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For most of history race has been considered a biological fact. However, over time, scientists have come more and more to understand that the billions of pieces of the human genetic code sequenced thus far are most notable for what they do not contain: a genetic basis that distinguishes one race from another. In fact, all scientific signs seem to point to the conclusion that race (as a biological fact) does not exist. There is no biological basis for society’s most contentious and divisive of social categories. Instead, scientists and sociologists alike are coming to see race as something that has been socially constructed.
Meaning of race as a social construct
Race is constructed by changing ideas and conditions. It is necessary to understand race as an idea that is constructed with a discernible history that continuously changes over time in response to different social, economic, and political concerns and that is defined differently in different places. Race is a social construct that artificially divides people into distinct groups based on characteristics such as physical appearance (particularly skin color), ancestral heritage, cultural affiliation, cultural history, ethnic classification , and the social, economic and political needs of a society at a given period of time. ... Gossett- Race: The history of an idea in America
Race: The History of an Idea in America, by Thomas F. Gossett (1997), provides support for the idea of race as a social construct. As stated above, race is socially constructed by changing ideas and conditions over time. ... Further examples throughout chapter point to the fact that in the eighteenth century the determinants of race continued to vary: from differences in climate to ranking races in order of beauty, from outward appearances to inward traits of character and temperament. ... Arguments that the human race had originally been black and that whiteness later developed, that white and blacks were members of the same race, that all races were kin to the white race, and that different races represented different stages in evolution, and that races can be classified by differences in skulls are examples of some of the leading ideas that surfaced at this time.
Approximate Word count = 1629
Approximate Pages = 6.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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