Naming Race, Naming Racisms

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Notes

Notes

1 In a 650-page philosophical treatise, De L”égalité des races humaines, Firmin vociferously argued his case. According to Bernasconi, Firmin's work was dismissed by his colleagues, who continued to embrace theories that placed themselves as members of the white race at the height of civilization.

2 For an excellent discussion of the role that cultural prejudice has played in the scientific attempt to identify, classify, and name human diversity, see Neulander.

3 Interestingly, Djebar interjects the Arabic term qalam into her French texts without explication or translation. According to Weltman-Aron, this silencing may represent a “resisting idiomaticity that can be read or heard but not quite understood” by Djebar's francophone readership (163). In this way, Djebar also effectively and elegantly assumes control over the sociolinguistic doors of understanding and access that have historically been claimed by the colonial powers.

4 More detailed information on the global harassment of religious minorities by nationalist parties and organizations, see Pew Research Center Report.