Narratives of (Black) Life and Loss: The Methodological Work of Haunting Extending on the theoretical work and critique of positivist science, Du Bois grants readers throughout “Sociology Hesitant,” Avery F. Gordon’s Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination provides scholars with a methodological intervention capable of subverting and unsettling the logics and project(s) of sociology. While “Sociology Hesitant” looks towards chance as a(n) alternative/secondary rhythm, Ghostly Matters is (perhaps) an attempt at subverting colonial-sociological rhythms altogether. For Gordon, this methodological intervention—the subversion of sociological rhythm(s)—occurs in the geographic space of the between. Sociology (re)produces and reifies (social) …show more content…
Paul Gilroy and the Sociological Concern Around Categorization Throughout his monograph, Against Race: Imagining Political Culture Beyond the Color Line, Paul Gilroy articulates a devastating critique of race, particularly the enactment of race in sociology and global politics historically, and at the turn of the millennium. Against Race is an attempt to threaten the sociological study of race, the reproduction and reification of race, as well as the perceived objectivity of race. Furthermore, Gilroy argues that race-based identity politics are an apparatus of state property and control, ultimately operating as a violence against humanity built on the falsity of racial difference. Through a critique of (and engagement with) the nation-state, fascist cultures, and identity politics, Against Race complicates the theoretical need for the categorization of race and opts for a new utopian humanism which rejects the historical and stereotypical notions of race while maintaining an understanding of the realities and effects of
First, I will examine Omi and Winant’s approach. They made a clear distinction between ethnicity and race and only discussed how races are formed. They also define race as a constantly being transformed by political struggle and it is a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by
Gary Gerstle attempts to reinterpret twentieth-century American history in light of the power of race (and to a much lesser extent, or even not at all, class and gender). The American Crucible conceptualizes American liberals as well as whiteness scholars’ synthetic historiographical interpretations on mainstream Americanism like Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt- Theodore Roosevelt especially, due the author’s attention to the meaning of the liberal state and liberalism. However, above all that, Gerstle argues that inherent tensions between two powerful types of nationalism- racial and civic- have decisively shaped American history, policy-making and political debates in the twentieth
. . She grew up in a black neighborhood that was one of the poorest and most dangerous in the country; I grew up in a safe, quiet middle-class neighborhood in a predominately white city and went to high school with a total of two black students. I was a science journalist who referred to all things supernatural as “woo-woo stuff”; Deborah believed Henrietta’s spirit lived on in her cells” (p. 7). Here, Skloot tells us where herself and Deborah Lacks are from and their feelings about “supernatural” occurrences. Skloot draws a contrast between the backgrounds and sentiments of herself and Deborah to demonstrate the differences that upbringing and environmental influences can arouse in two people; Skloot introduces the dynamic of race to demonstrate that race and economic status were, and still are, prevalent issues in relation to the success of two racially different groups.
Race-thinking: what is it? Isn’t the world past the issue of race? Do races even exist and if so, what does it mean to have a racial identity? Is colorblindness possible and how important is it? These are the questions Paul Taylor addresses in the book “Race: A Philosophical Introduction”. Paul Taylor is a self-proclaimed “radical constructionist” who will maintain that race is very real in our world and in the United States as a whole (p. 80). Taylor takes care to ensure he addresses the real needs concerning racial dynamics in the U.S., referencing historical events, prevailing policy affairs, and even pop culture to explain that everyone capable of forming opinions ought to have some sort of grasp of the concept of race-thinking. As Taylor will analyze, race and race-thinking “has shaped and continues to shape private interactions as well as the largest political choices” (p. 8). In other words, race-thinking encompasses everything we do and every interaction we have. In this paper I will attempt to interpret and expound Taylor’s views and definitions of race, concepts associated with race, and input my own interpretations as they are appropriate.
Winant, Howard. 2000 "Race and race theory." Annual review of sociology ():-. Retrieved from http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/faculty/winant/Race_and_Race_Theory.html on Mar 17, 1980
As can be observed through the historical events that have occurred over time, race can be seen as a simple idea, but rather it is not and can instead be seen as a complex topic of discussion with more intricacies then what may be originally exposed. In his text, Mills attempts to explain some of these intricacies by starting with the way that race has culminated it self through the happenings and changes that have developed historically in society. It is obvious to see that the soc...
a non-violent way,”(Race in the modern world: the problem of the color line). One of Web’s
Omi and Winant’s concept of racialization is formed around the theory that race is a social concept, while Bonilla-Silva’s is formed around the theory of racialized social systems. We will first look at Omi and Winant, and then we’ll move onto Bonilla-Silva’s concept of racialization. Omi and Winant say “Within the contemporary social science literature, race is assumed to be a variable which is shaped by broader societal forces.” (Omi & Winant 1986, pg. 3) The racial line in the United States has been defined and reinforced over centuries.
