Race (social): Difference between revisions

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'''Race''' in social science, from the Latin for ''root'', means a group delineated by society as sharing a common biological ancestry, clan, or lineage. (For an explanation of ''race'' in biology see [[subspecies | bio-race]].)
(Under development, see [[Talk:Race]].)
 
The "race" concept is one of three fruitful ways of interpreting historical causes. Past events can become clearer when seen as the result of conflict and cooperation among competing social groups. ''Race'' is one way of dividing a society into groups for this purpose; the other two ways are by [[ethnic group|ethnicity]] and by [[social class|class]].
 
In contrast to ''class'' divisions, which are usually delineated by differences in power (meaning income or wealth, in capitalist societies), ''race'' is most often seen as independent of socio-economic status. In the United States for example, an African-American millionaire is seen as being of the same ''race'' as an African-American pauper, but not of the same ''class''.
 
In contrast to ''ethnic'' differences, which are usually seen as voluntary, ''race'' is often considered involuntary. In the United States for example, a person of half-Irish and half-Italian ''ethnicity'' can usually choose to self-identity as Italian, Irish, both, or neither, as desired on any given day. But a U.S. resident whose ancestry is half Black and half non-Black is usually not given such a choice, but assigned to the Black ''race'' like it or not.
 
Although the difference between ''race'' and ''class'' is seldom debated (the exception being in disputes over ''race''-based U.S. federal entitlements that are rhetorically justified as aimed at reducing ''class'' inequality), the difference between ''ethnicity'' and ''race'' is less sharp.
 
There are three reasons for the blurring between ''race'' and ''ethnicity''. First, some minorities that today are seen as voluntary ''ethnic'' groups, such as Irish-Americans and Jews, were seen as involuntary hereditary ''races'' a century ago.
 
Second, U.S. usage treats the African-American or Black community as either ''ethnicity'' or ''race'', depending on context. When discussing differences between African Americans and Jamaicans, Barbadians, Trinidadians, or recent immigrants from Africa, the term denotes a voluntary ''ethnicity''. But when discussing the U.S. endogamous Black/non-Black color line, any English-speaking U.S. resident of distinctly visible sub-Saharan ancestry is usually considered involuntarily "Black."
 
Finally, conflicting voter understanding as to how many ''races'' exist produce conflicting definitions in government regulations. For example, U.S. Census Bureau regulations do not consider Hispanics to be a ''race'', demand that Hispanics filling out census choose a ''race'' among Black, White, Native American, or several categories of Asian, and forbid them from checking off "other" and writing in "Hispanic." On the other hand, EEOC regulations consider Hispanics to be a distinct "race" and forbid employers from reporting Hispanics as White, Black, or Native American.
 
Nevertheless, despite the slight overlap between ''race'' and ''class'', and the increasingly blurred distinction between ''race'' and ''ethnicity'', the ''race'' concept remains fruitful for the study of historical events.
 
[[Category:Anthropology Workgroup]]
[[Category:Sociology Workgroup]]
[[Category:History Workgroup]]
[[Category:CZ Live]]

Revision as of 08:40, 12 May 2007

(Under development, see Talk:Race.)

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