Race, The Floating Signifier Stuart Hall

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(Transcript slightly modified) SUT JHALLY: As the previous clip from Spi e Lee!s film" #$o the %ight Thing& sho's" racial slurs and insults trip easily from people!s lips( )ore and more" it seems" the dividing lines 'ithin our society are *eing dra'n along ho' 'e are physically different from one another( +hat +(,(-( $u -ois called the differences of color" hair" and *one. 'hat everyone understands as visi*le racial differences( This program e/amines the inner 'or ings of the system and tries to unloc the secret of ho' and 'hy race matters so much to people( +e are going to do this *y tal ing and listening to a leading e/pert in the field( Stuart Hall is a professor of sociology at the 0pen University in -ritain and is a ey figure in the development of 'hat has come no'n as cultural studies( His many 'ritings no' en1oy an international and glo*al audience( 0n the su*1ect of race" culture" and society 'e could not *e in *etter or more insightful hands( 2 should point out" that in 'hat follo's hoards of principal focus is not on the effects of racism( He ta es those as his starting point( 3o'" as a result" some people have accused him of not paying enough attention to the practical outcomes and violence associated 'ith racism( 3othing could *e further from the truth( Hall is passionately concerned 'ith the psychological" cultural" and physical violence that racism inflicts" *ut he *elieves that!s a *etter fight against it 'e have to first understand the logic of ho' it 'or s( He 'ants to understand ho' racism is cultivated in our imaginations" of ho' it 'or s in our heads" so that 'e can *etter com*at it on the streets( +hat racism" as a philosophy" contends is that there is a natural connection *et'een the 'ay people loo " the differences of color" hair" and *one" and 'hat they thin and do( +ith ho' intelligent they are" 'ith 'hether they are good athletes or not" good dancers or not" good 'or ers" civili4ed or not( %acists *elieve that these characteristics are not a result of our environment" *ut of our *iological genes( -lac s" for instance" are *orn not as intelligent as 'hites( Hall!s *asic argument is that all attempts to sho' this scientifically" that *lac s are not as intelligent as 'hites" have failed( And yet" there is a persistent and 'idespread *elief in the inferior mental capacities of *lac fol ( To understand 'hy this should *e the case Hall argues that 'e have to pay attention" not the o*1ective facts of the situation alone" *ut to the stories the culture spins for us a*out 'hat the physically differences 'e are *orn 'ith mean( This involves e/amining the discourses that surround race( Ta ing 'hat he calls a #discursive position&( That is" analy4ing the metaphors" the antidotes" the stories" the 1o es that are told *y culture a*out 'hat physical racial differences mean( 2n fact" 'hen 'e do this" 'e see that historically things li e s in color have *een given many different meanings over the years( There is nothing solid or permanent to the meaning of race( 2t changes all the time( 2t shifts and slides( That!s 'hy the title of this program is %ace: The 5loating Signifier( +hat racial difference signifies is never static or the same( This sounds very theoretical and a*stract *ut Hall!s motivation for insisting on this strategy are not at all academic( 2t is only once 'e understand ho' racism 'or s that 'e can struggle against it and understanding it ta es hard" analytical 'or ( The lecture that Hall delivered on this su*1ect at 6oldsmiths 7ollege in London" 'hich 'e!ll see shortly" is a starting point for this 'or ( -ut first 'e are going to see an intervie' 2 conducted 'ith him 'here 2 as ed him to tal a little *it a*out 'hy classification" putting people into different groups" is so important to human *eings and ho' race fits into that( 2 also as ed him to address the political implications of his

analysis(

2ntervie' 2n human culture" the propensity to classify su*9groups of human types" to *rea up the diversity of human society into very distinct typings according to essentiali4ed characteristics ('hether physical characteristics or intellectual ones" or characteristics of the *ody and so on) is a very profound ind of cultural impulse( 2n a 'ay" it!s a very positive cultural impulse" *ecause 'e no' understand the importance of all forms of classification to meaning( Until you classify things in different 'ays" you can!t generate any meaning at all( So" it!s an a*solutely fundamental aspect of human culture( +hat is" of course" important for us is 'hen the systems of classification *ecome the o*1ects of the disposition of po'er( That is to say" 'hen the mar ing of difference and similarity across a human population *ecomes a reason 'hy this group is to *e treated in that 'ay and get those advantages" and that group should *e treated in another( 2t!s the coming together of difference" or categori4ation of our classification and po'er" the use of classification as a system of po'er" 'hich is really 'hat is very profound" and one sees that across a range of different characteristics( You see it in gender 99 the ascription of clear masculine and feminine identities" and the assumption that you can predict from that 'hole ranges of *ehavior and aspirations and opportunities from this classification( 7lassification is a very generative thing: once you have classified" a 'hole range of other things fall into place as a result of it( -ut another important point a*out classification is that it is a 'ay of maintaining the order of any system" and 'hat is most distur*ing is anything that *rea s the classification( So" you no'" its not 1ust that you have *lac s and 'hites. of course one group of people are much more positively valued than the other group( That!s ho' po'er operates( -ut then" anything that attempts to ascri*e to the *lac population characteristics that used to *e used for the 'hite ones" generates enormous tension in the society( )ary $ouglas" the anthropologist" descri*es this in terms of 'hat she calls #matter out of place&( She says every culture has a ind of order of classification *uilt into it and this seems to sta*ili4e the culture( You no' e/actly 'here you are" you no' 'ho are the inferiors and 'ho the superiors are" and ho' each has a ran " etc( +hat distur*s you is 'hat she calls #matter out of place&( +hat she means *y that is you don!t 'orry a*out dirt in the garden *ecause it *elongs in the garden" *ut the moment you see dirt in the *edroom you have to do something a*out it *ecause it doesn!t sym*olically *elong there( And 'hat you do 'ith dirt in the *edroom is you cleanse it" you s'eep it out" you restore the order" you police the *oundaries" you restore the hard and fi/ed *oundaries *et'een 'hat *elongs and 'hat doesn!t( 2nside:outside( 7ultured:uncivili4ed( -ar*arous and cultivated" and so on( And race is" of course" one of the principal forms of human classification" 'hich have all of these negative and positive attri*utes *uilt into it( 2n a 'ay" ;these< function as a common sense code in our society" such that" in a 'ay" you don!t need to have a 'hole argument a*out #are *lac s intelligent=& The moment you say they!re *lac s" already the e>uivalences *egin to trip off peoples mind( -lac s then: sound *odies" good at sports" good at dancing" very e/pressive" no intelligence" never had a thought in their heads" tendency to *ar*arous *ehavior((( All these things are clustered" simply in the classification system itself( +hat 2 am interested in then is ho' these definitions of race come to operate" ho' they function( 2!m interested partly in ho' they function" of course" in the systems of classification" 'hich are used in order to divide populations into different ethnic or racial groups and to ascri*e characteristics to these different groupings and to assume a ind of normal *ehavior or conduct a*out them( -ecause they are that ind of person" they can do that sort of thing" and 'e!ll *elieve that sort of thing" and 'ill suffer from that set of pro*lems" etc( ,verything is ind of inscri*ed in their species9*eing" they!re very *eing

