When you look up the definition of race in a dictionary it
will say “a group of persons related by common decent or heredity.” By this
definition race is a completely biological trait that we have no control over.
In real life though race is how society views you as an individual. A person’s
race can change from place to place and can even change while living in the
same area.
Race is classified by a person’s physical traits and their
standing in society. The way society has classified people is by how they look
even though two people who are tall with blue eyes might have less biological
similarities than two people who look nothing alike. Race is also classified
differently from place to place. A person who is “black” in the United
States might travel to Africa
and be called white and vise versa. A person’s wealth will make society more or
less likely to consider them one race or another. A rich black person is more
likely to be called white than a poor white person. Society has made criteria
for what it means to be a certain race. A white person is well to do; an Asian
is good at math and so on. This is why person’s race changes depending on where
they are, because there standing in society changes with them. If I was in a
country like El Salvador
I would be in the upper class compared to if I was living in Dubai
I would not be considered upper class.
I think that the reason why society has changed what race is
is because of the labeling theory. If we have been conditioned to think that a
certain group of people act a certain why based on their race then we are made
to think that all people who act that way are also a part of that group even if
they aren’t. I think that this is why we look at race not as a physical
characteristic, but a place in society.
This doesn't respond to the assignment: "...compose a thoughtful entry that addresses the social construction of race. You can approach it from any particular avenue you wish. Just remember that the point of the exercise is to evaluate your understanding regarding the concept of social construction as regards race."
ReplyDeleteThis assignment is challenging you to make connections between the material in chapter 11 and one of the basic concepts of the discipline, social construction, or the social construct. Newman does this in the material on pages 360-364, in particular. Please review to insure that you understand what is meant by the social construction of race or, put differently, that race is a social construct. And, let me know if you have questions.
I read your entry well. You explained well only about race that how our appearances could be a determinant of those stereotypes of racial traits. For example, asians are good at math and african americans are good at sports. I believe it is not all about our assignment. You should have written how race is defined in a way of a social construction. I think defining people's race by their appearances is not about a social construction. You should develop it relating to a social contruction I believe. I can also see that you also need to proofread more carefully like putting commas and periods in right places and not missing an apostrophe where it is needed. You have an interesting example though.
ReplyDeleteI thought you used a lot of good examples about race as a social construction. I was a little confused when you said A person who is “black” in the United States might travel to Africa and be called white and vise versa maybe this happens because they are not aware of the cultural traditions not because they act more white.
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