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Audrey Smedley

Social Anthropologist

Audrey Smedley is currently (2019) Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University in anthropology and African-American studies. She is the author of Race in North America: Origins of a Worldview.

Q&A
How is racism different from prejudice?
episode 2
Q&A
Is there a distinction between race and racism?
episode 2
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Why are there different levels of advancement in varying countries by race?
episode 2
Q&A
Why were black people written about so negatively in biblical-era writings?
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What role has the Bible played in the construction of racial inequalities?
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Q&A
Is the caste system in India racialized?
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Q&A
What is the origin of the word "race?"
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Slavery is long over, how does race affect us today?
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How do we dispel racist ideology?
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Are people who are similar naturally drawn to one another?
episode 2
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How is racism distinct from ethnocentrism?
episode 2
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How does the U.S. history of race and slavery compare to slavery in the rest of world history?
episode 2
Q&A
Didn't the Founding Fathers oppose slavery?
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Q&A
Why was a racist ideology so easy for white America to accept and internalize?
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Why were only Africans enslaved?
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Q&A
Has race always been with us?
episode 2
interview
Audrey Smedley
How is race a modern concept? Why were Africans enslaved? What role did 19th century ethnologists and race scientists play in shaping our understanding of race?

Audrey Smedley is currently (2019) Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University in anthropology and African-American studies. She is the author of Race in North America: Origins of a Worldview.

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