*ecause of their race( So" 2 thin that one is seeing there is a ind of essentiali4ing of race and a 'hole range of" diverse range of characteristics ultimately fi/ed or held in place *ecause people have *een categori4ed in a certain 'ay" racially( These are very *ig cultural principles 'e!re tal ing a*out" and a 'hole lot in terms of po'er and e/clusion results from having the system of classification( So" in the lecture 2 'ant to tal a*out ho' this" ho' race as a principle of classification operates to sort out the 'orld into its superiors and inferiors along some line of *iological or genetic race" and ho' as a conse>uence of that all the conduct of society to'ards *lac people is inflected and shaped *y that system of classification( 2 end the lecture 'ith the phrase" #politics 'ithout guarantees(& +hat 2 mean *y that is that" in a funny 'ay" race itself 99 if you thin that race is a fi/ed *iological characteristic" and that a 'hole num*er of other things (e(g( cultural >ualities" intellectual >ualities" emotional and e/pressive >ualities@) follo' from the fact of *eing genetically one race or another" if that is your image of race" you thin " then" that the very fact of race can actually guarantee a 'hole range of things" including 99 1ust to name t'o 99 A) 'hether the 'or s of art produced *y a person 'ho *iologically *elongs to that race is good or not( So" you no'" if they!re *lac it means that they!re also very e/pressive" it also means they!ll produce a certain ind of 'or of art and it!ll *e good *ecause it!s *lac ( 8) And similarly" a certain ind of politics that defends the race" tries to protect us against discrimination" etc(" in 'hich all *lac people 'ill *e figured as people 'ho are holding the correct position and 'hen you as 'hat positions do they hold 'hat you 'ill respond is not the normal political argument: #'ell they *elieve in the follo'ing things 'hich 2 thin are via*le and progressive things for *lac people to vie for no' in order to change their circumstances&( You 'ill say #'ell they!re li e that" they thin li e that *ecause that!s ho' *lac people thin " its right that *lac people should( So race functions as a ind of guarantee that the 'or of art 'ill *e good *ecause it!s *lac and 'ill *e politically progressive *ecause it!s *lac ( 3o'" 'e actually no' that the 'or does not come out li e that( Some of the 'or s are not good( Though *lac " made 'ith the *est of positive intentions to reverse negative stereotypes" to praise the diversity of *lac people" they 1ust don!t 'or " aesthetically( And similarly" 'e no' *lac people have a range of different political positions: conservative" reactionary" progressive" and so on" and that these fall out in a 'ay 'hich is not defined *y their genetic or *iological disposition( So 2!m trying to end the notion that our politics is secure( +e no' it!s correct *y not entering the very" very difficult de*ate: are 'e correct= +hat is the right strategy no'= +hat are the tactics 'e ought to adopt= +ho can 'e *e in alliances 'ith= +hat is the strategic thing to go for" in this moment" to go for= You no'" the normal game of politics( 2t sort of" in a 'ay" prevents us from having to play that difficult game *ecause 'e have guarantee( +e no' it is *ecause 'e thought it( And 2 thin that in a 'ay leads to a ind of mechanistic anti9racist politics" not a thoughtful one" not a self critical one" not a refle/ive one( So" *y ending the guarantee" 2 don!t mean *y that of course that it doesn!t matter that it!s *lac people or *lac politics that!s involved( The reason 'hy it matters is not *ecause 'hat!s in our genes it!s *ecause of 'hat is in our history( 2t!s *ecause *lac people have *een in a certain position in society" in history" over a long period of time that those are the conditions they!re in and that!s 'hat they!re fighting against( And of course that matters" *ut then the term #*lac "& is referring to this long history of political and historical oppression( 2t!s not referring to our genes( 2t!s not referring to our *iology( And in order to fight a politics 'hich is effective in ending the oppression of *lac people" you have to as B'hat is the right politics to do=! You can!t depend on the fact that it!s *lac s doing it. that this 'ill guarantee in heaven that you!re doing the right thing( So 2 'ant *lac s to enter into 'hat 2 thin they!ve *een reserved in doing" 'hich is" you no' the hard graft of having arguments a*out it 'ith their o'n fello's" men and 'omen 'ho are *lac ( And that!s a difficult thing" *ecause in a 'ay you have to mo*ili4e effectively" you can!t depend on 1ust the race to ta e you to your political o*1ective( And it!s not" therefore" that 2 have a counter9politics to the e/isting politics of racism to put into the space. it!s rather an approach to the political" 'hich 2 al'ays see as not a practice 'hich has any guarantees *uilt into it" its not" there is no la' of history 'hich tells you

