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Sociological imagination about racism
Why is race a social construct paper
Why is race a social construct paper
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Professor Dorothy Roberts discussed her latest book Fatal Invention where she made references to how science, politics, and big business recreate race in the 21st Century. She discussed with Tavis Smiley the different incentives that are used in science, business as well as the Government to categorized race. Despite research that showed that the black race and the white race is only .1% genetically different from each other many are still making an argument that the races are very different and merit ongoing discussions In terms of commercial incentives, Professor Roberts believed that many products are produced based on the assumptions that you can divide the human species into biological groups call race. This was evident in the labeling
7) and laments the idea that science should be hindered by political correctness. Instead, he argues, because of the painful events of yesteryear and the common fear of what road racial genetics leads down, we have all but blinded ourselves to race entirely. In an effort to correct past wrongs, we have inadvertently overlooked an important factor in better understanding our own beginnings and how cultures and people around the world have evolved to modern times. Wade presents his argument with a myriad of facts and citations from prominent figures, lending credence to his point of view. He further points out that this field of study is often marginalized and ignored precisely because of the political connotations of the subject matter.
Coates explains to the audience that “race is the child of racism, not the father.” This quote, though originally confusing, is the epitome of this idea; race is not a natural or inherent category to define people with, but a tool created through the practices of racism and oppression. For instance, white people “had a ‘race’ before being ‘white’”; they had a culture, a background, and an ethnicity such as Frankish, German, or Italian. However, the grouping and division of race into a black and white issue was created solely from the hatred of one group, African-Americans, and the rising up of another, white people. As Coates expresses, “hate gives identity,” and with the oppression of black individuals being an ongoing issue for centuries in this country, the separation of “black” and “white” as races were the result.
Why does Snip argue that race is a social construction and what are contributing factor of the changing definition of race and ethnicity? According to Snip race is a product of human beliefs, which carries certain ideology and political agenda. Snip, argues race is a social construction because there is no scientific evidence indicates whether race is real or not. He believes race is what individual believes about it and the concept of race constantly changing depends on context.
Common Assessment Essay Race is defined as people who have differences and similarities in biological traits deemed by society to be socially significant. Throughout American history, race has played a key role in shaping the formation of America. Wars were fought over race, and many died due to the color of their skin. Native Americans endured a significant amount of hardship due to what others thought about them. They were known as savages and murderers.
The beginning of the book highlights the importance of race. Race was invented and assigned to individuals solely on their outward appearance. Most Americans unconsciously accept race as a product of Mother Nature. In reality, it has nothing to do with your genetics.
Race is something that is used to organize groups of people to fit within descriptions, generally based on their physical characteristics or bloodline (Conley, 2017, p. 326). This organization can be used to justify personal or societal inequalities. “We all see the world through a racial lens that colors our world black, white, Asian, Mexican, minority, or “other”. How we are seen and how we see others affects various domains of our lives and the lives of others; from the types of jobs we have, the amount of money we make, the kind of friends we make, the places we live, the foods we eat, the schools we go to, etc…”(Lusca, 2008). Physical characteristics are something easily seen and generally used by most to separate people in to groups.
a. Race appears because people’s identities are assigned through it. This is a means of distinguishing a group and a means of control over it. The essence of society is that a small number of people exploit most people in the name of the development of human civilization, and race is the most powerful political weapon for them. b. Social construction is something or an event that is a meaningful to the society, it reveals how the social is constructed and how people are participating in it. c. Money is a kind of social construction, people accept the value of money and consider them as an essential part of the society.
Schwalbe writes: “many people think that they belong to a race and that races are visible, biological realities. But races, too, are human inventions” (Schwalbe, pg.22). Although this may be true, it does not make the concept of race less real. Because people choose to believe race is real, race is a social reality. Schwalbe also talks about how who a person is, depends on the social world that person grew up in.
The sentencing disparity for drug use by race is disproportionate for African Americans because of The War on Drugs. Matthew Lassiter (2015) explains, “In 1951, Harry Anslinger, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, collaborated with senate of criminal investigations to target black ‘dope peddlers’ who were luring pretty white blondes into drug addiction”(2015:128). According to Lassiter (2015), Anslinger believed that peddlers, who destroyed teenagers’ lives, required the most sever punishment (2015:129). Using this rhetoric, presidents like Nixon and Reagan would shape the way drug laws are enforced.
Social Construction of Race Race shapes individuals identity whether consciously or not. It determines the way others perceive us and how we perceive others based on skin color, characteristics, and stereotypes that are created by society. However, race is not an objective truths, but rather a subjective illusion created by society. Haney Lopez dives deeper into socially constructed race and determines that biological races are false, and social race exist as a social phenomenon.
Sociologists define race as a social construct because society has classified various groups of people based on physical characteristics such as skin color under the assumption that other characteristics would also be similar. This had occurred without any biological proof of correlation. This has also led to faulty belief systems such as racism, ethnocentrism, and the propensity for stereotyping. Fortunately, the intermarriages between races and subsequent procreation has helped cracked the facade of racial differences, at least those that aren't manufactured by society. I have a biracial niece whose father is black and mother is white.
According to the film race is a biological "myth" and as outdated as belief that the sun revolved around the earth. Race is a concept that was invented to categorize the perceived biological, social, and cultural differences between human groups. Based on modern genetic science that can decode the genetic puzzle of DNA there is no significant genetic or biological differences between the races. Race is an artificial construct imposed by the ruling classes to justify first slavery and then segregation. One of the main findings concerning the genetic make-up of the students in the course was that skin color really is only skin deep.
Among anthropologists it has become increasingly clear that the concept of race having a biological basis is fundamentally flawed. There a number of flaws with this concept of race. One issue is that features attributed to race, such as skin color, very across the globe in a clinal fashion rather than in uniform groups. Another issue is that there is more in-group variation within races than there is variation between races. Finally, human variation is non-concordant.
I do believe that someone’s race and gender influenced our society. For example, our society stereo type women in the work industry. Our society has divided gender’s role in the work industry. Where women are expected to work as a server or a teacher while men are expected to take a more masculine role such as an engineer or a construction worker.
