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The Idea of Race as a Political Strategy: Examples from American History

February 21, 2019

2019 History Pflaum lecture with Prof. Jacqueline Jones, award-winning author of "A Dreadful Deceit: The Myth of Race from the Colonial Era to Obama's America"

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In this talk, Prof. Jones will discuss how although the word "race" is a normal part of our everyday vocabulary, the idea of "race" has a history, and we should revisit that history to learn how the concept of "racial difference" has been used by different groups over the generations to advance their interests. Since the biology of "race" is a fiction, she will ask, why do we continue to use the word and all its many variations -- "race relations," "biracial" -- today? Jacqueline Jones is the Ellen C. Temple Chair in Women's History/Mastin Gentry White Professor of Southern History at the University of Texas at Austin. This talk is co-sponsored by the Cumberland County Historical Society, the Dickinson History Department, the Greater Carlisle Heart & Soul Project, and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. Free and open to the public.

Watch live.

Further information

  • Location: Stern Great Room
  • Time: 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm Calendar Icon
  • Cost: Free