...Professor Cedillo Sociology 100 2015 October 23 Race Race is defined as a category or group of people having hereditary traits that set them apart. While race revolves around the idea of biological traits, ethnicity is based on a shared cultural heritage. Sociologists and other social scientists believe that race is a socially constructed concept. It is an idea that was created in society to justify inequality. One way that race perpetuates itself in society is through stereotypes. A stereotype is an oversimplified set of beliefs about people from a certain group in society. There are numerous stereotypes for people of all racial and ethnic categories. While most of these stereotypes are negative, the stereotypes for some groups are much more damaging than others. For instance, whites have always been stereotyped as being racist, greedy, and bad dancers. Compare this to some of the more damaging stereotypes of African Americans which include uneducated, violent, and unemployable. Clearly, these stereotypes are much more damaging. Nina Revoyr’s novel, Southland, provides a glimpse into the injustice, scandal, and struggle in Los Angeles from the 1940s to the 1990s due to its racial composition. The novel contains a unique cast of characters who, although often times interact with conflict, are forced to live side-by-side one another in their separate attempts to attain the American Dream. Southland proves to be a story that illustrates how ethnic, racial, and...
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...Teresita Dowd RACE The meanings and expectations a society creates and attaches to groups based on perceived “Important differences” is defined as Race. Race is a thing that society has created as an identifying characteristic that is important in classifying people in negative or positive ways. Race is a concept that people have created which began as an idea, became a thing, and was deemed as important and accordingly impacted our beliefs and actions in enormous ways; thus, it is constructed socially. Race although it is made up by society is still important in the way that we attach meanings and expectations to the different members of society. Race, while made up, is still important in the way that we attach meanings and expectations to the members of different race groups in society. Every society constructs race differently and as time moves forward ideas about race change and evolve. In today’s world, racial stratification is based on the physical characteristic of skin color. This racial stratification helps decide your access to resources for certain racial groups, and raises a person’s risk of having or not having things solely based on the color of the skin that they are born into.(Student Work 75) These differences are only as important as society elects them to be, and there are no deep rooted advantages or disadvantages to having any of these characteristics except those that society has created. In American society, being White is conceived as being “better”...
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...Race is a term that describes a group of people with similar descent. I believe race is determined physical specifications such as color, language, eye shape, or even things such as blood types. Human beings as a whole are described as the “human race;” I believe this to be an accurate definition as human beings (despite color, language, or any other physical characteristics) are all the same. Genetically speaking, we are all made up of the same “parts.” The term “race” is an all-encompassing statement used to define a large group, overall. Ethnicity defines the background of a particular person or thing. This term encompasses many backgrounds and associations. Foods can be “ethnic” if they originate or are commonly consumed in a specific country or region. The same applies to human beings. One’s ethnicity may be determined by his or her birthplace, religion, of beliefs. Ethnicity does not define physical characteristics, but rather backgrounds and traits. The United States is a melting pot. This country is made up of thousands and thousands of different people from different places. The USA is home to many ethnic backgrounds; however, the population (in my opinion) is a single “race.” We are all humans, as I have previously stated. Although our ethnic backgrounds may differ in many different ways, all in all, we are one race. This is important to bear in mind. Heritage should always be recognized, as it typically is in the United States. But acknowledging the vast backgrounds...
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...racing was already over. Drag racing is a big part of my life. All of my spare time is spent working on my 1996 Honda Accord. With a big import drag racing approaching quickly, I spent most of my waking hours for a week tuning my car. Sweat and hours of hard work finally prepared my car for racing. The interior was stripped down to the sheet metal and contained only the driver's seat to reduce weight. The whole exhaust system was removed to gain that little edge of power, which is essential for racing. My car was finally race ready, waiting to tear up the track. The following day, our race team met up at the track. In the pit area, we changed out our street tires for high performance drag slicks. After a few more last minute adjustments, I pulled into the staging lane and waited for my turn to race. Little did I know that my first race would end up in disaster, a blown engine. All of the hard work and dedication towards my car seemed to be a futile effort because of the...
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...Comparative essay on race/ethnicity ENG 125 – Introduction to Literature Instructor Benjamin Daw May 15, 2011 Comparative essay on race/ethnicity In this comparative essay, I will talk over the role and ethnicity in “The Welcome Table”, written by Alice Walker and “What it’s like to be a black girl”, written by Patricia Smith by exploring the difficulties that black women face, no matter of age or where they may live. When it comes to these two stories and poem both written by black women, the one thing both writers have in common is their main character is a black women or girl. Both have dealt with some form of discrimination because of the color of their skin is black. In Alice Walker, “The Welcome Table”, she writes in third-person omniscient trying to explain to the audience how this old black lady just wanted to worship inside of a church, any church. This older black woman has finally found a church, once she was inside she did not even realize that this church was for the white folks – all she wanted was to worship the lord. The older woman in this story was not afraid of the fact that all the members were white, this is the first sign of discrimination against her based off her race no one wanted her to stay there but she was determined to worship the lord inside of this church. Everyone in the church wanted her to leave the church, telling her this is not your church and she did not belong there. For some unknown reason...
