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The belief that race is merely based on the color of a person’s skin has been the most common used method for defining racial boundaries in the modern world. However, this is not an accurate representation of how human beings should be classifies. According to authors, Omi and Winant, identifying an individual’s race on the basis of physical attributes is the most superficial factor in determining a person’s race (2). These authors, unlike many other scholars in the world do not define race based on an individual’s physical attributes. They define race as being a social concept due to the fact that they recognize that the classification of race varies broadly across the world. As stated by the authors, “In our view it is crucial to break with…
The biological view on race also states that different skin color and other physical characteristics provide visible close to differences lurking underneath. People's temperament sexuality intelligence athletic ability is all presumed to be fixed and palpable mark…
There is a difference between race as socially constructed and race as biologically constructed. Understanding race as a social construct is critical to understanding the capacity of a given race to affect and intersect other domains and aspect of life and the society (Omi & Winant, 2014). A social construct is ontologically subjective in that the continued existence and construction of social constructs depends on social groups as well as their imposition, collective agreement, and acceptance of such constructions (Rutherford, 2017). Race is that regarded as socially constructed since it is ontologically subjective in that it is real in the society and shapes the way individuals see themselves and…
_Race - The Power of Illusion_ is a three part documentary about the origin of the term "race" and some individual views on how race is determined. The first episode; _The Difference Between Us_, explores the biological concepts of race and whether or not one 's race or ancestry can be determined by their mDNA or mitochondrial make-up. Based on the studies by the test group of students at Cold Spring Harbor Labs, the search for DNA similarities or differences among those physically identified as being part of a particular race did not produce the expected results. The idea that race is determined by biological characteristics was thought to unfold the mystery…
The cross-race bias, also called as own-race bias or cross-race effect, in recognizing faces is the idea that people can better recognize faces from their own race, relative to those of other races. In brief, the theory explains how it is easier to focus on individualistic features to differentiate individuals within their own face, but not in other-race faces due to lack of familiarity. This is particularly important in evaluating how accurate eyewitness identification is: cross-race effect plays an important role in the process of identifying the true culprit among the suspects, particularly when the victim and the assailant are of a different race (Hourihan).…
Viewing this documentary was an extremely valuable experience in my understanding of not only some of the material we’ve been discussing in our course, but also in developing a much more developed grasp on the full extent of our nation’s ugly history of racism. While, by and large, I was already keenly aware of many of the events and incidences discussed throughout the three-part documentary including the assimilation and forced removal of Native Americans, slavery, manifest destiny, the idea of the “white man’s burden”, and the study of eugenics, there were so many different aspects to these events that you simply do not learn in grade school.…
Early colonists wanted to keep Africans enslaved generation after generation in order to exploit a cheap source of labor, so European colonists justified the institution of race based slavery on the idea that physical characteristics like skin color are tied to intelligence and inherent superiority or inferiority (Smedley, 1997). For example, early anthropologists like Samuel Morton studied skulls sizes of different races and concluded that since Caucasians have larger skulls than others, Caucasians were the most intelligent and naturally superior (The Science of Race, 2016). Even today, many people are under the assumption that race is a distinct genetic or biological trait, when in fact there are no genetic markers that are indicative of race (Herbes-Sommers, 2003). This has led to the construction of racial categories in a hierarchy that effect one’s standing in a social and economic class (Ore,…
As we explore these distinct variations of race…
Can race be real, yet not biological? This is a question that metaphysicians, social philosophers, and political philosophers have been asking since the idea of race took hold in daily life. Michael Root, a philosopher at the University of Minnesota believes that race is indeed real, yet in a social context, not a biological one. In his essay, “How We Divide the World,” Root argues, to my agreement, that race is an invented social kind that can have a place in science yet not in biology, though he does fall flat in coming up with a constructive way to deal with racism is today’s society (Root 2000, 2). Claiming that race can have a place in science yet not biology could seem counterintuitive to some.…
In our unit on Race and Ethnicity, we will be examining material that illustrates that although race is not a biological reality—it is a social, political, and economic reality that is linked to a socially constructed concept of race. Use examples from the text to provide evidence that race is a sociocultural construction. Post to Discussion Board by Sunday, Feb. 26. In your answer comment on one of the following questions. Respond with a comment, question, additional info, etc. to at least 2 classmates’ journal entries. Select one:…
In this article Fish emphasizes on the fact that race is not a biologically meaningful idea and as a result it is a waste of time to look for biologically based racial differences in behavior. As Fish states, “The short answer to the question ‘What is race?’ is: There is no such thing. Race is a myth, And out racial classification scheme is loaded with pure fantasy.”…
Race isn’t biological. It is in fact a social construct. People are categorized into race based on their appearance. Race has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with society. The article states how race is a social construct, which is true. Race is so powerful, that it possess life or death consequences. The idea of race today was not existent in ancient times, centuries ago. Many of the ancestors would use race to tell one person from the next, not discriminate in the way that we understand today. As Europeans began colonizing new land, race proved a good way in control and overthrow. The dominant group in society would define race in terms of biology. If you were a black person then you were biologically inferior to a white…
In the film Race an Illusion, the social concept of race is evaluated. The government needed race to justify slavery and segregation of humans based off of biological differences. Science was looked at to validate what people already thought about racial differences. This use of science shows how scientific knowledge is constructed. The scientific method is just a process of obtaining data. That data is then interpreted. The perspective and thoughts of the interpreter can skew how the report the data. This was evident in the film when measurements of brain size were used to define race rankings. Scientific knowledge was constructed by societal views of that time.…
When first learning about the term Race it was hard to pin point the actual definition of race in my own terms. We had several readings, all which played a vital role in me; further understanding race and what factors it plays in our society today. In the article Sports in Society by Jay Coakley, Coakley defines race as, “a population of people who are believed to be naturally or biologically distinct from other populations…”…
In fact, race do not exist in the scientific world. In a sociology documentary (citation), it was said that one person could be defined as having more than one race or ethnicity. Also, race is not a biological factor. For instance, an African-American woman could be more similar to a Caucasian man compared to an African-American man base on genetic variation. Furthermore, Judith Butler supports the argument when she writes, “Even Kate Millett cited the case in making the argument that biology is not destiny” (746). In other words, Butler believes that race is not a biological factor. Likewise, racial boundaries actually do not exist. Human beings belong to one big group and that is the human species. Although this may be true, society define who we are and what differences we have, including that different is bad in modern society. With this conclusion, people in majority groups discriminate people in minority groups. However, if racial boundaries was said that it did not exist, there will be no discrimination as there will be no comparison. There will not be a superior race or a pure race, it will be simply be a human being. As a result, showing clearly that racial differences are created by society and not biologically.…