Illicit Union - Scientific Racism in Modern South Africa

Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg, 1995. Paperback in tidy condition. Stain on rear cover from old label and minor edge-wear. Contents tight and clean with no inscriptions or markings.
This volume surveys the intellectual roots of modern scientific racism which have formed the basis for racial segregation in South Africa. Dubow proposes that it is no longer possible to counter daily racism without understanding the extent to which theories of racial difference formed part of the ideology of white supremacy in 20th-century South Africa. Focusing on the late 19th to mid-20th century, he argues that racial theory was more strongly present in South Africa than has previously been acknowledged. This book marks a significant shift towards a post-apartheid understanding of race and examines why the history of intellectual racism in South Africa has been ignored. Drawing extensively on comparable studies of intellectual racism in Europe and the United States, Dubow shows that the distinct style of South African eugenics was a result of the peculiar articulation of race and class in South Africa. These linked studies range broadly across disciplines in the sciences, humanities and social sciences.