Preview

Race & Ethnicity in Our Society

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2537 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Race & Ethnicity in Our Society
Race and ethnicity are important concepts and plays a great deal among our society.
Very few of us are aware of the difference between race and ethnicity. Many of us assumed that is the same definition. In Sociology this terms have a very specific and different meaning.
Race: Is your biological features this can include your skin color, eye and hair color, as well as a tendency toward developing certain diseases. Race can’t be changed or disguised. Race does not have customs or globally learned behaviors. In other words race refers to only your genetic history and identifiable physical characteristics that are separate and distinct from other races. For example Hispanics are always generalized as Puerto Rican. Skin color does not necessarily connect to your cultural background.
Ethnicity: Is a concept referring to a shared culture and way of life. This can be reflected in language, religion, material culture such as clothing and food and cultural products such as art and music. Ethnicity is often a major source of social cohesion and social conflict.
Ethnicity is not just a person’s race. For example the term Caucasian means white, but this term doesn’t describe a person’s ethnicity. We can have three white people from different parts of the world like Canada, Ireland, and England. Just by looking at them we can’t determine from what part of the world they are from. But, if we give them appropriate items from their culture, like religion, language, food preparation and preferences, then is easy to determine their origin. Ethnicity is about tradition, behaviors and customs. We can change our ethnicity but not our race. Ethnic groups have a consciousness of their common cultural bond. Ethnic groups doesn’t exist simply because of the common national or cultural origin of the group, they develop because of their unique historical and social experiences, which became the basis for the group’s ethnic identity. For example prior to immigration to the United

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Through out Germania, Tacitus used ethnicity and race to define sets of people. Ethnicity is a social group of people that share common aspects of their life, such as religion language, and culture. Race, is a group of people who are similar and have distinct physical characteristics that they commonly share. In today’s times, race and ethnicity is how we often categorize people.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    · Ethnic - A child who identifies with a common heritage, consisting of a common culture, including a shared language or dialect.…

    • 1302 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ethnicity is a group that is set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural pattern. Ethnicity also factors in ancestry and belief such as religion. A great example to demonstrate how ethnicity is different from race is how an African American culture is dramatically different from an African from Africa. I am a Black American Christian who can not relate to any of the culture that originated in Africa including their traditions and language.…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Being raised in a community where people “share certain beliefs, values, habits, customs, and norms because of their common ground” (textbook, p. 372) from rest of the world, I consider myself an ethnic person. I grew up in Nepal in which learned customs and traditions through enculturation therefore I have different native language and culture than ethnic Hispanic or white. The language and culture distinguish…

    • 65 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Berthoud modood and smith (1997) define ethnic group as follows: a community whose heritage offers important characteristics in common between its members and which makes them distinct from other communities. There is a boundary, which separates ‘us’ from ‘them’, and the distinction would probably be recognized on both sides of that boundary. Ethnicity is a multi-faceted phenomenon based on physical appearance, subjective identification, cultural and religious affiliation, stereotyping, and social exclusion.…

    • 2725 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ap Human Geography

    • 1873 Words
    • 8 Pages

    ethnicity - cultural, linguistic, or religious identity held by a group of people with common national origins…

    • 1873 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Today sociologist understand race as a social concept and not a biological fact. For example White Americans are able to choose and pass for what race and ethnic backgrounds they want to claim. The decision to claim Irish American, rather than Irish and French American depends on the situation. During St. Patrick’s Day one might claim to be Irish and not French because the French is irreverent to the situation. This person would be called an optional ethnic because their social situation makes it most convenient to be just Irish. Another example is when parents fill out their children’s census ancestry reports. “Only about 60 percent of the children of English-German marriages are labeled as English-German or German-English. About 15 percent of the children of these parents are simplified to just English, and another 15 percent are reported as just German. The remainder of the children are either…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nvq Level2

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ethnicity - ethnicity means being part of a group living and sharing the same way of life and culture, a Muslim family or community will eat same type of meat (Hallalh), and believe on same god (Allah) and believe what Islam teach them.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Race As Social Construction

    • 3245 Words
    • 13 Pages

    “biological race”: view of race that are hereditary. Terms like Black, White, and Asian. Ancestors determine membership in genetically defined racial group…

    • 3245 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What Does Race Mean To Me

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The terms race and ethnicity to me are two very different things. Race is said to be determined by your physical appearance. I believe that we are what we are. So many different things in society today have had a label put on them. If you fill out a survey they ask for your race. If you apply for a job, they ask for your race. I cannot seem to understand the point in all of this. Everything is said to be “equal opportunity”, yet every time you turn around someone is asking you to check the box beside your race. I would like to think that the term “equal opportunity” actually meant something. The concept of race in the United States is unknown. However, in my opinion, it is to prevent…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Now we discuss the concept of ethnicity; Ethnicity is defined as the changes in a group on the basis of culture, trends or traditions. Such as drum dance is in the culture of Africans which differentiate it from other cultures, thus defining ethnicity.…

    • 151 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Race In Society

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Race refers to the physical and biological traits of a person where the ethnicity of person refers to the cultural makeup of that person and the heritage they identify themselves with.…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Race is physical and biological traits of a person, while ethnicity is cultural characteristics. Race is also a social construct made by people to categorize individuals into groups. Unfortunately, America has had many problems with racial discrimination from the start of this nation to modern day. The mass murders of Native Americans are a tragic example of genocide. Genocide is the eradication of a race or ethnic group.…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The distinction between race and ethnicity is important because ethnicity can be displayed or hidden whereas racial identities are always displayed. Race and ethnicity are important in the field of sociology and have great role in every day human interactions.…

    • 229 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays