Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Talking about race in a scientific context

  • Published:
Science and Engineering Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There are at least two approaches that assist students in understanding complexity and differing interpretations about human diversity and race. Because differing perspectives emerge from data perceived at different levels, different scales provide a tool for understanding relationships among perspectives and understanding the differential importance of specific factors. Constructivist listening, which assists students in examining their own experiences, feelings and understanding, provides a tool for digesting complex new material and learning emotional literacy. It can be applied to dialogue about race and to classroom situations. These approaches can help students master the conceptual and interpersonal skills needed for successful scientific practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Blauner, B. (1992) Talking Past Each Other, Black and White Languages of Race. The American Prospect, Summer 1992: 55–64.

  2. Gaertner, S.L. & Dovidio, J.F. (1981) Racism Among the Well-intentioned, in: Clausen, E. & Bermingham, J. (eds) Pluralism, Racism and Public Policy: The Search for Equality, G.K. Hall, Boston, pp. 208–222.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Love, B.J. (1987) Re-evaluation Counseling: a Component in Higher Education. Reprinted by Rational Island Press, Seattle, WA, pp. 1–29 from National Association of Personnel Workers Journal 3(2), Summer 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Sagan, C. (1995) The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Random House, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Sleeter, C. (1997) Mathematics, Multicultural Education, and Professional Development, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 28: 680–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Allen, T.H.F. & Hoekstra, T.W. (1992) Toward a Unified Ecology. Columbia University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Peterson, D.L. & Parker, V.T., eds. (1998) Ecological Scale: Theory and Applications. Columbia University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Mechaber, W.L., Marshall, D.B., Mechaber, R.A., Jobe, R.T. & Chew, F.S. (1996) Mapping Leaf Surface Landscapes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 93: 4600–4603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Béland, P. & Allen, T.F.H. (1994) The Origin and Evolution of the Genetic Code. Journal of Theoretical Biology 170: 359–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Robinson, G.R., Holt, R.D., Gaines, M.S., Hamburg, S.P., Johnson, M.L., Fitch, H.S., & Martinko, E.A. (1992) Diverse and Contrasting Effects of Habitat Fragmentation. Science 257: 524–526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Gould, S.J. (1981) The Mismeasure of Man. Norton, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Cavalli-Sforza, L.L. & Cavalli-Sforza, F. (1995) The Great Human Diasporas: The History of Diversity and Evolution. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Cavalli-Sforza, L.L. & Bodmer, W.F. (1971) The Genetics of Human Populations. Freeman. San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Lewontin, R.C. 1972. The Apportionment of Human Diversity. Evolutionary Biology 6: 381–398.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Gladwell, M. (1998) The Pima Paradox. The New Yorker, February 2, 1998: 44–57.

  16. Neel, J.V. (1962) Diabetes Mellitus: A “Thrifty” Genotype Rendered Detrimental by “Progress”? American Journal of Human Genetics 14: 353–362.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Walston, J., Silver, K., Bogardus, C., Kowles, W.C., Celi, F.S., Austin, S., Manning, B., Strosberg, A.D., Stern, M.P., Raben, N., Sorkin, J.D., Roh, J., Shuldiner, A.R. (1995) Time of Onset of Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus and Genetic Variation in the b3-Adrenergic Receptor Gene. The New England Journal of Medicine 333: 343–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Widen, E., Leho, M., Kanninen, Walston, J., Shuldiner, A.R., Groop, L.C. (1995) Association of a Polymorphism in the β3-Adrenergic Receptor Gene with Features of the Insulin resistance Syndrome in Finns. The New England Journal of Medicine 333: 348–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Arner, P. (1995). The β3-Adrenergic Receptor—A Cause and Cure of Obesity? The New England Journal of Medicine 333: 382–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Nathans, J., Thomas, D., & Hogness, D.S. (1986) Molecular Genetics of Human Color Vision: the Genes Encoding Blue, Green, and Red Pigments. Science 232: 193–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Nathans, J., Piantanida, T.P., Eddy, R.L., Shows, T.B. & Hogness, D.S. (1986) Molecular Genetics of Inherited Variation in Human Color Vision. Science 232: 203–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. James, C.L.R. (1963) The Black Jacobins. Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution. 2nd. rev. ed. Vintage, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Gladwell, M. (1996) Black like Them. The New Yorker, April 29 and March 6, 1996: 74–81.

  24. Farmer, P. (1992) AIDS and Accusation, Haiti and the Geography of Blame. Univ. of California Press, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Sleeter, C. (1993) How White Teachers Construct Race. in: McCarthy, C. & Chrichlow, W. (eds.) Race, Identity and Representation in Education, Routledge, New York, pp. 157–171.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Ignatiev, N. (1995) How the Irish Became White. Routledge, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Jacobson, M.F. (1998) Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Halliday, E.M. (1998) Fuller Explanation Dept. The New Yorker, November 16, 1998: 35–36.

  29. Weissglass, J. (1990) Constructivist Listening for Empowerment and Change. The Educational Fortan 54: 351–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Cowan, P.A. (1981) Preface, in: Brown, T.A. & Kaegi, C.E. (translators & eds.). Intelligence and Affectivity: their Relationship During Child Development by Piaget J., Annual Reviews, Palo Alto, pp.ix-xiv.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Piaget, J. (1981) Intelligence and Affectivity: their Relationship During Child Development, (translated & edited by Brown, T.A. & Kaegi, C.E.), Annual Reviews, Palo Alto. Translated and edited from: Relations entre l’intelligence et l’affectivité dans le développement de l’enfant. Bulletin de Psychologie 7: 143–150, 346–361, 522–535, 699–701 (1954).

    Google Scholar 

  32. Chew, F.S. (1992) Peer Interaction Boosts Science Learning, in: Warren, T. (ed.) A View from the Academy, Liberal Arts Professors on Excellent Teaching, University Press of America, Lanham, MD, pp. 156–165.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Puttick, G.M. & Chew, F.S. (1993) Peer Interaction Formats Enhance Problem Solving in Science Classrooms, in: Proceedings of the National Science Foundation Workshop on the Role of Faculty from the Scientific Disciplines in the Undergraduate Education of Future Science and Mathematics Teachers, National Science Foundation, Washington, pp.49–54.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Weissglass, J. (1993) Small Group Learning. The American Mathematical Monthly, August–September 1993: 662–668.

  35. Goleman, D. (1995) Emotional Intelligence. Bantam, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Cohen, E.G., Lotan, R. & Catanzarite, L. (1990) Treating Status Problems in the Cooperative Classroom, in: Sharan, S. (ed.) Cooperative Learning: Theory and Research, Praeger, new York, pp. 203–229.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. American Studies Program, Biology Department, Tufts University, 02155, Medford, MA, USA

    Frances S. Chew (Professor of Biology and Director)

Authors
  1. Frances S. Chew
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frances S. Chew.

Additional information

This article was adapted from a presentation made at the “Communicating Science Conference” held at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, October 1998.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chew, F.S. Talking about race in a scientific context. Sci Eng Ethics 6, 485–494 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-000-0006-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-000-0006-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation