VJ

N

320
L578r

LEVI- STRAUSS

RACE AND HISTORY

THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES

IE

RACE QUESTION

IN

MODERN SCIENCE

M^4J mOll^JSJL by CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS

I

lOU

In

I

he same series:

Race and Culture by Michel Lkiris. 46 pp. liacc and Psychology by Otto Klineberg. 39 ]ip. Race and Biology by Leslie C. Dunn. 48 pp. Racial Myths by Juan Comas. 51 pp. The Roots of Prejudice by Arnold M. Rosi:. 41 pp.
In preparation:

Race and Society by Kenneth

L.

Little.

The Significance
Differences

of Racial

by Geoffrey M. Morant.

Price per volume:

$

.25;

1/6;

75

fr.

Price: $-.25; 1/6; 75 fr

THE RACE QUESTION

IN

MODERN SCIENCE

RACE AND
HISTORY
by

Claude Levi-Strauss
Director of Studies at the Ecole pratique des hautes etudes

UNESCO PARIS

Published by the United Nations Educational, Scientijic and Cultural Organization
19,

avenue Kliber,

Paris-16'^

Printed by G. Thone, Li^ge Copyright 1952 by Unesco, Paris

SS.52.II.

6A

CONTENTS

I.

Race and culture

5

II.

III.

IV.

V.
VI.
VII.

VIII.

The diversity of cultures The ethnocentric attitude Archaic and primitive cultures The idea of progress "Stationary" and "cumulative" history The place of western civilization Chance and civilization
Collaboration

8
11

....

16

.20
24 30 34
41

IX.

between cultures of progress

X.

The Counter-currents

.... .... ....

46

Bibliography

50

$

746071

I.

RACE AND CULTURE

It

may seem somewhat made by

surprising,

in

a

series

of booklets

intended to combat racial prejudice, to speak of the contribuvarious races of men to world civilization. It be a waste of time to devote so much talent and effort to demonstrating that, in the present state of scientific knowledge, there is no justification for asserting that any one race is intellectually superior or