Abstract
Whether one considers classificatory schemes as arbitrary or as having a structural significance, they are, in any case cognitively neutral and can be analysed as such by anthropologists. Cognitive categories, though, once they have sprung from observation of reality or from the structures of the mind, can be used ideologically in a specific social context. By ideological I mean that certain traits of objective perception are overemphasized, while others are minimized, thus resulting in a distorted view of reality which can then be used socially for specific ends. In this way, one can say that cognitive categories get caught up in a game of impression management between social groups. This chapter addresses the discussion surrounding concepts of race in Latin America.
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Notes
- 1.
This text was presented as a paper at the 73rd annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association. It summarizes a more extended paper published only in Spanish “La Ideología del Indio y la Economía Campesina”, in: Stavenhagen, Rodolfo, 1976: Capitalismo y Campesinado en México (Mexico City: CIS-INAH): 99–129.
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Arizpe, L. (2014). Perception and Ideology in Interethnic Relations. In: Lourdes Arizpe. SpringerBriefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01896-6_12
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