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...The implications of Holler in the workplace are the importance of being respectful of colleagues. Although comments and actions may be made with good intentions, it is important to consider how they will be received by others. In Holler, Mrs. Davis addresses the author’s father by his first name not knowing that he and his children consider it disrespectful. At the beginning of the article, I didn’t understand how the author could justify getting so much pleasure from beating up an innocent boy who had not done anything directly to provoke him. After reading about McCall’s experiences growing up and specifically attending Mapp, I can understand his desire to release the built-up aggression he has for the way white people treated him and his family. Rage also has very important implications in the workplace. It explains how black people and white people have such vastly different experiences which make it impossible to empathize with each other. This “lack of a common perspective” shows that America is far from racial equality in the workplace. I agree with Cose that America has come far in the fight for equality since the Civil Rights Movement, but we as a country have a long way to go before we achieve true equality. VS proves the point that diversity in the workplace and open communication make for a more successful and effective business. The white men holding the highest positions at the magazine didn’t ask the opinions of their black employees. The author explains...
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...The term race is an unavoidable part of life. Even though it is little bitter, we have to accept that it still exist in the society. I believe race is a social construct, because from the article named The Color Line, the Dilemma, and the Dream by LAWRENCE D BOB talked about Jim Crow racism and how America is trying to get over it for decades. Even though people say they are not racists in any terms, racial beliefs exists in every person deep in heart. Overcoming the beliefs of race is the best evidence to show that the race is a social construct. The article also talked how people see race after getting more education. The whole mentality was changed, and open mind towards equality was common in whites after they gain higher levels of education. Education is a formation of a person. The more a person is educated, the more open minded he/she would be. So according to the article, it really reinstates that racism is just a narrow minded attitude which shows lack of education....
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...Race is the major division of human kind. The classification an individual. Yet we are all human, all from the same species, does that not make us equal? Is the inequality amongst the human race biologically or sociologically constructed? Race has become the fundamental thing, telling you who someone is and where they belong. Race defines you as an individual. Brian Jones stated; “Race is a social fiction imposed by the powerful on those they wish to control.” Jane Elliot, conducted an exercise where she divides her class based upon the color of their eyes and bestows upon one group privileges and on the other group impediments. She is famous for her experiment (Elliot, 1970). Jane is trying to portray to young children how discrimination feels, by classifying students according to eye color and not skin color. She causes major conflict between the students who have been classified in a lower class than what they feel they are. Jane is emphasizing how easily it is to judge someone according to physical appearance and that people fail to see what lies behind the human eye before judging them. Jane shows how superficial and society based race actually is. Jane’s experiment shows how different races became more friendly towards each other, due to the emotional development from this exercise. This exercise increased the motivation of young children to socialize with people who were socially defined as a different race. It also portrays how racial identities are...
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...Defining Race and Ethnicity Robert Cogg * Race is a very real topic in American society. Although race is a subject that is not easily and very scarcely talked about, the conversation is much needed and should be addressed at a much more frequency. Race and ethnicity come up in some way, shape, fashion or form in our everyday lives whether we like it or not. I will define what both race and ethnicity mean to me and how these terms are important in our society. Defining Race and Ethnicity Being that I am an African American male, race and ethnicity are very relevant in my everyday life. I have been discriminated against, and hired, both because of my race. I have been denied and accepted on the basis of my race. Ethnicity is defined as an ethnic group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or assumed- sharing cultural characteristics. Race is defined as the categorization of humans into populations or ancestral groups on the basis of various sets of heritable characteristics. This being understood, systematically and historically my race is that of a discriminated one. History has shown that African Americans suffered slavery, and still suffer the effects of slavery to this day. This is what makes race and ethnicity relevant to me. In my everyday life I may have to list my race at any moment. If I fill out a job application I am asked my race and ethnicity. If race doesn’t matter, then why am I asked? If there...
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...My definition of race prior to watching the video was that race is a grouping method used to classify humans into similar populations or groups based on cultural, ethnic and social background. Race, to me, represents a person's physical appearance, such as skin color, eye color, hair color, build structure, etc. My ideas about race come from social experiences. My new definition in regards to race is that we are very similar to one another whether we want to accept it or not. That we, as a Society, are the ones who created the classification of individuals’ base in the situation we were born into. Nowadays it is believed that race is a matter of cultural interest rather than scientific facts such as that of skin, eyes, and structural build. Race is not hereditary. Experiences and education at home, schools and society interactions are how we have learned to judge individuals in regards to color, social and cultural differences we all experience through life. I was surprised to see how many similarities were found in the science projects after analyzing DNA from each student. I believe the students were also surprised as at the beginning of the project they voiced who they picked to have the greatest similarities with themselves, as we could see every student pick the person they though could be closes match to them because they based their answers on physical similarities such as skin color and ethnic background. The students, as well as I, now see race classification have...
