Nordic "race"
The term "Nordic race" refers to a historical classification of Europeans that emerged in the late nineteenth century. This pseudo-racial category primarily encompassed people from northern Europe, particularly Scandinavia, and was characterized by physical attributes such as tall stature, light hair, blue eyes, and a long head shape. Proponents of the concept believed that individuals of the Nordic race possessed superior traits, including individualism, self-reliance, and capabilities in governance.
The idea gained traction in the 1920s alongside "scientific" racial theories that sought to link race with cultural achievements and societal development. These theories often highlighted the supposed contributions of the Nordic race to Western civilization and were used to justify exclusionary immigration policies and anti-miscegenation laws in the United States. Additionally, the concept was co-opted by Nazi Germany to support its race-cleansing ideologies, further entrenching the notion of racial superiority associated with Nordic identity. While the classification reflects historical perspectives on race, it is now widely discredited and recognized as part of a broader context of racial prejudice and discrimination.
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Nordic "race"
This term was one of three pseudo-racial categories employed beginning in the late nineteenth century to classify the population of Europe; the other categories were Alpine and Mediterranean. Nordic people were thought to come from northern Europe, especially Scandinavia. Physically, the Nordic race was characterized as tall, often blond, blue-eyed, and dolichocephalic (having a comparatively long head). Members of the Nordic race were reputed to be superior, naturally individualistic, self-reliant, freedom-loving, and gifted in terms of state organization.
The use of the concept of the Nordic race was popular during the 1920s when “scientific” theories of race were propounded to explain the development of civilization. Significant achievements of humankind were traced to members of the Nordic race. These racist theories were associated with exclusionary immigration and antimiscegenation laws in the United States. Nazi Germany also used this rationale to support its race-cleansing policies.
As Thomas F. Gossett (1916-2005) points out in Race: The History of an Idea in America (1963), the argument that the important elements of Western civilization are due in large measure to the Nordic race is closely related to earlier racist theories of Aryan and Teutonic origins. According to the latter view, Anglo-Saxons were primarily responsible for developing democratic institutions, from town-hall meetings to national systems of representative government.
Bibliography
Baum, Bruce. "Racialized Nationalism and the Partial Eclipse of the 'Caucasian Race,' ca. 1840–1935." The Rise and Fall of the Caucasian Race: A Political History of Racial Identity. New York UP, 2006, pp. 118–61.
Brøndal, Jørn. “‘The Fairest among the So-Called White Races’: Portrayals of Scandinavian Americans in the Filiopietistic and Nativist Literature of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries.” The SHAFR Guide Online, 2022, doi.org/10.1163/2468-1733‗shafr‗SIM270020317. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.
“4 Racialized Nationalism and the Partial Eclipse of the “Caucasian Race,” ca. 1840–1935.” The Rise and Fall of the Caucasian Race: A Political History of Racial Identity, 2020, pp. 118–61, doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814709009.003.0008. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.
Gossett, Thomas F. Race: The History of an Idea in America. 1963. Oxford UP, 1997.
Jackson, John P., Jr., and Nadine M. Weidman. "The Hardening of Scientific Racism, 1900–1945." Race, Racism, and Science: Social Impact and Interaction. ABC-CLIO, 2004, pp. 97–128.
O'Neill, Dennis. "Models of Classification." Modern Human Variation: An Introduction to Contemporary Human Biological Diversity. Behavioral Sciences Dept., Palomar College, 2013.
Sussman, Robert Wald. The Myth of Race: The Troubling Persistence of an Unscientific Idea. Harvard UP, 2014.