'e 'ill 'in" 'e may lose( Just as there is no la' of history" 'hich 'ill human *eings 'on!t *lo' themselves to *its" they pro*a*ly 'ill( So one has to act in the notion that politics is al'ays open( 2t!s al'ays the contingent of failure and you need to *e right *ecause there is no guarantee e/cept good practice to ma e it right to mo*ili4ation" to having the right people on your side committed to the program( So 2 'ant people to ta e politics a *it more seriously and to ta e *iology less seriously(

E%ace" the 5loating SignifierE Lecture at 6oldsmiths 7ollege *y Stuart Hall What More is There to Say About Race? 2 'ant" at 'hat you might thin a rather late stage in the game" to return to the >uestion of 'hat 'e might mean *y saying" as 2!ve done in a rather provocative title to this lecture" that race is a discursive construct" that it is a sliding signifier( Statements of this ind of ac>uired a certain status in advanced critical circles these days" *ut it!s very clear that critics and theorists don!t al'ays mean the same thing or dra' the same inference from the statement 'hen they ma e it( +hat!s more" the idea that race might *e descri*ed as a signifier is not one 'hich F in my e/perience F has penetrated very deeply into (or done very effectively the 'or of unhinging and dislodging) 'hat 2 'ould call common sense assumptions and every9day 'ays of tal ing a*out race and of ma ing sense a*out race in our society today( And 2!m really tal ing in part a*out that great untidy" dirty 'orld in 'hich race matters" outside of the Academy" as 'ell as 'hat light 'e may thro' on it from inside( )ore seriously" the dislocating effects on the 'orl of political mo*ili4ation around issues of race and racism" the dislocating effects on the strategies of anti9 racist politics and education of thin ing of race as a signifier have not *een ade>uately charted or assessed( +ell" you may not *e persuaded *y the story yet *ut that!s my e/cuse for returning at this late date to a topic a*out 'hich 2 no' many people feel that after all" or that can usefully *e said a*out race has already *een said( The Formal Rejection of iological Racism +hat do 2 mean *y a floating signifier= +ell" to put it crudely" race is one of those ma1or concepts" 'hich organi4e the great classificatory systems of difference" 'hich operate in human society( And to say that race is a discursive category recogni4es that all attempts to ground this concept scientifically" to locate differences *et'een the races on 'hat one might call scientific" *iological" or genetic grounds" have *een largely sho'n to *e untena*le( +e must therefore" it is said" su*stitute a socio9historical or cultural definition of race" for the *iological one( As the philosopher Anthony Appiah put it succinctly #(((it is time" as it 'ere" that the *iological concept of race 'as sun 'ithout trace&( And as +,- $u -ois argues in his essay called The Conservation of Races" 'hat he called Ethe differences of color" hair" and *one"E Ethough clearly defined to the eye of the historian and the sociologist ;(((< are on the 'hole poorly correlated 'ith genetic difference and on the other hand" impossi*le to correlate significantly 'ith cultural" intellectual" or the cognitive characteristics of people( Guite apart from *eing a su*1ect to e/traordinary variation 'ithin any one family" let alone 'ithin any one so9called family of races(& The Sur!i!al of iological Thin"ing 2 'ant to note four things at once a*out this general position( 5irst" it represents the *y no' common and conventional 'isdom among leading scientists in the field( Second" that fact has never prevented intense scholarly activity *eing devoted *y a minority of committed academics to attempting to prove a correlation *et'een racially defined genetic characteristics and cultural performance( 2n other 'ords" 'e are not dealing 'ith a field" in 'hich" as it 'ere" the scientifically and rationally esta*lished fact prevents scientists from continuing to try to prove the opposite( Thirdly" 2 o*serve that though the raciali4ed implication of this continuing scientific 'or into" for e/ample" race and intelligence" are vociferously refused and condemned *y large num*ers of people (certainly *y most li*eral professionals and especially *y -lac groups of all inds)" in fact" a great deal of 'hat is said *y such groups" amongst themselves" is

