Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, edited by John Hartwell Moore. 3 vols. 1,427p. Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 978-0-02-866020-2; 2007-24359. $400.

Encyclopedia of Race and Racism This scholarly encyclopedia examines the impact of Western ideas of race on modern history. The editors maintain that a peculiar form of racism emerged in Enlightenment Europe and that those ideas still color events to this day. Whatever concepts of cultural distinction that Europeans may have possessed at the beginning of the great age of exploration, with the subjugation of many indigenous peoples to Western authority, the Europeans’ rationalization of their own superiority became increasingly racially oriented during the Age of Reason. Philosophy and religion, but especially science, was used to justify the privileged position of one skin color over another. New branches of science, from taxonomy to genetics, were used to bolster a scientific racism. In turn, facial angles, eugenics, cranial indexes and other pseudoscientific theories were used to argue a difference in the so-called races and therefore a difference in their social treatment by political authorities. American slavery, segregation and apartheid are obvious reflections of racism, but historically issues of race have influenced broad areas of life, from marriage and immigration to basketball and music. While the editors of this provocative survey may miss the chicken-and-egg question concerning racism and scientific racism, the 392 articles of their encyclopedia perceptively analyze the not-always-subtle influence of racism on many aspects of Western society. From slave codes and illegal immigrants to intelligence testing and sexuality, each essay explores the distinctions between historical experience, traditional opinions and biological evidence. The focus is largely upon North America, where there is ample evidence of racism in the experience of Native Americans, Hispanics, and especially African Americans. Global perspectives are maintained in examinations of colonialism, China, religion, South Africa and globalization. Other articles explore economic, social, political and health issues. Numerous biographies highlight the work of individuals who influenced or challenged mainstream thoughts on race. An annotated filmography and a selection of 33 primary sources provide additional perspectives for examining racism. The result is an excellent tool for American cultural and intellectual history that inspires close examination of our social institutions.
—John R.M. Lawrence