What do you think?

Question

Is race a fixed sociological feature, or is it constructed by society to serve certain purposes? What purpose does the concept of race serve for parts of a society? Is race as a concept worth using to help explain and describe individuals or groups in a society? Provide logical support for your answer in a paragraph format.

Answer 1

Hi Amy,

The thing is that nothing in society is "fixed," including race. How people think about race, what racial categories exist, and the ways in which aspects of social life are racialized are constantly shifting and are context dependent.

Sociologists and anthropologists generally agree that race is socially constructed (see the AAA's statement on race here: https://www.americananthro.org/ConnectWithAAA/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=2583). But this doesn't mean that race is "constructed by society to serve certain purposes." Scholars argue that race and racism does maintain the relative power of dominant groups, i.e. white people and capitalists, but it isn't like "society" collectively decided to "construct" race. The development of race as a concept is much more contingent and fluid than your question implies.

I think that race is a useful concept to think about social groups, especially in multiracial contexts (like the U.S. or Brazil), not because it can explain difference, but because people's lived realities and life chances (employment, education, access to housing, food, and other services) are shaped by race.

Like Kai said, there's a lot to this question, and I'm happy to continue the conversation if you would like to schedule an online session with me.

Best,

Rachelle