predicated precisely on some such assumption" i(e( that some social" political or cultural phenomenon" li e the rightness of a political line or the merits of a literary and musical production or the correctness of an attitude or *elief" can *e traced to and e/plained *y and especially fi/ed and guaranteed in its truth *y the racial character of the person involved( 2 deduce from this intense scholarly activity the a' 'ard lesson that diametrically opposed political positions can often *e derived from the same philosophical argument( And that though the genetic e/planation of social and cultural *ehavior is often denounced as racist" the genetic" *iological" and physiological definitions of race are alive and 'ell in the common sense" discourse is of us all( The fact that the *iological" physiological" or genetic definition" having *een sho'n out the front door" tends to sidle around the veranda and clim* *ac in through the 'indo': This is the parado/ical finding" 'hich 2 'ant to e/plore and address in 'hat follo's( +hy should this *e so= The a#ge of Race 2n an article in Crisis of August AIAA" 'e find $u-ois moving decisively to'ards 'riting #of civili4ations 'here 'e can no' spea of races"& adding that #even the physical characteristics including s in color are to no small e/tent the direct result of a physical and social environment" in addition to *eing too indefinite and too elusive to serve the *asis for any origin" classification" or division of human groups(& 3o' on the *asis of this recognition in Dusk of Dawn" $u-ois a*andons the scientific definition of race in favor of the fact that he!s 'riting a*out Africans" that Africans and people of African descent have 'hat he calls a common racial ancestry" *ecause #they have a common history" have suffered a common disaster" and have one long memory of disaster&. *ecause color" though of little meaning in itself" is really important" $u-ois argues" #as a *adge for the social heritage of slavery" the dissemination and the insult of that e/perience&( A *adge" a to en" a sign" here indeed is the idea" hinted at in the title of my tal " that race is a signifier" and that raciali4ed *ehavior and difference needs to *e understood as a discursive" not necessarily as a genetic or *iological fact( Race as a $anguage, a Floating Signifier 2 don!t 'ant to deviate here 'ith a long theoretical disposition a*out the terms that 2!m using" 'hich 'ould *ore you to tears" 2 simply 'ant to remind you that the model *eing proposed here is closer to that of ho' a language 'or s than of ho' our *iologies or our physiologies 'or . that race is more li e a language" than it is li e the 'ay in 'hich 'e are *iologically constituted( You may thin that!s an a*surd and ridiculous thing to say" you may even no' *e surreptitiously glancing around the room" 1ust to ma e sure that you no' your visual appearances are in full 'or ing order F 2 assure you they are" people do loo rather peculiar" some of them are *ro'n" some of them are >uite *lac " some of you are pretty *ro'n" some of you are really disgustingly pin in the current light( -ut" there!s nothing 'rong 'ith your appearances" *ut 2 'ant to insist to you that nevertheless" the argument that 2 'ant to ma e to you is that race 'or s li e a language( And signifiers refer to they systems and concepts of the classification of a culture to its meaning9ma ing practices( And those things gain their meaning" not *ecause of 'hat they contain in their essence" *ut in the shifting relations of difference" 'hich they esta*lish 'ith other concepts and ideas in a signifying field( Their meaning" *ecause it is relational" and not essential" can never *e finally fi/ed" *ut is su*1ect to the constant process of redefinition and appropriation" to the losing of old meanings" and the appropriation and collection on contracting ne' ones" to the endless process of *eing constantly re9signified" made to mean something different in different cultures" in different historical formations" at different moments of time(

The meaning of a signifier can never *e finally or trans9historically fi/ed( That is" it is al'ays" or there is al'ays a certain sliding of meaning" al'ays a margin not yet encapsulated in language and meaning" al'ays something a*out race left unsaid" al'ays someone" a constitutive outside" 'hose very e/istence the identity of race depends on" and 'hich is a*solutely destined to return from its e/pelled and a*1ected position outside the signifying field to trou*le the dreams of those 'ho are comforta*le inside( ut What About the Reality of Racial %iscrimination an# &iolence? 2 address this point directly *ecause 2 *elieve this is e/actly 'here the more s eptical amongst you may *e *eginning to thin " #Alright" you might say perhaps race is not after all a matter of genetic factors" of *iology" of physiological characteristics" of the morphology of the *ody" not a matter of color" hair" and *one" that chilling threesome that $u-ois fre>uently >uotes(& -ut you may say" #can you seriously *e claiming that it is simply a signifier" an empty sign" that it is not fi/ed in its inner nature" that it cannot *e secured in its meaning" that it floats in a sea of relational differences F is that the argument that you!re advancing=& And isn!t it not only 'rong" *ut a trivial and 99 2 hear the 'ord *eing rustled in the audience 99 an idealist approach to the *rute facts of human history" 'hich after all" have disfigured the lives" and crippled and constrained the potentialities of literally millions of the 'orld!s dispossessed= After all 'hy don!t 'e use the evidence of our eyes= 2f race 'as such a complicated thing 'hy 'ould it *e so manifestly o*vious every'here 'e loo = 2 have to say it again *ecause 2 can feel the sense of relief that after s irting around through these various structures 'e have come to 'hat after all 'hat 'e all no' a*out race: it!s reality( You can see its effects" you can see it in the faces of the people around you" you can see people pulling the s irts aside as people from another racial group come into the room( You can see the operation of racial discrimination in institutions and so on( +hat is the need of this entire scholarly hulla*aloo a*out race" 'hen you can 1ust turn to its reality= +hat trail through history is more literally mar ed *y *lood and violence" *y the genocide *y the )iddle Kassage" the horrors of plantation servitude" and the hanging tree= A signifier= A discourse= Yes" that is my argument( T'o (ositions) The Realist * the Te+tual Since 'e are concerned here not 'ith a*stract theoretical criti>ue *ut 'ith an attempt to unloc the secrets of the functioning" in modern history" of racial systems of classification" let me turn to this >uestion of ho' indeed one sees this functioning around the trou*ling >uestion of the gross physical differences of color" *one" and hair" 'hich constitute the material su*9stratum" the a*solute final common denominator of racial classifying systems( +hen all the other refinements have *een 'iped a'ay" there seems to *e a sort of irreduci*le" ineradica*le minimum there" the differences" 'hich are palpa*le among people" 'hich 'e call race( +here on earth do they come from" if they are simply as 2 'ant to claim" discursive= -roadly spea ing" as 2 understand it there is really three options here( 5irst" 'e can hold that the differences of a physiological ind or nature really do provide the *asis for classifying human races into families" and once they can *e proved to do so" they can ade>uately *e represented in our systems of thought and language( That!s a ind of realist position" it really is there" and all 'e have to do is reflect 'hat is out there in the 'orld ade>uately in the systems of language and no'ledge" 'hich 'e use to conduct investigations into its effects( A second possi*ility is to hold 'hat is sometimes called the purely te/tual or linguistic position( %ace here" is autonomous of any system reference" it can only *e tested" not against the actual 'ord of human

