On the Borders of Race

Abstract

When one speaks of race, one speaks of borders; these are insidious societal borders, which were assigned value beyond skin deep and came to be integrated into hierarchical definitions of what it means to be human. If one were to summarise the development of the idea of race, it should be noted to have originated in the ancient theories of Plato and Aristotle, spread out during the time of colonialist conquests, and extended in imperialist enterprises during the Enlightenment and afterwards; the concept gained scientific authority on the grounds of evolutionary theories, further developed in the light of Orientalist encounters and reactions, and came to be relativised as a trope in contemporary times.