The Chilean exception: racial homogeneity, mestizaje and eugenic nationalism.

Scholarship on race in Latin America has overwhelmingly characterized racial mixture as a unique feature of the political and social landscape there. Studies of eugenics in Latin America especially highlight the relative pragmatism regarding race mixing in contrast to eugenics elsewhere. However, an...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Iberian & Latin American Studies Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 105 - 126
Main Author: Walsh, Sarah
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Apr2019
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=135846146&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: hlh
    uiTerm: 135846146
    longDbName: Humanities International Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        14701847
        55M
      jtl: Journal of Iberian & Latin American Studies
      issn: 14701847
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Apr2019
      vid: 25
      iid: 1
      pid: 377
      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
    artinfo:
      ui:
        135846146
        10.1080/14701847.2019.1579499
      ppf: 105
      ppct: 21
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
              size: 2.2MB
      tig:
        atl: The Chilean exception: racial homogeneity, mestizaje and eugenic nationalism.
      aug:
        au: Walsh, Sarah
        affil: Department of History, Washington State University, Pullman, USA
      su:
        Eugenics
        Nationalism
        Race identity
        Scholarships
        Chileans
        Latin America
      sug:
        subj:
          Latin America
          Eugenics
          Nationalism
          Race identity
          Scholarships
          Chileans
      keyword:
        Chile
        immigration policy
        racial thought
        whiteness studies
      ab: Scholarship on race in Latin America has overwhelmingly characterized racial mixture as a unique feature of the political and social landscape there. Studies of eugenics in Latin America especially highlight the relative pragmatism regarding race mixing in contrast to eugenics elsewhere. However, an acceptance of race mixing did not preclude the persistence of racial hierarchy among Latin American racial theorists. Examining the development of eugenics in Chile, this article reveals how notions of racial plasticity existed alongside that of racial superiority. Specifically, it contends that Chilean racial exceptionalism in the early twentieth century was predicated on the idea that some types of racial mixture were better than others. Conveniently for Chileans, their mostly indigenous and European ancestry was one such preferred combination. Yet, racial mixing was only desirable insofar as it resulted in a homogeneous national population. This combination of ideas functioned much like white supremacy in other parts of the world. Using historical texts, popular and medical periodicals, and visual images produced between 1900 and 1950, this paper will demonstrate how race science in Chile reconciled the nation's history of racial mixture with its claims to racial homogeneity and superiority relative to the rest of Latin America.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: Y
      custom: Copyright of Journal of Iberian & Latin American Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
      item: Journal of Iberian & Latin American Studies
      holder: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      dt:
        @attributes:
          year: 2019
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N