...When examining the concept of race, it can be said that it is constantly fluctuating because of different factors. Race can be defined as a variable that is shaped by broader societal forces, whether it is political, social or economic forces. It is also important that views on race differ from country to country because of different agendas, whether it be to exert dominance or power over other groups. Race can be considered as a social construction because it is used to maintain hierarchies, as seen through it’s lack of biological support and shifting societal views on race. Race is a social construction because it is constantly changing due to shifting societal views on race. First, it is important to note that a socially constructed concept is an idea that is defined as “a perception of a group, individual or idea that is constructed through cultural or social practice” (Dictionary.com). In other words, society creates an idea of what race is, and how races should be distinguished from one another. Race does not have a consistent definition, and can change based on the society that is being examined. In “Racial Formations”, Omi and Winant discuss the use of race as a social concept and conclude that the definition is not rigid, but is used to maintain domination. Omi and Winant believe that this domination is a result of racial formation”, or the “process in which race operates as a central axis of social relations, which then determine social, economic and political institutions...
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...Assignment Module 2 1. Explain why we say that race is a social construction and provide an example. • Race is a social construction because race is not static. The definition of race and what constitutes it has changed over the years. This is usually based on the biases and feelings of superiority among the dominant race who seek to create and enforce differences based on their own agenda. Race is an ever-changing thing. For example, with mass immigration to America in the late 1800s and 1900s, the term white was broken down into various categories, and not considered one race. There were the Irish, Italian, Polish, etc. all considered different races and discriminated against by initial “white” Americans. Gradually this changed where all groups merged to be lumped under one umbrella of the white race. This highlight how race has and continues to change based on...
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...The conception of the word “race” has been described as one of the most “misunderstood, misused, and often dangerous concepts of the modern world.” (Mooney 2017). The term race has been used as a way to describe particular nationalities, religion, skin color, and even the complete human species (the human “race”). “Confusion around the term race stems from the fact that it has both biological and social meanings.” (Mooney 2017). The social construction of race means that “the actual meaning of race lies not in people’s physical characteristics, but in the historical treatment of different groups and the significance that society gives to what is believed to differentiate so-called racial groups.” (Mooney 2017). People have learned to recognize...
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...What is race? Is race a product of social construct? In short, race can be described as an ideological force. People use the concept of race as defining and differentiating one group of people from another. In reality, race is merely a made up concept, and the differentiating traits are varying physical phenotypes. So why does the idea of race exist within society? Darder and Torres would argue that the existence of race is likely due to the “race relations paradigm”. Race relations can be described as the relations between different “racial and ethnic” groups and societal influences such as politics, economics, and or social issues. How do different classes of people and or minorities relate to these issues? What are the social norms associated between different groups of people (or classes) and these issues? These predetermined notions tend to be harmful in modern society, as they appear to promote segregation, whether inadvertently or intentionally. Throughout history a paradigm has been created within race relations. Meaning that patterns have emerged throughout time when handing racial issues. Oppression continues in differing forms and there is no true acceptance or even acknowledgement when regarding racial issues and stereotypes....
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...of Race Race is a group of people of common ancestry, distinguished from others by physical characteristics, such as hair type, the color of eyes and skin. Race as a social construction is changing as time goes on. Our daily lives are affected by race whether we are aware of it or not. We can see all over the world that race has affected various domains of our lives. From the types of jobs we have the amount of money we make, the kinds of friends we keep, the food we eat and even the schools we will attend. The entire foundation of race is constructed on a platform based on the color of people’s skin. The construction of social reality is based on social groups and the agreements and disagreements that are made based on the acceptance of certain constructions when it comes to our existence. There is nothing biologically real about race. I have learned that that there is no certain identification of race that exists from our collective agreements, acceptance, and positions other than our existing with one another. Race is a social construction that has real consequences and effects. Race shapes the way we view ourselves and those around us. We shouldn’t have an objective knowledge about race. We can know what race is and how it works being aware that regardless of the various shifts in the meaning of race that they have occurred through history and going to occur geographically but this should not lead to skepticism and the destruction of positive social constructions. ...
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...Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Empowerment: How are gender and race socially constructed? From a social construction point of view, gender and race don’t mean anything. They have meaning because the society defines a meaning for them (Judith, 1998). By social construction, we mean how the society group people and how it gives certain groups an advantage over others. For instance, somebody believes that he is a man only because the society says he is a man, not because he wants to be a man. One has no choice to become what he or she wish, but must follow the classification the society has defined. According to Ruth (1993) our daily lives are influenced by race and gender, whether we are aware of it or not. Everyone sees life through a racial lens that colors our society. This view leads to the racial formation. Judith (1998) defines racial formation as a socio-historical process whereby categories are formed, inhibited, changed, and destroyed. By socio-historical, Judith (1998) meant that race was created and given meaning by society due to the many historical events that happened over time. The society classifies people as white, black, Asian or any other minority group (Ruth, 1993). Therefore, the way are seen and how we see other people affects different aspects of our lives. These elements can include the type of friends we have, the kind of job we have, and the amount of money we make. They may also include the type of school we attend and many other things that make us...