The article being analyzed is called “The Intersections of Race, Class and Gender in the Anti-Racist Discourse" by George Dei. The purpose of the article is to outline the idea that race cannot be analysed by itself, rather it has to be separated and looked at in connection to other types of identities. The author argues that the current theory about race does not provide a concise understanding of “human and social development”. The ideas surrounding race that already exist do not consider the “totality of human experiences”. This is where the author argues that the study of anti-racism is "integrative". These type of studies aim to provide information on how different identities such as race, class, gender, sexual orientation are connected
Muhammad Ali, a famous boxer, once said, “Hating People because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. I’s just plain wrong” (Goodreads, 2015). For many centuries, ethnic conflict between the humans have existed immortally due the never changing differences of culture and values, spinning the cycle of war. Fortunately, some have ended however some still remain immortal in the eyes of those who have experience struggle to this date. The lack of awareness of problems in a cultural crisis concerning those who fall victim to a system and society that discriminates and alienates. With assistance of Critical Race Theory, this essay will examine how the role of race with has affected has caused consequences within the lives of marginalized groups within society through the lives and their relationship with those in their communities.
Some people define race as if it is something solid or concrete, but what they don’t see is that it is a “social fabrication”(Mathew Desmond, Mustafa Emibayer,2009;2). Race is based on the difference in physical appearance which is determined, for example, by the most apparent trait; skin color. Inequality emerges when people living, whether on the same sovereign terrain or across continents, are not treated with the same amount of respect and not given the chance to engage their rights in a free and fair manner. Race and inequality are often linked together because of the “issues that began in the 1800s”(NFB;Journey to Justice;2000) such as racial segregation. Over the years issues of race and inequality have decreased dramatically. How did racial inequality decrease and through what? To study this case, two theories need to be put in practice, “resource mobilisation theory and new social movement”(Tremblay;2013).
Race as a “…social and historical idea, not biological” (Palaita, Lecture 1/25/18), only works because according to Social Construction Theory, “…these categories work because our complacency allows us to presume that the identities are natural and a group’s social status relies on biology, rather than social/cultural circumstances” (Palaita, Lecture 1/25/18). Our unwillingness to challenge these identities has allowed these categories to be used to determine who will be on the advantageous side of the inequality we face here in the United States. If we no longer accepted these conditions, and change the way social groups are viewed and treated, we may create a new norm and close the inequality gap between social
To understand our existence, we interact with other members of society and develop a set of shared notions, institutions, and structures. Sociology, the systematic study of human society, helps us understand these interactions and developments. In particular, applying the sociological imagination to the social construct of race yields insight into its fallacy and utility. This essay examines the historical origin, functions, and societal implications of race in the United States. I also connect the social construct of race with the writings of Barbara J. Fields, Kingsley Davis, Wilbert E. Moore, Marianne Bertrand, and Sendhil Mullainathan. In a larger context, the social construct of race is a system of schematic classification; race
The article, “RACE AND ETHNICITY- CHANGING SYMBOL IS OF DOMINANCE AND HIERARCHY IN THE UNITED STATES” by Karen I. Blu is an exceptional work that clearly expounds on the racial and ethnic groups especially in America. Racial and ethnic groupings are gradually becoming popular in the public arena, in which people are shifting their focus on classifying other people on the basis of racial groupings to rather classifying them on the basis of ethnicity. Moreover, race grouping is slowly submerging into ethnic grouping with Black activism being the role player in this (Blu, 1979). The following is a summary of the aforementioned article in how it relates to racial and ethnic groups and response regarding its views.
In today’s society, it is acknowledgeable to assert that the concepts of race and ethnicity have changed enormously across different countries, cultures, eras, and customs. Even more, they have become less connected and tied with ancestral and familial ties but rather more concerned with superficial physical characteristics. Moreover, a great deal can be discussed the relationship between ethnicity and race. Both race and ethnicity are useful and counterproductive in their ways. To begin, the concept of race is, and its ideas are vital to society because it allows those contemporary nationalist movements which include, racist actions; to become more familiar to members of society. Secondly, it has helped to shape and redefine the meaning of