Race & Ethnicity in Social Sciences Essay Example for Free

Race Ethnicity in Social Sciences EssayDefining identity can be complex and therefore we have to investigate the factors involved that make us who we are and how we are seen by separates, collectively or privately. Social scientists have to reckon the key elements which shape identity, the importance of social structures and agency involved. The differences and/or similarities between us are the focus that categorise and label us in bon ton. acute who we are is important for many reasons including, social rights, obtaining a good word, housing, health, employment, marriage, and over all, being able to ascertain who we are, and belong. The monetary value ? race and ? ethnicity are central features in the make for of categorisation. ?Racial or ? Ethnic identifications are produced as part of a social process, which is dynamic and changing. Therefore we know that identities are non static and wrong such as ? race and ? ethnicity cannot cover the changing categories without being dynamic terminals themselves. The use of quotation marks with these terms is adopted to emphasise that the terms are broad terms and aim to avoid discrimination or misrepresentation of groups under the umbrella term.?Race is commonly used by media and society to portray the physical differences between people, however, social scientists choose to show that the term does not refer to exact biological differences, is stereotypical, and the quotation marks emphasise the image as more of an assumption which has political implications. The term is socially constructed and therefore does serve an essential purpose in society as it has real affects and associations.The term ?ethnicity refers to cultural practices and history, such as religion, language and territory, where a person or a group derives from, summarising their beliefs and traditions, therefore, ethnicity applies to everyone, necessitating the birth of terms ? minority ethnic group and ? bulk ethnic group (Questioning Identity, Ch 4, P124, section 2. 3) to subcategorise identities in relation to ethnicity. Social scientists use quotation marks around these terms to signify that the blanket term does not distinguish between personal and social identity, but acts mainly as a collective identity concept.For example, identification on a British passport may categorise the holder as being ? British although they may be Scottish/Chinese. Social scientists prefer to call UK society a ? social society. These subgroup identities highlight the relational factors which exist in categorising identity, each requiring the other in order to make the comparison between ethnic differences, power and status. Racialization and Ethnicization are best-loved concepts as they contribute more to the idea that the identities we adopt are part of a process and are not static, referring to a dynamic process quite an than a fixed state.Categorisations from the 1970s onwards, such as the definition of ? black or ? white, were too vague, and fai guide to recognise the specific needs of other ethnic minorities. In order to monitor and measure statistically the discrimination and underachievement of such groups, collecting ? ethnic statistics in relation to ? race and ? ethnicity was necessary and these can be ground in official government censuses. Over the years it became apparent that categorisation of ethnic groups in the censuses rendered some groups ? invisible (Questioning Identity, ch 4, p 137, section 4. 1. 1), for example Irish and Welsh.The category of ? white has had to be expanded into subcategories as the ? white grouping classification remained singular within the censuses until 2001, and ethnicization of ? whites was too generalised. (Questioning Identity Kath Woodward ch. 4 p138 Office of state Censuses and Surveys, 1991) These amendments show us that there have been changes in ethnic representation and that there is more awareness regarding ethnic identities and needs. The sub-cate gorisation of ethnic identities is used in quotidian life such as in the media, job applications and insurance documents.The importance of the emergence of new and changing identities in a multi-ethnic society has led to uncertainties about what it means to be ? British. In the 1980s for example, the Commission for Racial Equality sponsored research into the claims by Irish ethnic groups making claims that they were discriminated against by exoteric and private agencies as their ? invisibility misrepresented their particular needs. (Questioning Identity Kath Woodward, ch. 4, p145).The 1960s Black is Beautiful movement (Questioning Identity Kath Woodward, ch4, 2. 2, p118) campaigned the category of ?black, inclusive of Asians and any other non-white groups, as inappropriate and too wide an assumption. Collective group action and social creativity disputed the terminology of ? black and involved a trial to alter the social meaning of blackness, as opposed to the more ? powerful eth nic majority status of being ? white.This redefined black social status and proved that black identities were not fixed but dynamic, changing from a term with connotations of disrespect, to one of pride, proving identities are collective and political as well as individual and relational, Whiteness is used as an invisible marker against which other ?ethnicities are judged (Kath Woodward, Questioning Identity, Ch 4, p 136, Section 4. 1).REFERENCES DD 121, Questioning Identity gender, class, ethnicity. Kath Woodward, The reach University, Routledge, 2004. DD121, Workbook 1, Norma Sherratt, David Goldblatt, Maureen Mackintosh and Kath Woodward, The Open University, Routledge, 2004. DD121, Block 1, The Open University, TV02 Defining Moments DD121, Block 1, Audio 2, The Open University, Audio 3A DD121, Block 1, Audio 2, The Open University, Audio 3B.