133 MSU

Worksheet 1: The Enlightenment (see The Idea of Race for answers)

For these worksheets, you will work by yourself. Turn your finished copy into the Assessment folder on D2L.

1. What do you suppose was the catalyst for so much “race thought” during the 18th century?

2. What is the “comparative project” of the Enlightenment and why is this important? (you might have to guess). What is being compared? Why is it “unfair?”

3. Bernier (1684): What do you think is Bernier’s main contribution to the discussion on race?

4. How many races did Bernier identify? What are they?

5. Which “race” was Bernier “confused” about? Why?

6. What other matter preoccupied Bernier?

7. Voltaire (1765): How many races does Voltaire identify?

8. What are polygenism and monogenism? Which is Voltaire?

9. What does Voltaire say about climate?

10. What does he think made the races different?

11. Kant (1777): Kant says Enlightenment is “man’s emergence from self-incurred immaturity.” What does he mean?

12. How many races does Kant identify?

13. Does Kant believe in mono or polygenism? How do you know this?

14. How does Kant explain phenotypic differences?

15. What does Kant say about Voltaire?

16. Von Herder (1784): What does v. Herder say about races?

17. What does v. Herder think differentiates ‘peoples?’

18. What are v. Herder’s views on what we would call “evolution?” (remember: this is before Darwin and “evolution” was not a term used in v. Herder’s time)

19. Blumenbach (1795): What was Blumenbach’s “big contribution?”

20. How many races did Blumenbach identify? Are races the same as species?

21. Why did Blumenbach choose the term “Caucasian?”