Essay On Race And Race

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).

Over time people began to show more and more similarities in different ways. Race is only used in terms of the appearance of people and what they have in common biologically. The following will will focus on how society constructs the idea of race and how it is applied today. `Introduction Although historical perspectives show racial differences as a biological factor, recent studies show that race is more a social than a biological fact. To this day the notion of race is an ongoing debate.

Society in general still fails to understand this concept and therefore does not establish this vital information to the public. This information will make people think and hopefully change certain aspects of their mentality about what race is and how they perceive it to be. It’s time that more individuals become educated on the matter and realize that race is a term we no longer need to use. “Until the philosophy which hold one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned... Everything is war. Me say war.

One idea that was taken into belief was racial standing based on skull size and features. The human skull was us... ... middle of paper ... ...lieve that races are distinct biological categories created by differences in genes that people inherit from their ancestors. Genes vary, but not in the popular notion of black, white, yellow, red and brown races. Many biologist and anthropologists have concluded that race is a social, cultural and political concept based largely on superficial appearances. (4) In the past, races were identified by the imposition of discrete boundaries upon continuous and often discordant biological variation.

With the advancement of science, it is likely that a new method will develop in an attempt to classify everything in nature, including humans. Because of racial discrimination and prejudice, anthropologists will likely continue to strive for a uniform understanding of humans and their variations, thereby eradicating the deeply embedded racial concept held by Americans. Science has brought about confusion within its various disciplines, therefore creating an unstable consensus. Social stratification will continue unless a consensus is reached in which the public can understand and apply, therefore continuing segregation based on physical variations and negating the concept of a multicultural society.

Our insistence and belief in the idea of race as biology, though, underlines the socially constructed nature of race. Racial groupings of people are based on perceived physical similarities (skin color, hair structure, physique, etc. ), not genetic similarities. Nevertheless, we are inclined to equate physical similarities with genetics. Sociologists also use a temporality to argue that race is a social construct.

Many social scientists describe race as a human group that defines itself and/or is defined by other groups as different from other groups by moral excellence of having an essential characteristics and unchangeable characteristics. (Van den Berghe, Race and Racism pg. 42) The last key term to define racism is any set of beliefs that organic, genetically transmitted differences between human groups are associated with the presence or the absence of certain socially relevant abilities or characteristics, hence that such differences are a legitimate basis of invidious distinctions between groups socially defined as races. Racism in America There is no nation in the world that sees “racis...

Research suggests that the categories used to collect data regarding race and ethnicity in modern psychological research is not inclusive enough for modern America (Helms, Jernigan, & Mascher 2005). Race can be defined as “the biological characteristics reflected in physical appearance” (Helms, Jernigan, & Mascher 2005, p.1) and it is definitions like this one that most researchers use to design measures of race. It should be noted, however, that race can be thought of as a social construction and not an innate concept. Social construction is “-the human ability to invent meanings and act as they are true,” (Smedley & Smedley 2005, p.17). This highlights that a simple race question cannot encompass everything about a person’s experience as a member of a racial group in this country.

Through research of DNA samples, scientists have been able to declare that race is not biologically constructed due to the similarities between human genes. Nevertheless, in reality, people still emphasized on biological aspects such as skin color, or hair texture to categorize others into different races. This in turn, denied the true identity of race, which it is culturally constructed. Ethnicity, by definition is also culturally constructed, therefore it greatly resemble race. There is no real clear line to distinct the two.

It also suggests that people who use these categories to indentify groups, or as a basis of discrimination, are "doing" race and ethnicity to others. Stereotypes and other notions based on race and ethnicity are simply more ways people do this to eachother (Markus.et.al.p140) While there have been many previous "scientific studies" that "prove" the differences between races (such as the questionable study of measuring skull sizes to determine the IQ of a race), We now know that these studies were not accurate and were simply means by which to justify racism. Current studies have proven that there are actually no biological markers that are unique to one race or ethnicity(Markus.et.al.p144.). Unfortunately, as Ritzer cites, if men define a situation as real, the consequences of these situations become real. (Ritzer.p265) We can see today, that the consequences of the imagined race and ethnicity have become very real.