Paradigm lost: Race, ethnicity, and the search for a new population taxonomy

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently recommended that the National Inst itutes of Health (NTH) reevaluate its employment of "race," a concept lacki ng scientific or anthropological justification, in cancer surveillance and other population research. The IOM advised the NIH to use a different popul ation classification, that of "ethnic group" instead of "race." A relativel y new term, according to the IOM, "ethnic group" would turn research attent ion away from biological determinism and toward a focus on culture and beha vior. This article examines the historically central role of racial categorizatio n and its relationship to racism in the United States and questions whether dropping "race" from population taxonomies is either possible or, at least in the short run, preferable. In addition, a historical examination of "et hnicity" and " ethnic group" finds that these concepts, as used in the Unit ed States, derive in part from race and immigration and are not neutral ter ms; instead, they carry their own burden of political, social, and ideologi cal meaning.