Reflections On Nation, Race And Ditch, By Sadiqa Khan

In a carefully worded essay I will discuss the aspect of ‘race’ as a hindrance to the

In the first Chapter of the book ‘A Different Mirror’ by (Takaki, 1993) the author embarks on a descriptive narrative that tries to elaborate the concept of a multiracial America. The chapter begins with the author taking a taxi ride in which he is subjected to racial discrimination. The taxi driver questions the author’s origin owing to the fact that his English is perfect and eloquent. This incident prompts a discussion that transpires throughout the chapter as the author tries to explain to his audience that America is a multiracial country with different ethnic groups that moved from their homelands to settle in the United States. The chapter discusses the settlement of various racial groups such as; English immigrants, African

“At a time like this, the retreat to one’s own kind is seen by more and more of my peers as an advance. And hat retreat has given rise again to the notion that there are essential and irreconcilable differences among the races” (413 Liu). Liu’s elaborate use of words are what really sway the people reading his argument. He describes the sociology of how people react to immigrants and how unjustified it is. By doing this, he portrays how similar everyone is to each other or how equal they are.

Ending of this Introduction to Ethnic course I will discuss of two key learning moments that will stay with me upon my departure from this course. I also will discuss of learning tools that help guided me through this course. In addition, I will discuss of what I had gained fromthe two moments of learning. Lastly, I will share how I can continue to learn and discuss about ethnic-studies related issues.

Joseph Healey’s “From Immigrants to White Ethnics” is a generalized comparison between the varying groups of individuals that accompanied the colossal waves of immigration to the United States from Europe in the nineteenth century. Immigration to this country resulted from a number of reason such as religious persecution, individuals seeking to find employment after industrialization in their home countries limited their livelihood, and political oppositions to name a few. On arrival the immigrants knew immediately they were of the subordinate group and faced “discrimination and prejudice” (Healey, 2012, p. 54), although some more so than others. Among the first immigrants to arrive in the United States were Northern and Western European citizens. Unlike the immigrants from Ireland and Southern and Eastern Europe that chose the United States for their new homeland these individuals were probably the most accepted by the majority, even if considered just nominally superior to the others. Included in this group were the “English, Germans, Norwegians, Swedes, Welsh, French, Dutch and Danes” (Healey, 2012, p. 56). This acceptance was due in part to the similarities that the dominate group held as ideals such as their religion, along with cultural values and characteristics. If the Northern and Western Europeans found acceptance difficult, individuals from Ireland and the Europeans from the south and east had an even more traumatic experience. Whereas the more accepted group had

Neda Maghbouleh’s The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race is a book that demonstrates the harsh and often complex reality of being an Iranian in America. By law, Iranians are classified as white and at home, this classification is supported by the “Aryan Myth” that Iranians are white. To support her idea that there are limitations of whiteness, Maghbouleh cites past court cases as well as case studies of several Iranian Americans who experience racism in their everyday lives. Based on the information provided by the book, I will argue that the laws that classify whiteness and its effect on Iranian Americans is a main factor in why Iranians are treated like outsiders. I will also argue that the way whiteness is perceived by American society also contributes to how limiting it is to be classified as white.

“Sitting on the hard-wooden bench, I watch each white person clear immigration in seconds and I’m filled with hopelessness” (Ahmad 38). In the short story, ‘I Belong Here’, the author Amin Ahmad tells of the unfair treatment he experiences while at a British airport. Ahmad was born in Calcutta, India. He now resides with his Caucasian fiancé in Boston, Massachusetts. This essay was published by The Sun Magazine in January 2010 and reprint by Utne Reader May-June 2010. His documented experience exposes, “splendor and heartache of being human” (38). The warrants Ahmad uses to support his claims are not directly stated but more implied. He incorporates various descriptions and scenarios that correlates with his argument. For instance, he compares the two passports at the beginning of the essay. This comparison hints to the reader that he will soon encounter judgement based on appearance. Ahmad then proceeds to the next scenario. He is placed into a categorized with others like him and receiving the same treatment. Finally, he uses his fiancé as an example of what many people do while witnessing unfair treatment; attempt to minimize the situation. His claim is apparent. Inequality is a significant issue mainly targeting those of diverse backgrounds, ethnicity, and race.

How race determined who was in and who was out. As Dickerson states “if race is real and not just a method for the haves to decide who will be have-nots, then all Europeans immigrants, from Ireland a to Greece, would have been “white” the moment they arrived here. Instead, as documented in David Roediger’s excellent Working Towards Whiteness, they were long considered inferior, nearly subhuman, and certainly not white” (69). This shows how race wasn’t about common culture or history but a concept to decide what race is good enough to be consider “white” or better than others. Even though the Europeans where the same race or color of the other people who considered themselves Americans or “white” they were still discriminated for being different and immigrants like everybody else. But soon they realized that identifying them self as being white gave them some sort of hierarchy. It gave them more class compared to the other races. As Debra Dickerson said, “If you were neither black nor Asian nor Hispanic, eventually you could become white, invested with enforceable civil rights and the right to exploit-and hate-nonwhites” (69). Being identify as white gave the power to have privileges that non-whites will never have since they are not the same color. Non- whites are treated unfairly compared to the white people in many ways. Discrimination not only took place between people of different races but

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.

From evidence based practice, it has been proven that racism and discrimination is evident in our society. As defined by Webster’s Dictionary, “racism is the poor treatment or violence against people because of their race; and discrimination is the unfair treatment of a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people” (Merriam Webster, 2015). However, in America many immigrants witness, and as well become victims of such behaviors. The hopes and dreams of happiness and sovereignty while in America for some can be a harsh reality. In fact, immigrants are faced with employment discrimination, healthcare discrimination and last but not least housing discrimination. However, this alone can be challenging while fighting to overcome oppression. In the article below these issues are addressed by Isabell Martinez a Hispanic immigrant, and examined alongside the critical race theory, which explains racial inequality in the U.S.

unemployment due to societal prejudices, Djuro J. Vrga’s views on the matter are quite blunt, “ An

The manifestation of racist ideological representations of indianess will be highlighted by analyzing the Van der

In chapter 3, “The Orient and Other Others” Sara Ahmed expresses her view on “orientation”, considering how bodies “inhibit space” and relate both to objects and other people. From this starting point the author then develops and argument on racism and the notion of whiteness, which refers to a societal view of what it mean to be white and how such quality is experienced by non-white people. Therefore whiteness being both a “social and bodily orientation.”

Critical race theory is an approach to examine race as a social construct, and it looks at the social and economic inequality among the different races in society. This theory better understands the different values of the race at different level such as individual, interactional, institutional by highlighting those narratives of minorities that typically do not have the power. The privilege is typically silence those narratives by holding more power in the social position as being White than those narratives. Social position refers to the position that is given to a person given by society and culture, which influenced by the person’s social status. The power of the social position can relate to the privilege and power of whites in politics

Falguni Sheth's Toward a Political Philosophy of Race is an endeavor to air conditioning mean the social production of races utilizing Heideggerian and Foucaudian methodo gy. Sheth's point is to join post-frontier writing about alterity with racial hypothesis in rationality and political race hypothesis. Sheth's portrayals of her hypothetical and methodological commitments, and her short scrutinizes of the insightful conventions she tries to supplant, are probably going to event sharp contradiction. Aside from her hypothetical contraption, be that as it may, Sheth prevails with regards to building up a conceivable autonomous and unique record ofrace-creation by the state, as acontemporary and not only authentic process. In the Introduc-tion,