RAISING THE QUESTION OF RACE. Race- Refers to categorization of humans into groups on the basis of heritable characteristics such as skin color, facial.

RAISING THE QUESTION OF

RACE

Race-

Refers to categorization of humans into groups on the basis of heritable characteristics such as skin color, facial features, hair texture etc.

Concepts of race and racial classification often controversial for scientific as well as social and political reasons.

Controversy revolves around whether or not socially constructed and perpetuated beliefs on race and biologically warranted.

The word Race along with many of the ideas associated with it were first coined during age of explorations a time of European imperialism, exploration, technological superiority and colonization.

Encountering people from various parts of the world, Europeans speculated about physical, social, and cultural difference among various human groups.

Human beings categorized to justify subordination- Europeans sorted themselves and others into groups associated with physical appearance, behaviour and capacities.

Racism-

Usually denotes race based prejudice, violence, dislike, discrimination.

According to OED racism is a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group posses characteristics specific to that race, to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group.

Belief that human races have distinctive characteristics which determine their respective cultures.

The term racial discrimination means any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, ethnic origin.

A nullification of human rights and fundamental freedoms in political economical social cultural or any other field of public life.

Institutional racism- discrimination by governments, corporations, religions or educational institutions with power to influence lives of many individuals.

Social Interpretation of Race-

Race is more socially and culturally determined than based upon biology.

Historians, anthropologists, social scientists etc have re-conceptualized race as a cultural category or social construct since 1960s.

Race is not a thing but a social relation.

Biology will not explain why or how people use the idea of race but history and social relationship will.

Social interpretations of race are often deconstructionist and post structuralist. They critically analyze historical construction and development of racial categories.

Race and culture –

In making differences between races it is not race that we think bout but culture- Dubois says.

Culture and race considered intertwined and dependent on each other.

Racism does not originate from the existence of races. It creates them through a process of social division into categories.

Biological concept of race subject to scientific debate.

Biological definition of race developed in 19th century with scientific racist theories.

Racist themes based on scientific hypothesis combined with unlineal theories of social progress which postulated superiority of European civilization over the rest of the world.

In 20th century sociology came to be dominated- presented the first notable challenge to fields of racist assumptions.

Supremacism-

Belief that particular species, races, religion, gender, sexual orientation or culture as superior to others and entitled those who identify with it to dominate control or rule those who do not.Eg. male supremacy, white supremacy.Think of “white man’s burden” - widely used to justify the imperialist policy as a noble enterprise.

White privilege-

Social political cultural advantage accorded to whites which are taken for granted as normal-

asserts the experience of whites as viewed by whites as normal rather than advantaged.

This normative assumption causes all discussion of racial inequality to focus on disadvantage of non white racial groups and to bring them up to “normal” white standards.

Whiteness treated more as a form of property, an object with intrinsic value that must be protected by social/ legal institution.

Whites conditioned not to recognize white privilege- an invisible package of unearned assets- leading to silence and denials surrounding white privilege.

Whites often react to white privilege discussions with a continuum of behaviors ranging from outright hostility to “wall of silence”.

Although all legal barriers to racial equality have been removed white privilege exists to a certain extent defacto everywhere.

Indirectness of white privilege makes it all the more prevalent. If people are not educated about white privilege it is unlikely that they will take note of it.

White Guilt-

Refers to concept of individual/ collective guilt often felt by some white people for the racist treatment of people of color by whites both historically and presently.

Whites suffer under a stigma of benefitting from an unfair system.

A psychological cost of racism along with the ability to have empathetic reaction towards racism and fear of non whites.

Criticized as nothing more than an alternative interpretation of the concept of Black power.

White guilt a form of self congratulatory measure, initiating “compassionate policies” towards people of color to showcase their innocence to racism.

A merit based race free world view do not acknowledge system of white privilege.

Racial Integration-

Integration includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation).

Creating equal opportunities regardless of race.

Development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than bringing a racial minority into the majority culture.

Desegregation is a legal matter, integration a social one.

Xenocentrism- Antonym of Ethnocentrism

A political neologism

Preference for products, styles, ideas of someone else’s culture rather than of one’s own.

Ethnocentrism describes the natural tendencies of an individual to place disproportionate worth upon the values and beliefs of one’s own culture relative to others.

Xenocentrism results from the attempt of an individual to correct his/ her ethnocentrism.

Allophilia-

Positive attitude for a group that is not one’s own.

Antonym of negative prejudice.

Antonym of a host of –isms, like sexism, racism, heterosexism etc.

Remedy for prejudice bringing conflicting groups into a state of tolerance.

However tolerance not a logical antithesis of prejudice. Rather the midpoint between negative and positive feelings towards others.

Allophilia enhancement serves as compliment to prejudice production.

Symhedonia - (experiencing empathetic joy) closely associated with allophilia.

Sympathy - (experiencing sympathetic sorrow) associated with prejudice.

Polyethnicity-

Close proximity of people from different ethnic backgrounds within a country or geographic region.

Relates to ability and willingness to identify with multiple ethnicities through immigration, inter marriage, trade etc.

Polyethnictiy divides nations complicating the politics as local and national governments attempt to satisfy ethnic groups.

United states, a nation founded by different ethnicities coming together - melting pot.

Polyethnicity leads to blurring of ethnic lines.

Multiracial-

Mixed race with ancestries coming from multiple races.

Admixtures of more than one race in a person’s DNA.

It refers to racially heterogeneous rather than homogenous groups.

Related terms: Mulato, Mestizo, Metis and First Nations.

Regions with multiracial population: USA, Canada, Latin America, Brazil, UK, South Africa, Australia.

In South Asia- India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam.

Mutliculturalsim –

Acceptance or promotion of multiple ethnic cultures.

Advocates equitable status to distinct ethnic and religious groups without promoting any specific ethnic, religious, cultural community values as central.

It is more tolerant and adapts better to social issues.

Argues that culture is not one definable thing based on race or religion but rather the result of multiple factors that change as the world changes.

As a descriptive term it refers to cultural diversity.

As a normative term it implies a positive endorsement, even celebration of communal diversity.

Critics argue that it leads to restriction in rights and freedoms of certain groups and hence bad for democracy, against human rights.

Intercultural Competence-

Ability of successful communication with people of other cultures.

Understands, interacts with foreign cultures, free from prejudice, interest and motivation to continue learning.

Global Justice-

A political philosophy arising from the concern that the world at large is unjust.

Three central questions: Scope of justice, Justice in distribution of wealth, Institutions responsible for justice.

Five main positions: Realism Particularism Nationalism Society of States Cosmopolitanism

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