Essay on The Study of Human Race and Ethnicity

Race is not an element of human biology (like breathing oxygen or reproducing sexually); nor is it even an idea (like the speed of light or the value of π) that can be plausibly imagined to live an external life of its own. Race is not an idea but an ideology. It came into existence at a discernable historical moment for rationality understandable historical reasons and is subject to change for similar reasons (101).

When describing Race they state that its roots are not within the biological realm. That Race is a social construct and cannot be defined genetically.

Although race as a physical condition has likely occurred in societies from the beginning of human existence, it

What is race? Some people attach "race" to a biological meaning, yet others use "race" as a socially constructed concept. “Most biologists and anthropologists do not recognize race as a biologically valid classification, in part because there is more genetic variation within groups than between them” (. So, it is clear that even though race does not have a biological meaning, it does have a social meaning - usually detrimental to our social harmony. Race is neither an essence nor an illusion, but

From a biological perspective, race is a social construct that has little bias in genetics. In the PBS documentary, episode 1: Race: The Power of Illusion, Microbiologist Pilar

The idea of race in society is truly that; an idea. However, one of the first things one notices about another human is their perceived race. Often, incorrect assumptions are made about a person, based on his race. In addition, many believe race can be determined by biological factors. However, there is no biological basis to race. Without a doubt, genes play a role in our skin, hair, and eye color; however, there are not certain genes present in an entire race and not another. Race is not clear cut; if one were to travel from either pole to the equator, a specific location could not be identified to separate any two races.

The principles of genetics and evolution show that race, biologically does not exist. The differences that appear in humans does not come from an allele that marks for a specific race. Usually most of the variations we see in humans comes from mutations that occur. The change in DNA is a major factor of variation in humans, it is something random which means certain attributes aren’t associated with a specific race. Another important thing to note is that all humans share the basic structure of DNA. This reinforces the idea that race is a social construct, not a reality of nature. Another main source of variation comes from gene flow (the movement of alleles to and from a certain location). Populations have always been moving from one place to another, and through this a trait can become more unique or more common. So there is less to do about

Think about how much race affects a person every day. Maybe today you disclosed your race on the SATs or were passed over for a job opportunity because your name is too “black”. Race exists in our culture, but racism should not. Everyone tries to get rid of it, but humans ultimately created it, because it is a construct of cultural. Every day we form judgements and fall into stereotypes. Our children watch this discrimination and let it carry into their own futures. Strangely, these judgements and stereotypes are not technically race, merely the creations of an ignorant culture. To begin avoiding this, people need to learn that technical race and our world view of race are very different, and that humans may be too unique for concrete groupings.

Is race a biological myth? First, what is race? According to thefreedictionary.com website, race is defined as a group of people identified as distinct from other groups because of supposed physical or genetic traits shared by the group. This website also says that, “Most biologists and anthropologists do not recognize race as a biologically valid classification, in part because there is more genetic variation within groups than between them”. These groups of people are united and classified together based on common history, nationality, or geographic distribution. When looking at this definition, my thoughts were that it says nothing about skin color, so I decided to pull out good old Webster’s. According to Webster’s dictionary, race is defined as division of mankind, based on skin color. How can two definitions of the same word be so different, is my question? Our books says, there are lots of different definitions for this word, and I found that to be true. Why must we classify people by the color of their skin, it just makes no sense to me. Our book says, we don’t, it also says all these meanings are inaccurate and based on theories scientists discarded generations ago. (Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the USA, 2014, p.9)

Race is a social-constructed terminology where it categorizes people into groups that share certain distinctive physical characteristics such as skin color. However, race and racial identity is unstable, unfixed and constantly shifting, as race, typically, is a signifier of prevalent social conflict and interest. Although, many, particularly anthropologists and sociologists, argue in the aforementioned point of view, some – mainly white population -- believe that racial characteristics are biologically inherited.

Race is not a biological reality because there are no indications of some biological DNA that would have a certain outcomes of a race. The variation in skin tone comes from the mix of certain races. For example, the mix of black and white would result a skin color of Latino. However, the mix of white and yellow (Asians) will most likely result a child having more essential characteristics of white people. It is impossible to classify humans into races because human is making a new race every single moment from the combination of two people who come from different races. Light skin and dark skin have a lot to deal with the temperature, latitude and langtitude of the region. It could be characterized by a regions, instead of ethnic groups. Race

the notion of race is a social construct is has real consequences and effects. The scientific examination of the human genome shows there are no genetic differences among races. Race is socially constructed and operates to benefit the dominant group in society. Race indicates a status, and based on that status, it includes or excludes individuals from broader social constructs and enables or disables certain powers. Since the U.S culture favors lighter skin within and across racial and ethnic groups, Caucasians get all the opportunities and are presented with various advantages.

I think that to a certain extent race is a biological reality. Maybe at the beginning of time, race used to be only a completely biological reality. But as time passes by, thanks to globalization there is a lot of "mixed" people out there that it is starting to be more of a social construct. There are ways to be able to tell how it can be a social construct. First off, race is never defined the same by two different people from two different places. Culture and other things change the meaning; it varies depending on where you ask and who you ask. The reason why it varies from place to place and

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

If you would have asked me, "Do you believe race is biological or that is was socially constructed?", I would have responded with the same examples you may commonly receive from scientist or anthropologist; that race is in fact biological and deeply rooted and shared from generation to generation by DNA. However, through analyzing Pearson 's, Chapter 11 Race & Ethnicity we discover various examples in which history has built the shelves in which everyone is neatly categorized for its convenience even if not entirely in truth.