by Uma Kothari
2006
“ Recently, in writings about race that emerge from Britain (eg, Gilroy, 2000), the term ‘race’ is often placed within inverted commas to emphasize that it is a highly discursive way of categorizing individuals and groups, and to underline that it is not based on any valid biological distinctions. Furthermore, ‘the inverted commas signal an awareness of the word’s tainted history and scepticism about its referent, while simultaneously conceding that no other word would do the job’ (Saldanha, 2006). In this special issue we have not insisted on a uniform textual presentation; some authors have employed inverted commas to emphasize the contested nature of the concept whereas others accept this as given. “
Kothari, U. (2006). Critiquing ‘race’ and racism in development discourse and practice. Progress in Development Studies, 6(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1191/1464993406ps123ed
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