Graves to discuss social construction of race

Joseph L. Graves Jr., a professor of evolutionary biology at Arizona State University, will present “The Emperor’s New Clothes: Biological Theories of Race at the Millennium,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, at the Fluno Center’s Howard Auditorium, 601 University Ave.

Graves’ research specialty is the evolutionary biology of aging, but he has gained attention for his writings about race and racism in America. Trained as an evolutionary geneticist, Graves became interested in the history and philosophy of science as it relates to the biology of race and racism in western society. He has published important works on race, including a critically acclaimed 2001 book, which has the same title as his talk, and a chapter in the 2002 volume, Race in the College Classroom: Pedagogy and Politics. He is currently at work on A Devil’s Bargain: The Social Construction of Race and the Fight for America’s Soul,

Graves’s public lectures on the social construction of race have been described as “engaging, witty and very matter-of-fact in his commitment to challenging antiquated myths about the biological constructs of race.” In the classroom, he is described as “enormously engaging and enlightening.”

His talk is co-sponsored by the Department of Afro American Studies and the American Indian Studies Program and supported by UW System’s Institute on Race and Ethnicity.