Karima Meloni Ethnicity Soc 235 Essay #2 Ethncity is the fact of belonging to a social group that follows a common cultural tradition. Race refers to “groups of people who have differences and similarities in biological traits deemed by society to be socially significant”.Although this is the official definition there are many different meanings to these two words. These words are something we are asked many times in our life, from meeting a new person or even filling out a job application. How we answer these questions determines how people may view or respond to us. When figuring out my schedule I had two electives I was obligated to complete and ethnicity was one of the options. At first I didn't understand why but seeing that I am a Social Work major I understood that as Social Workers we deal with people from all walks of …show more content…
These are words Ive heard before but never truly understand them until we had a class discussion on what they mean also what they mean to other people. Discussing assimilation which I've heard many times in many of my social work classes was different to hear it in this class. In both classes it is looked at as a way of survival when coming from a different cultural background. In our class we also looked at it as a negative for people or immigrants who lose there cultural and completely conform into the dominant society. It opened my eyes on how americanized people have become, and how easy it is to forget the amazing things we share culturally but might not be accepted in the dominant group. Another word we discussed was minority group and ethrocenism. These two terms go hand in hand in a way if you look at how one minority group can pass judgement or have stigmas of another group. Having our own cultural backgrounds and norms we easily can judge which creates competition, which we see a lot of in todays
In today’s society where an abundance of resources exists, social workers are often the entry point for people to access services. Therefore, it is imperative for social worker professionals to have a clear understanding of themselves in relation to the client from a cultural perspective. While the social work profession has always focused on social justice and oppression, it wasn’t until the civil rights movement that there was a conscious shift in the social work pedagogy to focus the social service practice on race, racism, and training the workforce in cultural competences. Later in the mid 1980’s, the tone of cultural competence would shift from race and racism to a more inclusive language, which includes a more robust list of all types
Since 1619, when the first slaves were brought to North America, race has played an important role in everyone’s life; especially those who are different from what people would consider “American”. According to the textbook, “race is defined as any group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographical distribution” (pg. 59). People are placed into different categories instead of all being considered human beings. Although we do not have slavery, that we know of, in the United States today, this does not mean that race is still not an issue. However, race in this country has taken a turn over time and has now, “taken on a meaning that refers to differences between people based on color” (pg.
In today’s society, it is acknowledgeable to assert that the concepts of race and ethnicity have changed enormously across different countries, cultures, eras, and customs. Even more, they have become less connected and tied with ancestral and familial ties but rather more concerned with superficial physical characteristics. Moreover, a great deal can be discussed the relationship between ethnicity and race. Both race and ethnicity are useful and counterproductive in their ways. To begin, the concept of race is, and its ideas are vital to society because it allows those contemporary nationalist movements which include, racist actions; to become more familiar to members of society. Secondly, it has helped to shape and redefine the meaning of
As defined by Cornell and Hartmann ethnicity is “a collectivity within a larger society having real or putative common ancestry,
Many first and second generation Canadians are struggling to balance their ethnicity and nationality. Once one may embrace who they are, they can express and be who they truly are. David Suzuki, Amy Tan, and Jhumpa Lahiri’s have demonstrated that no matter how much a person changes themselves on the outside, they will always remain the same on the inside.
During the 18 century, people divided humans based on where they live and skin color like Europeans as “white”, Africans as “black”, Indians as “red”, and Asians as “yellow”. For example, in Haiti, color has been the dominant force in social and political life. Skin texture, facial feature, hair color, and socioeconomic class together play a role in placement. The anthropological perspective define race as members of a society have similar biological traits. These members are diverse from other members of society because of these traits. In the end, the race concept is not acceptable to humans but it is used as a cultural classification. ...
The idea of ‘race’ is a problematic concept in various academic fields. In the discipline of Anthropology, the definition of this term carries much controversy. The concept of race that many people hold is in a sense, a social construct that changes amongst different cultures, one could look at different cultures to see racial definition as a cultural phenomenon in action (Kottak, 2000:139). King supports this idea that races are not established by a set of natural forces, rather they are products of human perception, “Both what constitutes a race and how one recognises a racial difference are culturally determined” (1981:156). Cashmore provides a brief definition of race as “a group of persons connected by common origin” (1988:235). However, Cashmore goes on to argue that the terminology of race has been used to reflect changes in the understanding of physical and cultural differences (1988:235). Cornell and Hartman argue the characteristics that constitute a definition for the concept of race are complex. The authors claim that race can be categorised in social and physical terms. Race is a “human group defined by itself or others as distinct by virtue of perceived common physical...
