In the reading this week by Smedley and Smedley, the differences between ethnicity and race are discussed and the terms defined. Ethnicity is described as a group of people who have a common cultural trait, share a common language, area of origin, religion, and history (Smedley & Smedley 2005). The culture is learned, and is transferable to other people within the group (Smedley & Smedley 2005). Race is defined as physical features such as skin color or hair texture (Smedley & Smedley 2005). “Ethnicity was recognized as plastic, and transmissible, but race conveyed the notion of differences that could not be transcended” (Smedley & Smedley, 2005, p. 19). An example of the difference between the two mentioned in the reading was how a person can moved to different place in the world, and learn how to become a part of their culture, but race is something which cannot be changed (Smedley & Smedley, 2005). A person is more likely to be discriminated against due to their race as opposed to their ethnicity, because race is a visible difference between people. …show more content…
The reading states African-Americans and Hispanics tend to receive lower quality healthcare, more likely than Whites to receive less desirable treatments for their illnesses, and differences exist with disease prevention, clinical factors, clinical settings such as hospitals which can lead to an increase in mortality for minorities because they are not receiving the same quality of care as Whites (Smedley & Smedley). I find this information to be very unsettling. In the first assignment for this week, I stated one of my beliefs is all people have the right to access healthcare regardless of their ability to pay, and now I need to add to that statement “and regardless of
Race is a socially constructed divider based on physical differences such as skin tones, but are not limited to facial features, body features, accents, etc. There are not separate genes, traits, or characteristics that define any single group from another group. Police once walked up to Korematsu to ask if he had seen a “short Asian man”, adding stereotypes to the classification, when the police were looking for Korematsu. Korematsu had surgery performed so his eyelids would have less folds to look more, white (I would say American, but Korematsu is American and that changed nothing). Hence, this touchy subject of race is what makes it so much harder to discuss.
1. Ethnicity (10/265) – a system for classifying people who are believed to share common descent, based on perceived cultural similarities. • My ethnicity is Hispanic. 2. Race (10/265) – a system for classifying people who are believed to share common descent, based on perceived innate physical similarities.
Just as gender is ambiguous, race is ambiguous. Race is not biological or physiological to where we can see the structure of the sexual reproduction organs and state “He of our society and our social values within these societies. Therefore, one can say that race is a folk taxonomy or social construct, because it is not based on scientific knowledge, just ones opinion that may be constructed on skin color or even religion depending on the societies traditions. Therefore, race varies culture to culture.
According to the film race is a biological "myth" and as outdated as belief that the sun revolved around the earth. Race is a concept that was invented to categorize the perceived biological, social, and cultural differences between human groups. Based on modern genetic science that can decode the genetic puzzle of DNA there is no significant genetic or biological differences between the races. Race is an artificial construct imposed by the ruling classes to justify first slavery and then segregation. One of the main findings concerning the genetic make-up of the students in the course was that skin color really is only skin deep.
Race and ethnicity are two terms which are used interchangeably in every day conversation, however, there is a distinction between the two. Race is a categorization of people who have been singled out as inferior or superior, often on the basis of phenotype – observable physical characteristics such as skin color, hair texture, eye shape, or other selective attributes. Race is a social construct and has been known to change with historical and political events. Contrarily, ethnicity does not necessarily provide visual clues, instead, ethnicity is categorized on the basis of a shared common culture and includes elements such as language, norms, customs, religion, music, art, literature. Ethnic Groups are developed by their unique history
Race and Racism Integrative Essay Race, commonly tied with ethnicity, is a term that Europeans utilized from the 18th to 20th century to separate “differing” civilizations, especially during the times of Industrialization. While the idea of race and racism gradually changed overtime, the two terms were used resulted in prejudice and discrimination for political projects, which is seen through the idea of nationalism, leading to colonialism. Europeans utilized the biology and religion to justify the injustices towards non-traditional European individuals; however, it essentially unified cultures with a common goal of destroying the two terms altogether. (Paragraph about industrialization and European nationalism) While there is no distinct time of when
The concept of race hasn’t always existed but it has developed over time. “I argue that race was institutionalized beginning in the 18th century as a worldview, a set of culturally created attitudes and beliefs about human group differences” (Smedley 1997). The idea of
Race is a divisive factor in many populations. It is a concept to categorize people based on their physical traits, such as skin color, and genetics. Race can be used as a mechanism for social division. As the novel unfolds, Huckleberry Finn’s perspective on race changes as he sees the importance for equality in Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Thus, premature death and preventable losses of quality of life are probable outcomes. Elderly individuals may be less frequently provided the best data-supported healthcare simply because they are old. Thus, bias or prejudice against the aged may be a significant cause. Furthermore, Africa-American have poorer access to care than Whites, for one-third of core measures. Asians and American Indian/Alaska Native had shoddier access to care than Whites for 1 of 5 core measures.
Likewise, by using these underlying attributes, society generates race attentively and often times inattentively. These inherent characteristics used to refer to an individual to a particular race consists of origin of ancestors, birth place, cultural characteristics, physical characteristics, and the surrounding environment which the individual is in daily contact. In any case, race is an imperative issue that is certainly not just exclusively in the United States, but has considerable global influence throughout history in countries that has participated in colonization. Both the book Living Color by Nina G. Jablonski and the Haviland textbook discuss how race, origin of race and racism, skin color, and human species help us understand how the concept of race has no biological basis and race being seen as a
“Optional Ethnicities: For Whites Only?” by professor Mary Waters from Harvard University dives into the discussion of ethnicity which stems into a social phenomenon that is perceived as a biological issue. The perception that ethnicity coincide with just being born into a certain race has changed over time with situations like intermarriage. Even though the ethnic identities have changed over the years, if you're not a white American you are subjected to basically being limited to one type of ethnicity due to the fact you are the minority and White Americans are the majority. Mary Waters is trying to illustrate the problem of being labeled one ethnicity if you aren’t a descendant of European origin. Professor Waters is investigating the social cost that is contributed with being a non White in an individual or as an symbolic ethnicity.
Race, nationality and ethnicity Race and ethnicity are seen as form of an individual’s cultural identity. Researchers have linked the concept of “race” to the discourses of social Darwinism that in essence is a categorization of “types” of people, grouping them by biological and physical characteristics, most common one being skin pigmentation. Grouping people based on their physical traits has lead in time to the phenomenon of “racialization” (or race formation), as people began to see race as more of a social construct and not a result or a category of biology.
Race is defined as the categorization of individuals based on their physical characteristics, i.e. skin color, facial structure, etcetera. Ethnicity is defined as the categorization of individuals based on their respective social or cultural groups, and is not based upon race. Both race and ethnicity are similar systems of categorization, yet, although race is on the basis on physical features while ethnicity is based on one’s social or cultural background. The concept of race was created by European imperialists and colonialists during the early 17th century, when the slave trade began. The white imperialists needed a system of categorization in order to justify the sharp uptick in the use of the African body as slaves.
Chapter 11 was about Race and Ethnicity overall. Race was once determined by your ancestral tree and your family ties but has changed to a more current definition today that defines race as a physical trait like skin color. Ethnicity is used to talk about a shared culture among people. I first had a problem with the definition of minority groups. The term itself is negative it is defined as “any group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination.”
The majority of the general public has preconceived ideas as to what a person’s race is based solely on appearance. In general, it can be difficult to identify a person’s race just by looking at their skin color. In each race, there are many variations of skin color and to make it more complex and difficult, not to mention people who are of mixed race. Historically, race has been divided into four categories: black/African American, white, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American/Alaskan Native.