Thursday, January 17, 2013
Race and Ethnicity
Today in class, while we were discussing Bernier and Kant, I started thinking about the changes the word race has gone through. As stated in class, in 1684 Bernier offered a definition of race that said race is a major division of humanity displaying a distinctive combination of physical traits that are transmitted through a line of descent. He was also the first person to divide people into races primarily by their skin color. Kant understands race as a deviation. In both of these definitions, race is discussed in a more scientific way. What I mean by that is both of them focus on physical appearances (skin color and facial characteristics). However, in the society we live in today, although physical appearance is used as a way to arbitrarily group individuals, race seems to take on another role as well. I wonder if the lines between the definitions of race and ethnicity that we operate under today are at times blurred and it is not a stretch to say that race is sometimes used to refer to cultural differences between groups as well. This transforms race into a social concept that strays from the original formulations. Is it important to try to maintain a rigid distinction between race and ethnicity? Bernier and Kant who assume race is biological would probably object to ethnicity (a cultural identity) being equated in a sense or at the very least used interchangeably with the term race. Does this grouping of race and ethnicity demonstrate a lack of understanding? These questions are all based on an observation of the way the terms are used in The United States. Would it be accurate to speculate that these questions are applicable in other places as well? Within each race, there are many ethnicities. Does intertwining the terms race and ethnicity further complicate the terms or neglect the complications? Race and ethnicity are both terms that were intended to stand on their own and perhaps be discussed in conjunction. However, by mingling the terms it is possible that we are ignoring significant differences that could help us to more fully understand the terms and their influence.
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I agree that in today’s vernacular the terms race and ethnicity are commonly thought of as synonyms and that this confusion has the potential to debase the terms. However, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers clear distinct definitions for both terms. Race is defined as, a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics; a category of humankind that hares certain distinctive physical traits. Whereas ethnic, the root word of ethnicity, is defined as, of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial , national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteSo in other words, race is generally based on physical traits, whereas ethnicity acts as a subdivision of race to further distinguish between people of different cultures. Yet, when these terms are misinterpreted for the other, there meanings lose ground and lead the way to stereotypes and generalizations that may not be applicable to the entire race.
When considering your questions about the difference in meaning between race and ethnicity and the possible implications of intertwining the two, the first thing that I thought about were concrete ways in which this occurs in the United States. Race is the topic more widely discussed due to the extreme degree of racial separation/tension exhibited in our recent past. Racial conceptualization, discrimination, etc. are all topics that we have been privy to hearing before. Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, etc. these are the races of our diverse country, and they continue to be easily identifiable because of our connection of physical traits such as skin color to our conceptions of race. It is only after moving beyond skin color, however, that we begin to consider ethnic differences. This is when we turn to our ethnic heritage and begin to turn towards these "subdivisions." Whites are further divided into Italians, Germans, French, Poles, English, etc. Hispanics become Mexican, Chilean, Cuban, etc. It seems that we only feel the need to delve in ethnicity if our classification needs bypass our more frequently used racial groupings. I am not really sure what the implications are, but it seems that race is much more prominent in our minds/society than ethnicity.
ReplyDeleteI think it's true that sometimes race and ethnicity are confused today and that that has troubling implications. You make a point that I'm not quite certain I agree with, which is that Kant and Bernier would have acknowledged a difference between ethnicity and race. We normally think that our conceptions of race have gotten better over time in the apparent diminishment od racism. However, if it were true that Kant and Bernier would have acknowledged a difference between race and ethnicity, it seems like in this sense, our views regarding race have actually degenerated. I'm still not sure about whether your claim would be true. This is because Kant does go beyond race and makes some moral judgements based on race. This suggests to me that he would also be willing to connect race to culture or ethnicity.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that Kant and Bernier sought to clearly define race and ethnicity separately from one another and that our culture has juxtaposed these two definitions without understanding the societal implications of such an interpretation, the difference between and ethnicity is not only jumbled by the United States' twisted history with racism but also by the class differences which have erupted between members of the same race. The divisions of capital allow further separation between these members and could also be a direct cause of racial and ethnic separation.
ReplyDeleteI think there needs to be a clear distinction between race and ethnicity because the two definitions have caused an artificial divide that we talked about in class on thursday. I see race as a term used to physically describe someone whereas ethnicity has more to do with their, culture, background, beliefs, etc. I agree with you when you stated that there are a multitude of ethnicities and your race doesn't necessarily determine those ethnicities anymore. Yes, for the most part they can determine your culture, but in our world today it isn't uncommon that certain ethnicities are celebrated by a variety of races.
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