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Racism

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Key Concepts in the Study of Antisemitism

Part of the book series: Palgrave Critical Studies of Antisemitism and Racism ((PCSAR))

Abstract

Beginning in the 1780s the Jews were often thought of as constituting a race. Early in the twentieth century Franz Boas attacked this view and in the late 1930s, together with Ruth Benedict, he promoted the use of the word racism in English to attack the biologically based form of antisemitism characteristic of some Nazi anthropologists. The word is now understood very differently. It is no longer primarily used to refer to a form of antisemitism in which the Jews as a biological race, but to a much broader range of phenomena directed mainly against Blacks. It is not only based in biology, but also in culture and is embedded in institutions. Nevertheless, the idea that racism is something that can be refuted by science persists in some circles and is a legacy of this earlier usage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Robert Bernasconi

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  1. Robert Bernasconi
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Correspondence to Robert Bernasconi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Sol Goldberg

  2. Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Scott Ury

  3. York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Kalman Weiser

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Bernasconi, R. (2021). Racism. In: Goldberg, S., Ury, S., Weiser, K. (eds) Key Concepts in the Study of Antisemitism. Palgrave Critical Studies of Antisemitism and Racism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51658-1_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51658-1_19

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-51657-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-51658-1

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