‘Racism’ Down Under: The Prehistory of a Concept in Australia

Abstract

‘Racism’ Down Under. The Prehistory of a Concept in Australia The conceptual history of ‘racism’ is hitherto underdeveloped. One of its assertions is that the term ‘racism’ originated from a German-centric critique of völkisch and fascist ideology. A closer look at the early international usage of the categories ‘racialism’ and ‘racism’ shows that the circumstances were much more complex. Australia lends itself for validation of this complexity. It once shared a colonial border with Germany, had a substantial number of German immigrants, and, during both world wars, was amongst the opponents of Germany. Even so, the reference to Germany is only one of many elements of the early concept of ‘racism’.