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...Midterm Paper | Nature and race: Classifications The idea of nature is a broad topic that leads to various concepts, and interpretations. Nature and its many implications have undergone countless amounts criticism, and trials that have led to many arguments of the ways nature is to be understood. Nature in retrospect with sexuality, race, class, gender, language, and politics plays an ideally large influence on how the word is implied. Although each individual meaning is relative to the idea of nature; race has the most significant impact on how we categorize, and classify others. Race is commonly referred as a natural thing, something that has been embedded and instilled in our everyday actions. Some may argue that race has no relation to how we classify others, but others such as myself argue that race is represented in our human experiences and has became a part of how we categorize people and their cultures. To back up this argument I will use texts such as Nature’s Body: Gender in the making of modern science by Londa Schiebinger, Soft-soaping empire: Commodity, Racism, and Imperial Advertising by Anne Mclintock, and Reading National Geographic by Catherine. A Lutz, and Jane L Collins. Each of these readings explains how race has become something of a natural element amongst people. These forms of text will help me to structure my argument and defend them against the counter arguments. Race can be defined as a social construct. Race is commonly used to group and...
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...Death Races people don't really have many injuries. The important thing is that the racers are prepared to handle all emergencies. Even when the racers get inquired they keep going. The creators of the Death race don’t give much information about what you’re going to do and what you need to be trained for. They just want you to show up and are prepared to face any obstacles. You really don’t know what kind of injuries you might get or maybe you won’t get injured. Many of the races quit because of their injuries. They don’t want to their injuries to get worse. To others racers, inquires motivates them to finish the race. This is exactly what Ella who is a racers, she broke her shin open. Even though she was in pain and blood was gushing from her wound she finishes the race. Many racers who have done the Spartan Race have said that it was great experiences even though they went through some pains during the race because of their injuries. Also the injuries don’t prevent them from coming back. Many of the racers come back because they had great time doing it. Sometimes the races die during the race or after the race. For example Jeremiah Morris, 28, died from apparent heatstroke in a hospital a day after that event. Robert A. Fecteau II says he was paralyzed after diving head-first into a muddy pool. The Spartan race can be dangerous but that doesn’t stop people. They don’t care what the consequences of the race. They want to feel like they accomplish a very difficult race. Many...
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...Race is classification of humans into distinct populations or groups by factors such as heritable phenotypic characteristics or geographic ancestry. This often influenced by and correlated with traits such as appearance, culture, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. In the beginning of last century the term race was often used, in its taxonomic sense, to denote genetically divergent human populations which can be marked by common phenotypic traits. This is still used in our day for forensic anthropology (when analyzing skeletal remains), biomedical research, and race-based medicine as proxy for geographic ancestry with some reliability. In addition it is used in law enforcement to describe the closest picture of wanted suspect. Human classification on the basis of physical traits is difficult because factors such as invasions, migrations, and mass deportations have produced a heterogeneous world population. Nevertheless, by limiting the criteria to such traits as skin pigmentation, colour and form of hair, shape of head, stature, and form of nose, most anthropologists historically agreed on the existence of three relatively distinct groups: the Caucasoid, the Mongoloid, and the Negroid. “Criticism of the idea that there are clearly recognizable racial types does not imply that all human populations are uniform or that population cannot be grouped into larger units that, among themselves, have certain similarities” James C King (1981). The Caucasoid is characterized as pale...
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..."Is there a superior race?" This was one of the questions posed, and an episode, by Through the Wormhole. Currently it doesn't appear that there is. The posit from the scientists presented during the episode is that on a biological level there is no more room, in humanities current state of evolution, to improve mentally. This is supposedly because for the brain to improve, it would require much more space and energy than is readily available. For these kinds of changes to take place births would become too difficult or infancies would last significantly longer. These scenarios would make the likelihood of their fruition highly unlikely. The scientists hypothesized that the next evolution in intelligence, toward a superior race, will be brought forth because of technology and the highly social and globally availability of information. Because the changes in different things like cell phone and social media the human evolution is propelled artificially. A superior race brought forth from cooperation and a technological society. There is another artificial way, the scientists admit, that may bring about a superior race. This superior race may become evident from a very exclusive class in society, the wealthy. This is more of a dire scenario in which a wealthy class reserved all the best services and resources for themselves while the rest of humanity was left the scraps. This would eventually produce a much higher evolved group of humans among the elite, while the...
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...Definition of Race Cristen Sanders SOC/262 February 29, 2016 Carol Definition of Race Race has been an issue in the United States for hundreds of years. At times it seems like more of an issue than it should be. No matter how far we come, it always seems that another issue arises and it leads back to race. If we view race as a social construction supported by political realities, can complicate things more than needed. We can compare this view to traditional, and biological definitions. The downside to both of these views can be seen. Traditional views of race may inhibit the thinking and beliefs of others. Going back to the slavery days to the Civil Rights Movement, and issues that have arose in more recent times, the arguments, and hate do continue. If we view race as social construction, more minds may be open to the idea of racial equality. Many of the racial issues we have today are supported by political realities. Politics are the main division of race. There are many political realities that fuel the racial fire. We see so many children involved in crime, abuse and so many other issues that plague us. So why is it when a child is killed, or a victim of police brutality, the media always emphasizes, that a black child was killed by a white cop? Would it not be a better idea to say a young adult or a teenager was killed by an officer? Race does not always have to be an issue. But as long as the media and politics are thrown in, then money is to...
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