A Brief Note On Social Science And Race

To many people across a variety of different nationalities and cultures, race has been proven to be a key factor for how society views you in the eyes of those who are prominently in charge. The term race has been brought up in recent years, to be considered a form of identification, as the word race is used to describe physical characteristics such as a person’s color of skin, hair, and eyes. When in reality, the correct term they should be using is Ethnicity. As a result, the term race is used to separate people into sub-categories based on the color of their skin. This type of classification, is a man-made creation used by society to classify certain groups of people into lower classes, while keeping the predominate group in charge at the top.

Humans define race by how they conceive and categorize different social realities. Thus, race is often referred to as a social construct. The differences in skin color and facial characteristics have led most of society to classify humans into groups instead of individuals. These constructs affect us all, and they often result in situations where majority racial groups cause undue suffering to those that are part of the minority. The understanding of race as a social construct is best illustrated by the examination of racial issues within our own culture, specifically those that have plagued the history of the United States.

The race is an indefinite term, which has not been created from science or research, but more so the idea of what it is. Essentially, race is all about perception. One person may separate races based on a certain category of traits while another person uses totally different guidelines to define what races there are. Race has ultimately been created socially, therefor has no biological components until people connect the two terms. This paper examines the connection between society and race while taking you through America 's history, and explains the social construction of race.

Race and ethnicity cannot always be defined. As children, we grow up and we learn to associate different contexts with different meanings and even different cultures. My paper is based on the origin of race and how ultimately it can be used

Throughout history and across the different cultures, people socially construct ideas of race. All races of people are not biologically different because there is no genes or gene clusters similar to all people of one race, but because people have similar visual traits humans have categorized people as being different. Due to these differences, societies have been known to show tendencies based on the socially constructed races and people develop personal views about the various races from past experiences. In large cities in the United States there are areas where the African American population is more dense, which shows that people draw imaginary boundaries due to race. An example of how the social construction of race is that in the United

All through history, the label that is associate with Black people have become a prevailing discourse that explicitly racialized black people, even today. There are specific characteristics that are related with being black and are disseminate to the public and are represented as truth. Williams Rose (2002) argues, “As the color white is associated with everything good … so Blacks has, through the ages, carried associations with all that is bad and low… the Negro is believed to be stupid immoral, diseased, lazy, incompetent, and dangerous to the white man’s virtue and social order “(p.181). Blackness have become objectified in public spaces, they are view as a threat on the street of Toronto, surrounding areas and even in the criminal

It is crucial to define several sociological terms in order to discuss the issue of race in depth. Race might be studied from two perspectives: social and biological. From the biological perspective, race might refer to physical or biological traits of an individual. For example, eye color,

Race is not something that is an exact thing. It is a social construct. It is a reflection of who you are and what you perceive.

An important dialogue has been created amongst historians. This dialogue is based on whether or not race is a biological factor or a social construct. Both ideas will be explored. Race plays a large role in our society. Certain races have stigmas associated with them that ultimately lead to discrimination.

I have to say this was the first time I looked at race and ethnicity as being “socially constructed”. I had to really look at what the definition was and what it really meant. After reading the article you provided and chapter 2 in the book, and also doing a little surfing to find other articles on the subject. I agree with Mr. Johnson that race is “socially constructed”.

This article relates to the concept of the complexity of identity formation regarding race and social class. Race is a social construct. Most people's perceptions of race is based on the color of one's skin. During the hiring process of the mathematicians referenced in the article, others assumed differences in these women's intellectual abilities compared with their own. White Americans did not want African Americans to succeed. Their stories were never told and their contributions to society were never uncovered because the dominant culture wanted the credit all for themselves. In Maya Wei-Haas article she says, “Though the pressing needs of war were great, racial discrimination remained strong and few jobs existed for African-Americans,

The English term ‘race’ is believed to originate from the Spanish word raza, which means ‘breed’ or ‘stock’ (Race). People use race to define other groups, this separation of groups is based largely on physical features. Features like skin color and hair don’t affect the fundamental biology of human variation (Hotz). Race is truly only skin deep, there are no true biological separations between two ‘racial’ groups. Scientifically speaking, there is more variation between single local groups than there is between two large, global groups; the human variation is constantly altering (Lewontin). The majority of today’s anthropologists agree that race is a form of social categorization, not the separation of groups based on biological

Omi and Winant’s discussion from “Racial Formations” are generally about race being a social construct and is also demonstrated in the viewing of Race - The power of an illusion. Omi and Winant have both agreed that race is socially constructed in society. Ultimately this means that race is seen differently in different societies and different cultures. Media, politics, school, economy and family helps alter society’s structure of race. In the viewing , also media as well as history seemed to create race by showing how social norms have evolved in different racial groups.

The current race issues in America led me to seek out the anthropological perspectives on race and ethnicity. Historically, anthropologists typically only provided research within their own cultures versus pursuing research about us all. It is important to understand the history of race and ethnicity globally. Every culture and background offer information about our beginnings are human beings. Understanding each cultures role, lifestyle and environment helps piece together details about humans as a race in itself aside from our varying differences within our species. In performing this research we are able to observe behavioral changes amongst varying cultures as well.

The subject of race, within the field of sociology, can often be viewed as both a fluid concept and a cultural experience. Contrary to popular belief, race is not biological, but is a socially constructed category of people that share the same biological traits. Race can often change over time and is formed primarily by our personal views and the views of others. These can range from ethnicity to self-presentation and feelings of place within society. One example of the fluidity of race can be seen based upon the classification of the White or Caucasian race. In today’s culture, this race has been drastically increased to include a vast array of “white” individuals.