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...Distinguish between the concepts of race and racism. Do you agree that the concept of race is socially constructed? Can you use the conceptual framework for understanding identity to understand racial discrimination? ……………………………………………….....………………………………………………………………………………………… ….………………………..………………………………………………………………………….......................................................... To answer the following question, we would go through a re-interpretation of the word race. Followed by the biological, historical and social aspects of race from where race becomes racism (idea of social construction which in itself contains the notion of Identity). When we claim the view of race on identity, we are slowly drifted to the currents of Ethnicity. Race is a modern concept. The English language didn‟t even have the word „Race‟ until 1508 when William Dunbar referred race to a lineage of Kings in his poem. Historical records show that neither the idea nor ideologies of race existed before the seventeenth century. We will now randomly take up a definition of Race, keep it as a base for understanding and then reinterpret it if required. According to “Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy”, the concept of race has historically signified the division of humanity into small number of groups based on five categories. i. Races reflect some type of biological foundations. ii. This biological foundation creates discrete racial groupings such that all people of the same group share the same biological characteristics...
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...children with each other. So, our differences biologically are superficial, hair texture, some ailments which tend to be environmental, and skin color. Those who want to dismiss the notion of the social construction of race normally do so due to their inherent bias to attribute dysfunctional behavior in minority communities due to a racial makeup instead of addressing more systemic problems that plague these communities. Countless studies reveal that lower income people of all groups tend to follow the same negative trajectory. Racism is the belief that one race or culture is superior to another, regardless of biological evidence that negates this belief. This difference – the perceived inferiority of one race over another – is commonly used and abused as basis for discrimination, whether institutionalized or individualized through social construction. The widespread societal and institutional changes in America since the 1960s have done little to eliminate discrimination faced by racial minorities even after the election of a black president. Race is not just a social construction but a historical construction that has been embedded into each of our lives through social classes and institutions since the day we were born. “Even though race is constructed through historic meanings and social interactions it is as much a part of our national character as themes of patriotism.” (Defending Whiteness, 8) Minorities historically have had less access to quality education. Less access...
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...DEFINATION OF RACE Name of Student Institution affiliation DEFINATION OF RACE Social constructionism relates to the socially create nature of social life. Social constructionism is therefore created by a group within a society by happens due to the fact that the society encourages and supports it. Social constructionism can therefore be considered as a social norm and it continues to be relevant as long as people put timeinto practising it and talk about it.A race can best be described as a group of people who are perceived to some physical characteristics which are quite distinctive; which mainly include skin colour and facial structure. These two distinctive racial characteristics are perceived to be inherited biologically.This paper, therefore, aims to highlight on the view of race as a social construction. The human race is not only dependent on the distinct physical attributes and skin colour but alsoreligion, language and nationality play a significant role in distinguishing race in human beings. In most cases race is used as an ethnic intensifier where it often try to justify or exploit one one group over the other.In the American society, the idea of race seems to be so fixed that it seems impossible for the society to take up an open-minded approach when challenging this idea.In the American society, race is perceived as a discrete scheme of classification. Therefore, it is mostly considered as a social construction. On the other hand in these society race is also...
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...What is race? Common responses in the Sociology 222 class were, 'race is something we are born with' and 'race is the same as skin colour'. When looking at these statements from a Sociological perspective, we have to ask ourselves a few relevant questions. Why are sociologists critical of the above statements? How do research writers challenge ideas about social construction and institutionalisation of race under apartheid and colonialism? This essay is going to discuss a number of readings in order to answer the above questions. This essay will also look at the relevance of the Jane Elliot experiment for thinking about, and understanding of race as a social construction. Lastly, this essay will discuss what we can learn about the dynamics of apartheid from the experiences of Sandra Laing in the film 'Skin'. In conclusion this essay will evaluate the various opinions and research done on the matter of race, and how race is socially constructed. Firstly, we have to look at how and why sociologists are critical of race as a biological phenomenon. Race is widely discussed and debated all over the world. The main sociological focus is the effects of social race and how race is used to categorize people into groups. When we look back in history, we see that race was seen as a biological factor for many centuries. When explorers from Europe in the New World discovered people who looked different, raised questions such as ‘Did God only make one species of humanity?’ and ‘Where...
