Latest Sociology of culture Stories

By Ulin, Robert C Cultural relativism is among the most misunderstood yet socially charged concepts associated with anthropology today. While most American cultural anthropologists have utilized cultural relativism as a pedagogical and sometimes political medium to challenge ethnocentric western views and cultural practices and to promote an appreciation of cultural diversity, ethicists, philosophers and the general public have all too often embraced a view of cultural relativism that...

By Tom Armitage BERLIN (Reuters) - Anti-racism campaigners in Germany on Wednesday renewed their warning that black visitors should avoid certain parts of the formerly communist east during the World Cup because of a risk of racist attacks. Human rights and anti-racism activists have launched a new website -- www.prevent-racist-attack.org -- to coincide with the start of the tournament in Germany on June 9. Posted in five languages, it aims to educate tourists from Africa and elsewhere...

By Brian RohanPARIS (Reuters) - One third of French people say they are racist, a French human rights watchdog said on Tuesday, after a survey that showed an increase from last year in the number of people who acknowledged being racist.Some 33 percent of 1,011 people surveyed face-to-face by pollsters CSA said they were "somewhat" or "a little" racist, up 8 percentage points from last year, according to an annual report by the National Consultative Commission for Human...

By Gavin Jones ROME (Reuters) - Calling a foreigner a "dirty negro" in Italian is not necessarily a racist insult, Italy's highest court has ruled. The verdict, relating to a case where a group of Italian men punched and insulted some women from Colombia, caused deep unease at a time when Italy is struggling to contain racism. The court on Monday ruled in favor of one of the men, who argued he was not being racist when he launched the assault with the words: "Sporche negre -- cosa ci...