Diversity And Race-Thinking

In “Thinking About Diversity”, Frank H. Wu details about his experiences as an Asian American. Wu says that, “some non-Asian students do, indeed, assume that I am gifted with mathematical, scientific, or computer-programming talents solely on account of my race” (Wu, 147), this concept shows the overview picture of Asians, but this does not apply to every Asians. The mathematic, science or computer programming is a universal subject that most industrialized places like Asia teach to students. Most Asian immigrants are familiar with those subjects because they already learn it back home and are able to do well on them, not because of a race. A race cannot provide a special intelligent to people, it’s just a different classify groups of people.

Race is a hot topic in our world. We all think we know what race is. After all, we are constantly being bombarded with it whether it be from media, politics, or sports. The truth is that race does not revolve around the idea of biological traits or characteristics. It is a modern concept that we as a society have created to divide people into categories. I will argue that race is socially constructed from a biological, political history, and sociological standpoint, and how it may impact other areas of our society.

This article written by Mark Nathan Cohen, who is an anthropology professor in the State University of New York; talks about how race does not define human diversity. In the article, he also mentions that in school students learn the definition of race based on “biological variation” and not based on their culture. The professor Cohen says that studies on human family tree that were based on their genetic analysis of traits do not show any relation of who those traits belong to. He gives an example by stating that even skin color is not a god indicator of who it relates to because the “traits occur independently in several different branches of the human family.”

One of the most prevalent themes throughout the world’s history is the dispute over race and racial differences. But, there is a problem: the majority of the population doesn’t have a clear understanding of what race is. Race is a socially constructed grouping of people that was created in order for people to differentiate themselves from one another and has many sources of influence. While most people believe race is determined by biological characteristics (hair type, skin color, eye shape, etc.), this is not true. To make things more complicated, there is no cut and dry definition to race. Authors of Race and Ethnicity in Society, Elizabeth Higginbotham and Margret Anderson, claim that there are seven different distinct ways to define race. They begin with the popular belief of biological characteristics, and, as mentioned before, through social construction. They go on to note that race can be formed from an ethnic group, from social class rank, from racial formation by institutions, and also can form from one’s self-definition (Higginbotham & Anderson, 2012, p. 13). All of these ways to define race have been seen throughout our history, and many of them have caused problems for minorities, especially in the United States.

During my time enrolled in Psy 3325: Stereotypes, Prejudice Discrimination, taught by Dr. Tay Hack, we explored several topics concerning social differences. Using the textbook ‘ Understanding the Psychology of Diversity’ second Edition, I gained a deeper understanding of how the mind groups individuals together both consciously and unconsciously thus influencing the way we treat a person. In this course we covered racism, classism, homosexism, weightism, ageism, and the stigmas that come with these titles.

Race is a “human-constructed categories that assume great social importance. Those categories are typically based on observable physical traits (for example, skin shade, hair texture, and eye shape) and geographic origin believed to distinguish one race from another” (Ferrante 2014). Based on the definition, the reading I made, and the video of “A Class Divided”, I believe race is a social construction idea made by society to distinguish between different races, and then passed that view of race from generation to generation because that is what they have been told from an authoritative person to believe since childhood. Once people have knowledge of what is the meaning of race, then society creates racism, prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination against other races.

A relatively recent topic, meaning in the last one hundred year, within society is the concept of race and if it is biologically true, this meaning that evidence suggests a biological reason behind the different categories of race that are independent from social, economical, or personal views. This type of discussion can raise many concerns, questioning the possible social constructs revolving around race and its reason for being used in society today.

Whether it’s filling out forms for the doctor, financial aid, or even job applications, the one question that we almost unconsciously answer is the question of race. Race is a prevalent and influential part of our everyday life that surprisingly many do not even understand. What is race? For years race has been used as a tool in the subjugation of human populations on the perceived notion of biological superiorities. Race by definition is a population “that develops distinct characteristics differing from other populations of the same species”, while these variations may have social and cultural implications, genetic evidence suggests race has no biological significance (Biology-online.org, 2014).

Race is an illusion. People have lived in the illusion of race for hundreds of years. When the concept of race is analyzed, it becomes clear that racial divisions

The concept of diversity is one that individuals may not think of when they think of nursing. Diversity is a major component to nursing and the care that is provided to patients. In this concept analysis, antecedent, attributes and consequences of diversity are identified. The following antecedents are: race, social economy, knowledge, gender, and education level. The attributes of diversity are individual, variety, perception, difference and civilization. The consequences of diversity are as follows; acceptance, decision making, cultural competency qualifications, respect, degrading, trusts

When we think of race, what do we think of? Generally if you ask this question, the idea of what race is delegates different explanations or answers. What if there was validation that race does not exist; that we only think it does. The motivation behind my research is the interest in showing that we are all genetically the same, no matter the difference between our physical appearance, especially having a high interest in the evidence(s) within Sociology. I had a professor who was very thorough with her evidence, as well as explanations. It got me thinking: “what can I prove to other’s who may disbelieve, or have a hard time understanding?”

It is important to understand our diverse Americans because our country is full of unique people from across the world. Our society is built with people that celebrate their religion In their own way and our country lets us embrace our religion. Our society is an environment where people can exercise their religion without persecution of religion, unlike in other parts of the world where individuals aren't free to practice their religion. In addition, there will always be that Americans will respect you no matter what your background is, unfortunately there's also a small portion of Americans out there that will disagree with you and the choices you will make. As of right now there aren't many places to go without witnessing diversity at

Very good discussion post. I agree with your discussion post about diversity being important for our minds. When it comes to personal perspective it can make us believe something untrue due to being too close. I use to think that I lived in a diverse neighborhood because we were all different races. I failed to understand till later in life that diversity is much more than our skin color and/or the language we spoke. Then again as children, some of us grew up hearing over and over about skin color, so in our minds when we were surrounded by people of all races it was diversity.

As I reflect over my life, I appreciate the many diverse experiences I’ve came to encounter. My experience with diversity dates back to birth. I am from a small rural town, Moss Point, MS. and notably the last state to abolish slavery. The town currently has a population of 13,704 people and consists of 73% Blacks or African Americans, 23% Caucasian, 1% Hispanic or Latino and 1% bi-racial.

We live in a society where people come from different countries, they belong to different cultural, religion, ethnic groups, and races. All these factors come together and contributes to differences that make us unique from each other. Hence, a multicultural country with huge diversity. This reflection journal will cover what “human race” is and what role it plays in ones’ personal life and in a nursing profession. Moreover, what bias, assumptions and judgements are, and how to avoid them. Lastly, what caring is and what role does it play in nursing.