Race, Human Variation Focus of Symposium at UNM’s Maxwell Museum

The University of New Mexico’s Maxwell Museum of Anthropology presents a one-day symposium, “Race Reconciled? How Biological Anthropologists view human variation,” Thursday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hibben Center. The symposium is free and open to the public. Leading voices in biological anthropology will present divergent views of human variation.

Throughout the history of anthropology, scholars have debated how to understand and describe patterns of variation they saw in humankind. They sought to explain these patterns as races, biologically distinct groups clearly different from each other.

However, over the last 60 years, genetic and other studies have increasingly indicated that racial categorization does not fully or accurately describe human variation. To date, scholars have been unable to come to consensus on another classification scheme to better represent our understanding of human diversity.

Biological anthropologists will convene to explore the nature, causes and implications of human biological variation. The primary goal of the symposium is to reconcile various and sometimes opposing views of biological variation and to develop a way to communicate the new synthesis within anthropology and to the broader public.

The full day symposium will host nationally recognized experts from diverse sub-fields within biological anthropology who will present their research in human biological variation. Each presentation will be followed by discussion.

Through scholarly research exchange, symposium organizers bridge the communication divide influencing anthropological problems ranging from uncovering the genetic basis of disease to improving understanding of human evolutionary history. Through reconciliation of views a new dissemination of knowledge will be initiated.

The papers, discussions and synthesis of knowledge gained at “Race Reconciled?” will be published by the University of New Mexico Press.

For more information, call Mary Beth Hermans at 277-1400.

Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu