...Nicely written! I have found one of the most fascinating aspects of this course to be the idea of social imagination. Using it to "think outside the box" and coming to a conclusion that may seem far-fetched or implausible it very useful, especially when looking at the topic of race. Growing up, you never really think of why we classify people by race or the science behind it, you just kind of accept it and go with the flow. But when you apply your social imagination to this topic, you see how flawed it really is and the way in which it truly originated. I never realized that, according to sociologists, race is a myth. It is something that we humans essentially made up, which is why they refer to it as a social construction. When I first read...
Words: 251 - Pages: 2
...When examining the concept of race, it can be said that it is constantly fluctuating because of different factors. Race can be defined as a variable that is shaped by broader societal forces, whether it is political, social or economic forces. It is also important that views on race differ from country to country because of different agendas, whether it be to exert dominance or power over other groups. Race can be considered as a social construction because it is used to maintain hierarchies, as seen through it’s lack of biological support and shifting societal views on race. Race is a social construction because it is constantly changing due to shifting societal views on race. First, it is important to note that a socially constructed concept is an idea that is defined as “a perception of a group, individual or idea that is constructed through cultural or social practice” (Dictionary.com). In other words, society creates an idea of what race is, and how races should be distinguished from one another. Race does not have a consistent definition, and can change based on the society that is being examined. In “Racial Formations”, Omi and Winant discuss the use of race as a social concept and conclude that the definition is not rigid, but is used to maintain domination. Omi and Winant believe that this domination is a result of racial formation”, or the “process in which race operates as a central axis of social relations, which then determine social, economic and political institutions...
Words: 817 - Pages: 4
...opinions regarding the social issues of race as a whole. It is common to scroll through Facebook and find a plethora of different opinions on this subject. In addition to one’s opinions, it is common to see arguments regarding this important social issue. However, in my opinion this public disagreement leads to an abundance of additional issues within our society. It is common to disagree, but all too often these arguments are not supported by facts but instead are solely opinion based. I believe that this could be due to a lack of education regarding the social construct of race. Although the youth is taught that Biologically skin color varies due to pigmentation in our skin, they are...
Words: 709 - Pages: 3
...Assignment Module 2 1. Explain why we say that race is a social construction and provide an example. • Race is a social construction because race is not static. The definition of race and what constitutes it has changed over the years. This is usually based on the biases and feelings of superiority among the dominant race who seek to create and enforce differences based on their own agenda. Race is an ever-changing thing. For example, with mass immigration to America in the late 1800s and 1900s, the term white was broken down into various categories, and not considered one race. There were the Irish, Italian, Polish, etc. all considered different races and discriminated against by initial “white” Americans. Gradually this changed where all groups merged to be lumped under one umbrella of the white race. This highlight how race has and continues to change based on...
Words: 508 - Pages: 3
...The conception of the word “race” has been described as one of the most “misunderstood, misused, and often dangerous concepts of the modern world.” (Mooney 2017). The term race has been used as a way to describe particular nationalities, religion, skin color, and even the complete human species (the human “race”). “Confusion around the term race stems from the fact that it has both biological and social meanings.” (Mooney 2017). The social construction of race means that “the actual meaning of race lies not in people’s physical characteristics, but in the historical treatment of different groups and the significance that society gives to what is believed to differentiate so-called racial groups.” (Mooney 2017). People have learned to recognize...
Words: 357 - Pages: 2
...What is race? Is race a product of social construct? In short, race can be described as an ideological force. People use the concept of race as defining and differentiating one group of people from another. In reality, race is merely a made up concept, and the differentiating traits are varying physical phenotypes. So why does the idea of race exist within society? Darder and Torres would argue that the existence of race is likely due to the “race relations paradigm”. Race relations can be described as the relations between different “racial and ethnic” groups and societal influences such as politics, economics, and or social issues. How do different classes of people and or minorities relate to these issues? What are the social norms associated between different groups of people (or classes) and these issues? These predetermined notions tend to be harmful in modern society, as they appear to promote segregation, whether inadvertently or intentionally. Throughout history a paradigm has been created within race relations. Meaning that patterns have emerged throughout time when handing racial issues. Oppression continues in differing forms and there is no true acceptance or even acknowledgement when regarding racial issues and stereotypes....
Words: 522 - Pages: 3
...children with each other. So, our differences biologically are superficial, hair texture, some ailments which tend to be environmental, and skin color. Those who want to dismiss the notion of the social construction of race normally do so due to their inherent bias to attribute dysfunctional behavior in minority communities due to a racial makeup instead of addressing more systemic problems that plague these communities. Countless studies reveal that lower income people of all groups tend to follow the same negative trajectory. Racism is the belief that one race or culture is superior to another, regardless of biological evidence that negates this belief. This difference – the perceived inferiority of one race over another – is commonly used and abused as basis for discrimination, whether institutionalized or individualized through social construction. The widespread societal and institutional changes in America since the 1960s have done little to eliminate discrimination faced by racial minorities even after the election of a black president. Race is not just a social construction but a historical construction that has been embedded into each of our lives through social classes and institutions since the day we were born. “Even though race is constructed through historic meanings and social interactions it is as much a part of our national character as themes of patriotism.” (Defending Whiteness, 8) Minorities historically have had less access to quality education. Less access...
Words: 1810 - Pages: 8
...example of social constructionism. Social construction is the frame through which society views an idea. It could be the idea of a crime (for example, drug abuse is a socially constructed crime not an inherent crime) or the idea of an event (for example, the beating of Rodney King as police brutality instead of necessary to protect the officers). Nothing is black-and-white, there are many different ways to view a situation. Juries are selected to be a group of peers – this is what our justice system is based off of. If an objective peer would do the same thing in the same situation, perhaps you’ll be acquitted. However, the peer-based system is flawed. The first reason is because it can be hard to find a peer for some groups. The more educated a person is, the less likely it is that their jury will be intellectual equals. On the flip side, with an extremely under-educated person, the same principle applies. The juried system works best with an average person sitting before an average group of peers. However, this same idea – of average juries for average citizens – can skew the trial in an unfair direction. Legal studies professor Hiroshi Fukurai wrote about the peer trial being a detriment to justice, giving the example of Ku Klux Klansman trials shortly after the Civil War. These men were tried for murder and torture of abolitionists and escaped slaves, and many were found not-guilty by a jury of white Republican males (Fukurai 1999). The social construction of the...
Words: 508 - Pages: 3
...Society defines reality as the states of things as it actually occur (Turner, 2012), but what if it is constructed by people in this society to turn it the reality that people thought it was reality? Nowadays society has a very rough idea about what is reality and what is constructed society. They can only understand the captivation of the catchword “reality construction” when they understand which thoughts are meant to be replaced by it in the first place: reality so-called. Different background or places of people have different perception of reality. A understanding of reality will be different in western country as they will feel that having a tan skin is prettier by seeing an advertisement where the model have the tan skin. But in country such as Asian, society will prefer more on pinkish skin but not tan skin as tan skin will be known as a lower class of people. What influences the society is their brain. Our brain constructs the reality that we thought it is a reality. Brain is trapped in the darkness inside of your skull, and all it ever sees are electrical and chemical signals. For example, all the colors people see, and so on, that doesn’t really occur; that’s an interpretation by the brain (Eagleman, 2012). Even though nowadays society has done much research on constructed reality, yet the norm that already been planted on the people mind is hardly to be eliminated. From the advertisement that is provided, it shows that the woman is pinned under a man and another...
Words: 1411 - Pages: 6
...How do the Theories of Emotion, Motivation and Development explain the events and public response to the James Bulger case of 1993? Theories allow people to see the world in a clear manner and allow them to perform actions based on what is rational. There are many theories that have evolved over the past century in Western cultures that attempt to explain how personalities develop, why people behave in certain ways, the type of environmental conditions that motivate them into acting in specific ways, and how these factors are interrelated. Some of the theories base their explanations on the social and emotional circumstances in the early years of an individual. This Essay aims to analyse the theories of emotion, motivation, and development and apply them to the events and public response to the James Bulger case of 1993. “ ‘I can never forgive Thompson and Venables for the horrendous, calculated, cold blooded murder of James.’ Said Denise Fergus the mother of the boy.” (Day. 2008). In an act that shocked the world, two ten year old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson kidnapped and murdered James Bulger aged just two. The murder of James Patrick Bulger took place in Kirkby, Merseyside, England, on the 12 of February 1993. Bulger was a victim of abduction, torture and murder by two 10-year-old boys, named Robert Thompson (born 23rd August 1982) and the other one named Jon Venables (born 13th August 1982). It started with Bulger's disappearance on the 12 of February 1993...
Words: 2960 - Pages: 12
...Toy, Gender Stereotype Above picture comes from Liuyuhen’s tumblr. This is a typical gender stereotype for children’s toy. Girl will get dolls or anything that female should have. And boy will get cars or anything can represent muscling. Color of the toy is also different for each gender. Girl normally will get toy that is pink, red or purple. Boy will get toy that is black, blue or grey. This social construct norm create stereotype for two genders and potentially affect children’s future career. The difference between two genders’ toy reflect adults’ expectation for their children. Women are assumed to do in-house work or light work such as baby sitting, housekeeping and supporting work (like nurse). Men are assumed to do out-house work or heavy work such as joining army, constructing and political work. When children receive their toys, the toy will represent their future expectation from their parents. When children grow up with these stereotypes and expectations, they might have subconscious feeling about what they should behave or what they should do in order to fit these social construct norm. Some opponents might argue that when children getting older and have their own independent consciousness, this doesn’t necessarily mean they grow up to be in-house worker or out-house worker. However, several studies are showing that toy could affect children’s career. According to an article “Do children's toys influence their career choices?” written by Vanessa Barford from BBC...
Words: 457 - Pages: 2
...For the purpose of this assignment I am going to discuss the social construct of disability by focusing on eugenics and language. In addition to the medical and social model of disability, segregation and the oppression of disability. Furthermore the Medias influence on social constructs. Within the United Kingdom there are an estimated 9 million disabled adults. (Office for Disability Issues updated Department for Work and Pensions estimates based on Family Resources survey 2009/10). Despite the high number, people with impairments are treated as a separate homogenous group to the rest of society. Firstly, to understand where we are today with disability as a social construction I will provide a historical account of disability in western society. To pinpoint precisely the origins of society’s attitude towards disability and disabled people would be almost impossible (Barton 1996). One theory that has been suggested, is that the view that our perceptions of impairments and disability are influenced by psychological fear of the unknown, the anomalous and the abnormal (Barton 1996 cites Douglas 1966). Historically, disability has been a source of oppression where disabled people have been socially excluded from many areas of social life. The exclusion can be traced back to an era when biblically ideas formed of society. The religious model of disability produced notions of what was acceptable and not acceptable; this included the exclusion of imperfections of the body. Imperfect...
Words: 2468 - Pages: 10
...wind turbine industry in Denmark and U.S. with the notion of “Bricolage” versus “Breakthrough”. The aim of this essay is to examine ways in which actors engage in different levels in shaping technological path. The Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) offers a deeper understanding on a relationship among technology and society and how social factors can influence technological development, whereas the Actor Network Theory (ANT) can help to identify problems and errors in the mechanism that result in a failure of innovation. The paper falls into three main sections. First it describes SCOT and its limitation, using the historical development of bicycle to illustrate. Then, ANT is discussed together with its failure. Thereafter, the SCOT and ANT theories can help to analyze the errors in U.S wind turbine case study and limitation of the paper in Hendry and Harborne’s view. Finally, this essay concludes the main findings and future research suggestions. 10 Reference: AWEA (2014). New analysis: U.S. is world’s number one wind energy producer, leading China and Germany. Available at: http://www.awea.org/MediaCenter/pressrelease.aspx? ItemNumber=6965, (Accessed: 17 December 2014). Baker, T. and Nelson, R. (2005). Creating something from nothing: Resource construction through Entrepreneurial Bricolage. Administrative Science Quarterly 50(3), pp. 329-366. Bijker, E. (1995). Of bicycles, Bakelites, and bulbs:...
Words: 518 - Pages: 3
...of Race Race is a group of people of common ancestry, distinguished from others by physical characteristics, such as hair type, the color of eyes and skin. Race as a social construction is changing as time goes on. Our daily lives are affected by race whether we are aware of it or not. We can see all over the world that race has affected various domains of our lives. From the types of jobs we have the amount of money we make, the kinds of friends we keep, the food we eat and even the schools we will attend. The entire foundation of race is constructed on a platform based on the color of people’s skin. The construction of social reality is based on social groups and the agreements and disagreements that are made based on the acceptance of certain constructions when it comes to our existence. There is nothing biologically real about race. I have learned that that there is no certain identification of race that exists from our collective agreements, acceptance, and positions other than our existing with one another. Race is a social construction that has real consequences and effects. Race shapes the way we view ourselves and those around us. We shouldn’t have an objective knowledge about race. We can know what race is and how it works being aware that regardless of the various shifts in the meaning of race that they have occurred through history and going to occur geographically but this should not lead to skepticism and the destruction of positive social constructions. ...
Words: 1379 - Pages: 6
...Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Empowerment: How are gender and race socially constructed? From a social construction point of view, gender and race don’t mean anything. They have meaning because the society defines a meaning for them (Judith, 1998). By social construction, we mean how the society group people and how it gives certain groups an advantage over others. For instance, somebody believes that he is a man only because the society says he is a man, not because he wants to be a man. One has no choice to become what he or she wish, but must follow the classification the society has defined. According to Ruth (1993) our daily lives are influenced by race and gender, whether we are aware of it or not. Everyone sees life through a racial lens that colors our society. This view leads to the racial formation. Judith (1998) defines racial formation as a socio-historical process whereby categories are formed, inhibited, changed, and destroyed. By socio-historical, Judith (1998) meant that race was created and given meaning by society due to the many historical events that happened over time. The society classifies people as white, black, Asian or any other minority group (Ruth, 1993). Therefore, the way are seen and how we see other people affects different aspects of our lives. These elements can include the type of friends we have, the kind of job we have, and the amount of money we make. They may also include the type of school we attend and many other things that make us...
Words: 676 - Pages: 3
