摘要：This exploratory essay analyzes the idea of race in contemporary America. A brief historical overview of the concept is provided and early anthropological ideas of race are compared and contrasted to the current popular idea of race in the United States. Theories taken from cultural studies are applied to the idea of race in America to provide a new understanding on this complex construct. The study concludes that the labels of "white" and "black" in contemporary American have more to do with cultural identity than with phenotypical traits such as skin color and facial features.