diversity" *ut 'ithin the play of the te/t" 'ithin the play of the differences that 'e construct in our o'n language( A Thir# (osition) The %iscursi!e -ut there is a third position" the third position is the one to 'hich 2 su*scri*e" its often the third position 2 often su*scri*e to it as it turns out" (2 don!t no' 'hat you 'ant to ma e of that *ut there it is)( The third position is that there are pro*a*ly differences of all sorts in the 'orld" that difference is a ind of anomalous e/istence out there" a ind of random series of all sorts of things in 'hat you call the 'orld" there!s no reason to deny this reality or this diversity( 2 thin its sometimes" not al'ays" 'hat 5oucault means 'hen he tal s a*out the e/tra discursive((((*ut 2Mm in 6oldsmith" 2 don!t 'ant to stir up the 5oucaultians here((() 2t!s only 'hen these differences have *een organi4ed 'ithin language" 'ithin discourse" 'ithin systems of meaning" that the differences can *e said to ac>uire meaning and *ecome a factor in human culture and regulate conduct( That is the nature of 'hat 2!m calling the discursive concept of race 99 not that nothing e/ists of differences" *ut that 'hat matters are the systems 'e use to ma e sense" to ma e human societies intelligi*le" the systems 'e *ring to those differences" ho' 'e organi4e those differences into systems of meaning" 'ith 'hich" as it 'ere" 'e can find the 'orld intelligi*le( And this has nothing to do 'ith denying that" as 2 say" the audience test F if you loo ed around" you!d find 'e did after all loo some'hat different from one another( 2 thin these are discursive systems *ecause the interplay *et'een the representation of racial difference" the 'riting of po'er" and the production of no'ledge" is crucial to the 'ay in 'hich they are generated" and the 'ay in 'hich they function( And 2 use the 'ord EdiscursiveE here to mar the transition theoretically from a more formal understanding of difference to an understanding of ho' ideas and no'ledges of difference organi4e human practices *et'een individuals( Religion) A First ,o at Ra#ical -lassification %acially classifying systems themselves have a history" and their modern history seems to emerge 'here peoples of very different inds first encounter and have to ma e sense of peoples of another culture" 'ho are significantly different from them" and 'e can date 'hen that historical encounter occurred (2 'ant to tal a*out that at the moment)( +hen the 0ld +orld first encountered the 3e'" peoples of the 3e' +orld" they put to them a >uestion. it!s the famous >uestion that Sepulveda put to Las 7asas 'hen the su*1ect 'as de*ated 'ithin the 7atholic 7hurch: #'hat is the nature of the peoples that 'e have found in the 3e' +orld=& 3o'" they didn!t say 'hat 2 thin the religious amongst you 'ould li e to hear them say" #'ell" are they not" men li e us" and our *rothers= Are they not 'omen li e us" and our sisters=& 3o" they didn!t say that" that too a very" very long time to come F a*out t'o or three hundred years *efore the A*olitionist movement thought of putting a >uestion li e that( 3o" 'hat they said are" #Are these true men=& That is to say" do they *elong even to the same species as 'e do" or are they *orn of another creation= And here" for centuries it 'as not science" *ut religion" religion standing as the signifier of no'ledge and truth( +here the human science is" and then science itself 'as later destined to stand" 'hich 'ould ground the truth of human difference and diversity in some fact 'hich 'as controlla*le 'hich could put them over there" and us over here. them in the *oats" and us on top of the civili4ation that 'e had con>uered and so on( Slee.ing /asier) The -ultural Function of 0no'le#ge 2t is that act of organi4ing people through their differences into different social groups" 'hich is the act of social human classification" that is 'hat is *eing sought F first in a religious discourse" then in an anthropological discourse" and finally in a scientific discourse F here" each of these no'ledges is