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...SOW 5629 Lecture 1 Constructing Differences The readings in this text explore how the categories of race, class, gender, and sexuality are socially constructed and transformed into systems of inequality. I. Introduction Your author states that the categories that we use to describe ourselves and those around us are the product of social rather than biological factors. Relative to race, it is unlikely that anyone is “racially pure.” But we have to recognize the social factors, because these are the bases for social interaction in our daily lives. These social factors make them culturally significant in our daily interactions. Question: Just because we are culturally different, does that make difference itself into a negative? No, it is not differences that are necessarily negative. In fact, cultural differences make us more interesting to one another. So differences in and of themselves, do not make us unequal. **It is the meanings and values applied to these differences that make them harmful. So when we apply meanings and values to these differences, we are essentially creating structures of social stratification – a system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy, and how social stratification results in systems of inequality. In this hierarchy, those at the top of it, are deemed to have positive attributes, and are the keepers of the culture and society. Therefore, they are viewed as being more moral, and intelligent...
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...Social Construction of Whiteness The concept of whiteness, or white privilege, for centuries has been ignored as a potential area of study because it has been widely accepted as the societal norm. Many whites have benefited socially, economically and politically without understanding that most of the privileges they have historically received are solely due to their race and/or gender. The purpose of this review is to analyze the social construction of whiteness from a theoretical perspective, whites understanding themselves and their social status, in addition to the evolution of whiteness. Many studies have been undertaken on the social construction of whiteness. These studies shed a lot of light on the different perceptions on whiteness, gaps in research, areas of highest research interest, strengths and weaknesses of the various methodologies, and direction for future studies. In the study done by Hartmann, Gerteis, and Croll, the focus was on the theoretical aspects of whiteness studies. The findings led the researchers to estimate that in the United States, 15% of the population exhibit what may be called ‘categorical whiteness’ (404). The study by Hartmann, et.al, was carried out using data obtained during a recent national survey, which helped provide an empirical assessment of the theoretical underpinnings of whiteness studies (Hartmann, et.al 404). Three propositions regarding the awareness and conception of whites about their own racial status were analyzed. The...
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...Alyssa Boyer SOC 144S 5/1/2012 When pondering about way that I would describe myself, I would usually come up with physical attributes and personality traits to portray who I am. While thinking deeper into my true identity, I see more broad aspects as well as social constructions that have made me who I am today. Due to social construction and the culture that I have been brought up in, I would describe myself physically and share the things that I do in my life. I was raised in a place where everyone around me was similar and if they were of a different color, gender or sexual preference I shouldn’t and wouldn’t look at the differences in them. When taking a step back and looking at the differences between other’s identities and my own, I see that I am a Caucasian female. I am an upper-middle class American but I come from French and German decent. I come from different decent, however myself and my family will always identify with American because ourselves and our grandparents were all born here in the United States. I am heterosexual and I have identified as a female athlete most of my child and adolescent life. I was raised going to Catholic Church so I identify as somewhat religious and attend a highly respected university so I am identifiable as student as well. These words that I use to describe myself show the differences between my upbringing and other cultures. I grew up in a pretty well-off family and in a nice area of a small town. As I grew up, the only...
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...Abstract The point of this paper is to help the reader grasp the different aspects of human identity construction with regards to ones race and/or ethnicity. This is a topic that is incredibly important to all races of people regardless of economic class or whatever else is seemingly more important. It is quite impossible to go throughout life without forming an idea of who you are or where you have come whether you care to make it a part of your daily life, have no choice or acknowledge it when it is convenient; without that knowledge I find it difficult to fully make the most of life. Through the readings from the semester and class discussions I have come to the conclusion that White ethnics choose to either assert their ethnicities thickly or thinly, or they chose to incorporate it into their lives symbolically. Blacks on the other side of the spectrum lack choice in their racial identity because their race is visible and so it is assigned to them. Asians have both the ability to choose to assert their specific ethnicities but they are racially assigned. The issue with racial and ethnic construction is that it is born of social construction-what others believe of your race to be true. This can make the identity construction process much more difficult depending upon your racial or ethnic background. Regardless, I find this to be an important part of the identity construction journey. How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone. These...
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...African Americans remained in the hands of the dominant race. Their tools of malice and control transitioned from whips and legislation to social stigmas and stereotypes. The social stigmas and stereotypes formed are the concepts of identity, race and gender. As notions of equality grew more popular, the malice diminished but the social stigmas and stereotypes remained. To deny their influence on the shaping of my identity would be equivalent to denying the slave trade's existence. Despite the relevance of both in today's society, both are starting to fade away into the thick cloud of historical amnesia that tends to grasp the minds of every American generation. In order to ensure that the lesson’s learned, and to be learned from both remain, it is imperative that such topics be discussed and evaluated. Identity is a complex shaped by individual characteristics. Gender is however a group defined by masculinity and femininity, the attributes attached to being born male or female. Race is framed by social relations and historical context. All social conceptions formed by social construction. People don’t have an understanding of how society operates because of their environment. What is needed now, they were saying, is no longer an education faithfully dedicated to a critical understanding of the world, but an education strictly devoted to the technical training of a labor force (Freire 31). Before the African American slave trade race discrimination did not exist. In 1619 when blacks...
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