Race and Ethnicity Racial Categories
The goal of this discussion is to allow you to analytically and creatively examine the unit’s concepts. Through productive discourse with your classmates, you can expand your thinking to consider other points of view and experiences, and challenge each other to see different analytical perspectives. To do so, it is important to write clearly, give reference or context for your examples so that they are understood, and include citations for the source of the points that you make. Use evidence based claims to support your positions and use a sociological perspective when constructing your posts.
Directions
Find an example from media or popular culture that perpetuates the myth of racial categories as inherent, fixed, and natural; and describe how it perpetuates the false idea that race is biological. Some examples include DNA tests that define one’s race; diseases that are described to only effect a single race; character traits or physical abilities that are referred to as being ‘natural’ in relation to a racial or ethnic group.
Describe what messages are sent by this example, as well as the social impact.
- Respond to at least one classmate
- Respond to either someone who responded to you, a second classmate, or the instructor