Javier Cepeda
Harris
SYD4700 Reaction Paper #1

1. According to Farley, the concept of race consists of two components: social and physical. Social recognition and identity as a distinct group is important for a group of people to be considered a race. Also, every race is considered to be somewhat distinct in appearance from others. However, the fact that physical appearances matter when defining race is what makes it a “socially constructed” concept. The different races that are known to us today each carry a physical characteristic in which it identifies with, but what is important to note is how these differences were chosen. Society as a whole is what chooses the physical component in race and because of this it varies from time to time and place to place.
2. To support the statement that race is a “socially constructed” concept one must consider that racial formation, which is the process in which race operates as a central axis of social relations (Gallagher 19), is said to be a result of diverse historical practices (Omni and Winant). It is clear that racial terms and identities are something that has been shaped by the general public over time. For someone to claim they are black or white is nothing out of the ordinary in our society today, but what is intriguing is the fact that as recent as the late 19th century such racial grouping would have been quickly challenged. The term “black” came about when the distinction of indentured servitude and racial slavery took place at the hands of colonial masters. It wasn’t until later that whites began to see themselves as a distinct racial group (Farley 7). With the immigration of Eastern European workers, the classification of them in racial terms was contested and they were subject to nativist-provoked discrimination; nevertheless, the term “white” was consolidated amongst the working class and in turn