People who have distinctive physical and cultural characteristics are a racial ethnic group. This refers to people who identify with a common national origin or cultural heritage. But remember that race refers to the physical characteristics with which we are born. Whereas ethnicity describes cultural characteristics that we learn.
...e in the future. It also helps me understand why there is so much diversity and how it can be both positive and negative. It is positive because when there is a more variety of cultures and ethnic group living together it brings diversity, unity, and peace. However it can be negative in sense that, when it comes to trying survival or “fitting” in many are faced with oppression such as inequality, racism, sexism, and are often put at a disadvantage which bring can put them into poverty. I think that assimilation theory can be useful because it can be applied to everyday life and help one better compare and understand different types of societies and the process that the people go through.
Race is a term that references on differences such as, facial characteristics, skin color, and other related characteristics. Race is not in reference to genetic make up. A feature of race as a social construct is that it down plays the extent to which sectors of population may form a discrete ethnic group. Based on specific characteristics race makes up a person and differs within groups. In other words race is a large group of people distinguished from others on the basic of a common heritage or physical trait.
Being able to identify with a certain group has been an issue that individuals hesitate with daily. Am I Black, are you a girl, what religion do you practice? These are all common questions that society has forced individuals to concentrate on. Should an individual have to pick a side or is it relevant to the human race to identify with any group? One may believe not, but for others having and knowing one’s own identity is important, because it is something that they have been developing their entire life. Along with how their identity influenced their life chances and their self-esteem. This can also affect how society interact with whatever identity an individual chooses to live. Which is why it was important to recognize how identifying
The most extensively used definition of ethnic identity was developed by Jean Phinney in which she maintains that ethnic identity is a dynamic, multidimensional construct that refers to one’s identity, or sense of self as a member of an ethnic group, a sense of belonging and attachment, positive attitudes or feelings about one’s group, and participation in social activities and cultural (Phinney, 1990). The underlying assumption of these studies is that individuals with positive, well-developed ethnic identities are able to achieve healthy personalities and high psychological well-being (Helm & Cook, 1999;Phinney & Kohatsu, 1997). Identifying strongly with one's ethnic group, that is, possessing a solid ethnic identity may shield from the harmful effect of discrimination on one’s psychological well-being. Carol Ryff believes well-being can be described through a number of components such as self-acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, environmental mastery, autonomy and positive relations with others. A strong sense of identity and the development of self-esteem are both central to well-being.
Theory is defined as “…”. In the social work profession, it is not enough to just understand the definition of theory, but rather be able to integrate theory into practice when working to plan interventions at multiple practice levels. This integration of theory into the social work practice is an emphasis of the profession as noted in the profession’s core competencies. Core competency 2.1.6 “engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research” (NASW code of ethics) is the basis for theory integration within the social work profession. The profession’s practice behaviors state that social workers must “use research evidence to inform practice” (NASW code of ethics). In other words, social workers should “attend to findings
Research is a necessity when it comes to providing services. Social Workers need it to be able to determine their clients ' needs, to see what resources/services they have access to and if their client doesn 't have much access where can they get it. Research is also used to see how effective an intervention is and whether it would be a right fit for their clients. It provides social service agents with ways to identify problems within their clients, communities, organizations, and the government. Also it helps them to create ways to aid in effective change. It is very beneficial when a social worker needs to "assess the needs and resources of people in their environments, evaluate the effectiveness of social work services in meeting people
The social work profession is defined as “a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people (ISFW, ‘Global Definition of Social Work’, 2016).” The definition may be true about the profession but it is more in depth than just that. To me, the profession’s primary focus is to help others through life as much as we can while letting them make their own choices and guiding them. In society, social workers are utilized in many different nonprofit and government roles. They serve the community in many different ways from monitoring parent visits to helping people through mental illnesses. Human beings are so complex and things that happen