chapters 3 and 4 examine the publications of two prominent 19th-century American anthropologists: Daniel G. Brinton and Franz Boas. What motivated Brinton to change his research agenda from the study of Native American linguistics to that of African American physiology and intelligence? Why did Franz Boas's research on race and culture become so central to mid-20th-century debates about racial segregation and civil rights? This exceptionally thorough, well-documented volume highlights limitations and possibilities of anthropology as a discipline, and argues strongly for anthropology's longstanding--albeit seldom acknowledged--influence on public policies on race. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. S. D. Glazier University of Nebraska--Lincoln