functioning not as the provision of the truth" *ut as 'hat ma es men and 'omen sleep 'ell in their *eds at night( They!re ind of soothers F they!re no'ledge soothers" they!re tuc ing in the soother in the mouth( 5irst you pop in the religious one" and you hope to find that after all" 'hen after all is said and done" god actually created t'o inds of men" he had t'o goes at it F one 'ee end and then another 'ee end" and they 'ere over there and 'e 'ere over here and its only long after'ards that 'e happen to stum*le across one another( -ut there!s no thought that 'e *oth came from the same place( And that soother doesn!t 'or " you ta e that out" you pop in another one: an anthropologist 'ould say" 'ell they!re sort of really li e us" that!s *ecause 'e all really come from mon eys" *ut some of them are much closer to mon eys than 'e are and although that may not *e an a*solute difference" you no'" this is enough to find differences in university departments" pu*lishing" etc( And then finally 'hen that anthropology itself finally gives up" along comes" you no' James 7lifford" and he gives up this no'ledge of 'hat anthropology can do" sort out the sheep from the goats( Then science comes along and says" #2 can do it" and 2 can do it(& Try geneticsN You can!t see genetics" it!s a 'onderful" internal system" 'e have the clue to it" 'e can loo at it in the la*oratory F *ut human *eings can!t see" 'hat they see are the effects of the genetic code operating( So it!s a 'onderfully secret code that only a small num*er of people have at their disposal" 'hich can do e/actly 'hat religion didn!t manage to do" and anthropology didn!t >uite *ring off: 2t can tell you 'hy these people do not *elong in the same camp" 'hy they are very different from one another" 'hy they really are a different species( And 'ouldn!t it *e good to no' that" instead of trying to 'or out 'hether the ones that are your friends are closer to you than the ones 'ho are not (all that complicated map of alliances" etc" 'hich constitute human relations) F 'ouldn!t it *e good if you 1ust had something simple to say" 2!ll 1ust pop into the la* and 2!ll tell you 'hether they are or not( And that!s 'hat it!ll do( Fi+ing %ifference) The -ultural Function of Science Science has a function" a cultural function in our society( Let me pause *efore 2 get carried a'ay( 2!m not suggesting that there!s nothing to science. that!s not my *usiness today( 2Mm tal ing a*out the function 'hich science performs 'ithin human cultural system" 2!m tal ing a*out the cultural function of science" and 2!m saying that the cultural function of science in the languages and discourses of racism" have *een to provide precisely that guarantee and certainty of a*solute difference 'hich no other systems of no'ledge up until that point have *een a*le to provide( And that is 'hy the scientific trace remains such a remar a*ly po'erful instrument in human thin ing" not only in the Academy *ut every'here in people!s ordinary common sense discourse( 5or centuries" the struggle 'as to esta*lish a *inary distinction *et'een t'o inds of people( -ut once you get to the ,nlightenment" 'hich says or recogni4es Mevery*ody is one species"M then you have to *egin to find a 'ay 'hich mar s the difference inside the species( 2tMs no' not t'o species" *ut ho'" 'hy" one *it of the species is different F more *ar*arous" more *ac 'ards" more civili4ed F than another part( And you get into a different mar ing of difference" the difference that is mar ed inside the system( You no'" 2 mean" listen to the 'ay in 'hich ,dmund -ur e once 'rote to 'rote to %o*ertson in ALJJ" #'e need no longer go to history"& he said" #to trace the no'ledge of human nature in all its stages and periods( +hy= -ecause no' the great map of man ind is unrolled all at once and there!s no state or gradation of *ar*arism and no mode of refinement 'hich 'e do not have at the same instant under our vie'(& That is the panoptic glance of the ,nlightenment: everything" all of human creation" is no'" as it 'ere" under the eye of science( And 'ithin that" can *e mar ed" the differences that very much matter( And 'hat are they= #The very different civility of ,urope and of 7hina( The *ar*arism of Tartary and of Ara*ia. and the savage state of 3orth America and 3e' Oealand(& The point 2!m ma ing is it is not science as such" *ut 'hatever is in the discourse of a culture 'hich grounds the truth a*out human diversity" 'hich unloc s the secret of the relations *et'een nature and culture" 'hich unties the pu44ling fact of human difference" 'hich matters( +hat matters is not that they contain the scientific truth a*out difference" *ut that they function foundationally in the discourse of racial

