1. “Native culture prevents natives from understanding their own culture”—this is what early
anthropologists thought about those they went to live with. Using the review of lecture one,
a) explain two main assumptions of this way of thinking; b) explain how this thought
organized colonial hierarchies.
a. Early anthropologists came to the conclusion that native’s cultures are not based on reality
and are instead beliefs. Because of this, they cannot understand the reality of their culture.
They believed that since Western culture is instead based on knowledge, not beliefs, they can
understand their own culture and other cultures
b. This influenced colonial hierarchies with the notion that since the natives cannot
understand themselves, and the reality of their culture, the Westerners who can do so, are
justified in their colonization. This difference between native and Western culture creates a
gap in the context of one being superior and the other being inferior. They thus feel the right
to do as they see fit with the natives, since they know what’s better.
3. About race: a) what does it mean to say that race is a floating signifier? (to answer this part
of the question, you have to define what a floating signifier is and explain how race works as
such) b) using the example of the Haitian revolution, explain what the phrase “race is an
illusion that has power” means? (you do not need to explain what ‘the unthinkable’ is... but it
would help to know what it means. Also: you do not need to use the film with a similar title
to answer this question, but you need to think about the meaning of the title!!)
a. A floating signifier is something that contains implicit concepts or meanings that replace
the object of the signifier for these concepts that are associated with it. Race as a social
construct has many such implicit associations and meanings that get applied to people of that
race. Every race has some characteristic attributes that people internally associate them with,
which often overrides the truth.
b. In the Haitian revolution, the French colonists never even acknowledged the existence of
the revolution simply because the world order that they had created did not accommodate its
possibility. This is what the illusion of race is. The slaves were considered incapable of free
will and thought, and so to the French there, what clearly were signs of an uprising were
rewritten in their minds as some trivial commotion. The racial profiling of the Haitians was
so embedded in their minds that it warped their perception of reality.
4. About race and cultural hierarchies and development: a) what is the main assumption of the
linear theory of history? b) how can cultural differences be interpreted through the linear
theory of history? c) how can the most usual notion of development echo the linear theory of
history?
a. The linear theory of history assumes that progression is the ultimate goal of all civilization,
and that the constant development of economy and society is the sign of a successfully
functioning civilization. Our cultures are strongly steeped in this belief from centuries of
advancements that have been improving our lives and increasing our abilities.
