Jena declaration
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The Jena Declaration is a scientific statement that questions and refutes the concept of human races. It was published in September 2019 at the 112th Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society (Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft) in Jena. The statement, written by leading scientists in the fields of evolution, genetics and zoology influenced the legislative discourse to remove the term race from the German constitution.[1][2] With this statement, the Institute for Zoology and Evolutionary Research at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena distances itself from its 20th century predecessors, in particular the scientist and evolutionary biologist Ernst Haeckel, who was closely associated with the University of Jena and whose ideas of racism and eugenics are now considered scientifically outdated and morally controversial.[3]
Content[edit]
The authors of the statement, Martin S. Fischer, Uwe Hossfeld, Johannes Krause and Stefan Richter examined the issue of human races from a biological perspective and found that there is no scientific basis for this concept. Scientific studies of genetic variation within and between human populations showed that the concept of race is a typological construct based on arbitrarily selected physical characteristics and does not reflect the genetic diversity of the human species.[4]
The Jena Declaration affirms that there are no human races in the biological sense, because the genetic variation within human populations is greater than the genetic variation between these populations, whereas, for example, in domestic animals there is greater genetic similarity within a breed than between breeds. Moreover, genetic differences between populations are continuous, as humans travelled long before, creating links between populations that were geographically distant from each other. External characteristics such as skin colour, have historically been used for typological classification, but are biological adaptations to local conditions. In the human genome, there are no genetic differences among the 3.2 billion base pairs that distinguish, for example, African populations from non-African populations.[4]
The authors argue that the concept of human races is the result of racism and not its precondition. They therefore call for the term race to be discontinued in relation to human beings, except in historical or socio-political contexts where it should be understood as a social construction rather than a biological reality. They argue that the use of the term in relation to people creates a false idea of genetically separate groups. They also note that these changes in language can help to overcome racism and recognize that further efforts are needed to prevent racism.[1][2]
The statement concludes with an appeal to educational institutions, the media, public authorities and all citizens to reconsider the concept of race and emphasise genetic diversity and humanity.
Impact[edit]
In Germany, the Declaration has had an impact on the public debate and the legislative discourse[1]. One of the mandates of the Cabinet Committee's catalogue of measures in the 2021-2025 coalition agreement is therefore to replace the concept of race in Article 3 (3) sentence 1 of the Basic Law. This has not yet been implemented due to a lack of consensus on alternative terms; one challenge is that the discriminatory feature of the concept of race is present in the international legal context, in international law and in EU law.[5][6]
The Jena Declaration also led to publications in the field of education and learning. The book "Den Begriff 'Rasse' überwinden: die 'Jenaer Erklärung' in der (Hoch-)Schulbildung" (Overcoming the Concept of Race: The Jena Declaration in (Higher) School Education)[7] offers ideas and concepts for overcoming the concept of race. In this publication, the Jena Declaration serves as an impulse for a nationwide reorientation of (higher) education. Another example is the publication "Die Jenaer Erklärung gegen Rassismus' und ihre Anwendung im Unterricht" (The Jena Declaration against Racism and its Application in the Classroom),[8] which presents examples of the application of the Jena Declaration in the classroom.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jena Declaration Contributes to Amendment of German Constitution. Max Planck Institute for the History of Man. accessed 23 June 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jena Declaration. Friedrich Schiller University of Jena. accessed 23 June 2023.
- ↑ mdr.de: Jenaer Forscher: Menschenrassen gibt es nicht. MDR.DE. Accessed 6 July 2023.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Martin S. Fischer, Uwe Hossfeld, Johannes Krause, Stefan Richter (September 2019). Jena Declaration. (PDF) In: https://www.uni-jena.de/en/190910-jenaererklaerung-en. Institute for Zoology and Evolutionary Research of Friedrich Schiller University Jena. pp. 3,4. accessed 5 July 2023.
- ↑ Nalik, Tabea (2023-01-02). "Der Rassebegriff im Grundgesetz - Art. 3 GG: Rassistische Diskriminierung". IQB Career Services (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2023-07-25.
- ↑ Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Migration, Flüchtlinge und Integration (February 15, 2023). Rassismus in Deutschland: Ausgangslage, Handlungsfelder, Maßnahmen (PDF) (Report) (in German). Berlin: Deutscher Bundestag. p. 9. Retrieved July 25, 2023.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ Karl Porges (2023). Den Begriff „Rasse“ überwinden. Julius Klinkhardt. Bad Heilbrunn. ISBN 978-3-7815-6008-6. doi:10.35468/6008.
- ↑ Karl Porges, Uwe Hossfeld (2023). Die "Jenaer Erklärung gegen Rassismus" und ihre Anwendung im Unterricht. Thüringer Ministerium für Bildung, Jugend und Sport. Erfurt, ISBN 978-3-9821193-7-3.
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