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difference( They fi/ and secure 'hat other'ise cannot *e fi/ed or secured( They 'arrant and guarantee the truth of differences" 'hich they discursively construct( 1ature 2 -ulture The relationship here then" is that culture is made to follo' on from nature" to lean on it for its 1ustification e/actly nature and culture here operate as metaphors for one another( They operate metonymically( 2t is the function of the discourse and the race as a signifier" to ma e these t'o systems F nature and culture F correspond 'ith one another" in such a 'ay that it is possi*le to read off the one against the other( So that once you no' 'here the person fits in the classification of natural human races" you can infer from that 'hat they!re li ely to thin " 'hat they!re li ely to feel" 'hat they!re li ely to produce" the aesthetic >uality of their productions" and so on( 2t is constituting a system of e>uivalencies *et'een nature and culture" 'hich is the function of race as a signifier( The *iological trace in my vie' as a discursive system is re>uired so long as this essentiali4ing" naturali4ing function" this 'ay of as it 'ere" ta ing racial difference out of history" out of culture" and locating it as it 'ere *eyond the reach of change" so long as that function is part of 'hat racial systems are a*out( Seeing is elie!ing Ho'ever this is not the only reason in my vie' 'hy *iological reasoning" 'ild functioning as it 'ere" as if its largely untrue *ut still someho' hangs around in the conversation 'hich 'e conduct around race( That!s not the only reason 'hy that is so( +hat $u-ois started 'ith 'as precisely the grosser physical differences of color" hair" and *one( +hich despite the fact of there remain anomalous fractural populations that they transcend scientific definition( They are" 'hat finally" 'hen 'e come do'n to it" providing the foundation for the languages of race that 'e spea everyday( The stu**orn gross physical facts" of color" hair" or *one( 3o'" the central fact a*out these gross physical differences is not that they are *ased on genetic differences" *ut they are clearly visi*le to the eye( They are 'hat palpa*ly to the untutored" unscientific eye" 'hich ma es race thing" 'hich 'e continue to tal a*out( They are in a sense *eyond dispute( They are *rute" physical *iological facts a*out human vision that appear in the field of vision( +here seeing is *elieving( +hen 5ran4 5anon in B -lac S in" +hite )as s!" 'ho 'as transfi/ed *y this inscription of racial difference on the surface of the *lac *ody itself( +hat he called the dar and unargua*ly evidence of his o'n *lac ness( #2 am a slave"& he said" #not of an idea that others have of me" *ut of my o'n appearance" 2 am fi/ed *y it(& 5or 'hat indeed" of course" 'hat can people *e transfi/ed *y others *y that 'hich is so po'erfully and evidently concretely undenia*le there( A racial difference 'hich 'rites itself indeli*ly on the script of the *ody( ,enetics) Ma"ing Sense of %ifference +hat gives rise to these evident and visi*le signs of racial difference= 5u44y hair" *ig noses" thic lips" large *ehinds( And as the 5rench 'riter" )ichelle 7urno'" once delicately put it" # penises as *ig cathedrals(& +hat gives rise to all that is of course the genetic code( 2 mean its not 1ust that those things are there *ecause no*ody ever conducted the e/periment and tried to actually sort out a part of a group of people 'ho contain some these differences" you no'" carefully and discreetly into t'o opposing groups( 2t 1ust simply cannot *e done( Just simply can!t *e done( You get some people of there and a fe' people over there" and then they are all those 'ishy9'ashy things in the middle that eeps slipping and sliding from inside to outside( 2t!s 1ust not >uite possi*le to actually fi/ it( So" actually" though races are

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something that you can plainly see" 'hat fi/es it" is 99 'e all no'" 'e scientific fol 99 'hat is *ehind these is the genetic code" 'hich regretta*ly you can!t see( -ut 'hich you can infer from the fact that some have large *ehinds and some people have fu44y hair and some people have *ig noses and some people for all 2 no' have penises as *ig as a cathedral( -ut you can!t set a*out organi4ing the population" you no' if 2 say drop your pants and if 2 tell you 'hether you are this or that" *ecause the thing is 1ust to anomalous for that( -ut you can *e sure" that genetically some code has actually given at the level of the surface of appearances these differences( And 'e poor mortals have to 'or 'ith this confusing surface of appearances *ecause 'e can!t get access to the genetic code( Rea#ing the o#y +ell" this is >uite true" *ut 'hat 2 am afraid that your saying" 'hat your telling me is that actually" these things" 'hich you can see" are also signifiersN You are reading them as signs of a code of 'hich you can!t see( You assume that it is the genetic code creating these gross differences of color" hair" and *one( And only *ecause of that can you use that as a 'ay of distinguishing *et'een one group of people or another( 2f 2 'ere to say( B 2t happened *y chance!" that is not the ans'er 'e are loo ing for 'e are loo ing for the fact that you can read the *ody as a te/t( 2t is a te/t( 3o' my friends you no'" 2 no' you 'ill say( # 2f you hit me" cut me" 2!ll *leed( You run over me in the street" as is a fre>uent of a case in front of" you no'" the ne' cross( You no'" 2 'ill *e flattened( 2t may *e" *ut in so far as 'hat 'e are tal ing a*out is the system of classifying difference( The *ody is a te/t( And 'e are all readers of it( And 'e go around" loo ing at this te/t" inspecting it li e literary critics( 7loser and closer for those very fine differences" such small these differences are" and then 'hen that does 'or 'e start to run li e a true structuralist" 'e start to run the com*inations( +ell if 2 perm" you no'" not so *ig nose" 'ith rather fu44y hair" and a sort of largish *ehind and goodness no's 'hat" 2 might sort of come out( +e are readers of race" that 'hat 'e are doing" 'e are readers of social difference( And the *ody hair" 'hich you no' is sighted as if" this is 'hat terminates the argument( +hen you say race is a signifier( 3o it is notN See the fol s out there they are differentN You can tell they are different( +ell" that very o*viousness" the very o*viousness of the visi*ility of race is 'hat persuades me that it functions *ecause it is signifying something. it is a te/t" 'hich 'e can read( Why We Ha!e to Mo!e eyon# Reality 3o' this notion that even the genetic code then" is only imprinted on us as it 'ere through the *ody rather than on the *ody( That you can!t stop at the surface of the *lac *ody itself" as if that" 'ell" 2 'as going to say" as if that" *rought the argument to a close( -ut that is e/actly 'hy the *ody is invo ed in the discourse in that 'ay( 2n the hope that it 'ill *ring the argument to a close" that if you invo e reality itself" if you say #the *lac est person in the room step this 'ay& Someho' pointing to him or her 'ill destroy all my argument( Just loo there( That is e/actly 'hat the function of invo ing the *ody as if it is the ultimate transcendental signifier( As if this is the mar er *eyond 'hich all arguments 'ill stop" all language 'ill cease" all discourse 'ill fall a'ay *efore this reality( 2 thin 'e can!t turn to the reality of race *ecause the reality of race itself is 'hat is standing in the 'ay of our understanding" in a profound 'ay( +hat the meaning is of saying that race is cultural system( Analy3ing the Stories of the o#y You no'" in 5anon!s *oo Black Skin, White Masks 'hereas 2 said he!s entranced and he!s o*sessed *y the trauma of his o'n appearance and 'hat it means he is driven 'ild *y the fact that he is caught" caught and loc ed in this *ody 'hich the other the 'hite other no's 1ust *y loo ing at him that the other can see through him 1ust *y reading the te/t of the *lac *ody( He!s o*sessed *y that fact( And yet" as 2 am sure you no'" 'hen it came to it" the po'er and importance of Black Skin, White Masks is that 5anon understood that *eneath 'hat he called the *odily and corporeal schema is another schema( A schema

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composed of the stories and the anecdotes and the metaphors and the images" 'hich is really" really he says" 'hat constructs the relationship *et'een the *ody and its social and cultural space( These stories" not the fact itself( The fact itself is 1ust e/actly that trap of the surface" 'hich allo's us to rest 'ith 'hat is o*vious( 2t!s so manifestly there( The trap in racism is precisely to allo' 'hat is manifestly there 'hat offers it to us as a symptom of appearance to stand in the place of 'hat is in fact one of the most profound and deeply comple/ of the cultural systems 'hich allo' us to ma e a distinction *et'een inside and outside *et'een us and them *et'een 'ho *elongs and 'ho doesn!t *elong( That apparently simple" o*vious and *anal fact re>uires the invocation of territories of no'ledge in order to produce it as a simple" o*vious" visi*le fact( 2n this 'ay race is more li e se/ual difference" racial difference is more li e se/ual difference than it is li e the other systems of difference precisely *ecause anatomy" physiology appears to 'ind the >uestion up and 'hat 'e no' a*out and have learned gradually a*out se/ual difference that is to say the profundity of the depth that lies *ehind the ma ing of that distinction is 'hat 'e need no' to *egin to learn a*out the languages of race 'hich 'e spea ( Why %oes it Matter? attling Racism Though race cannot perform the function it 'as as ed to do *y providing the truth and fi/ing that truth *eyond the shy of a dou*t( 2t is difficult to get rid of *ecause it is so difficult in the languages of race to do 'ithout some ind of foundation or guarantee( And the point 2 am ma ing there" a*out the necessity of a foundation or guarantee" is not a theoretical argument" or not a theoretical argument only" it is a political argument. *ecause so much of the politics *oth of race and anti9race are founded on the notion that someho'" some'here" *y the *iology or genetics or physiology or color or something other then human history and culture" 'ill guarantee the truth and authenticity of the things 'e *elieve and 'ant to do( 2t is the search for that guarantee" as much in the politics of anti9racism" as in the politics of racism" 'hich ma es us" 'hich addicts us" to the preservation of a *iological trait( 2t is hard to give up *ecause in the end" 'e don!t no' 'hat it is li e to try to conduct a politics" especially a politics of anti9racism 'ithout a guarantee" 'e don!t no' 'hat it is li e to conduct the politics 'ithout a guarantee( +e 'ant someho' to *e told something 'hich tells us that the contingent open ended usually 'rong politically choices 'e ma e" can in the end read off against some other more scientific theoretical template 'hich if 'e only had hold of the *eginning 'ould have told us 'hat 'as right and 'hat 'as not( +e need the guarantee" 'e need to have in the sleep of reason" that 'hich says" #Yes do it& *ecause it not only feels li e and loo s li e and is the right thing as far as your calculations can ta e it" *ut in the end it 'ill *e right" there is something 'hich 'ill ma e it right( That is *ecause the people holding it" after all" these are the people you no'" these are good people" ho' in the name of people come together around this common form of identification" ho' could they *e 'rong= -ut the truth is that li e all ordinary human *eings they could( +e could all *e 'rong( And often are( Guite usually are in fact and in our politics almost al'ays are you might say( The one thing 'e are not is guaranteed in the truth of 'hat 'e do( 2ndeed" 2 *elieve that 'ithout that ind of guarantee 'e 'ould need to *egin again" *egin again in another space" *egin again from a different set of presuppositions to try to as ourselves 'hat might it *e in human identification" in human practice" in the *uilding of human alliances" 'hich 'ithout the guarantee" 'ithout the certainty of religion or science or anthropology or genetics or *iology or the appearance of your eyes" 'ithout any guarantees at all" might ena*le us to conduct an ethically responsi*le human discourse and practice a*out race in our society( +hat might it *e li e to conduct that" 'ithout having at our *ac s 1ust a touch of a certainty that even if 'e loo as if 'e 'ere 'rong if 'e only had access to the code something 'ould have told us in the *eginning 'hat 'e should do( And this is an uncomforta*le truth( 2t!s an uncomforta*le truth" of course" for those 'ho 'ould have li ed to invo e the *iological or genetic traits as a 'ay of stopping the argument( -ut it is also a very difficult truth to come to terms 'ith amongst those people 'ho feel as it 'ere the reality of race gives a ind of guarantee or under pinning to their political argument and their aesthetic 1udgments and their social and cultural *eliefs( 0nce you enter the politics of the end of the *iological definition of race you are plunged

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headlong into the only 'orld 'e have( The maelstrom of a continuously contingent guaranteed political argument" de*ate" and practice( A critical politics against racism" 'hich is al'ays a policy of criticism(

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