Winant Racial Formation Essay

Racial Formation in the United States

By

Michael Omi and Howard Winant

1. What do you think the reading tells us about society in general and the experience of the social group covered in the research in particular (e.g., women or those of different races or ethnicities. I think the reading tells us that racial formation will always exists. I think that political power, social and economic conflict is one of the factors of racial formation. In our modernity social grouping is categorized by race, gender, sexuality, and beliefs. Society organizes groups by what they stereotypically believe about people of different cultures. Racial formation theory is an analytical tool in sociology developed by Michael Omi and Howard Winant, which

What two to three points made by the social theorist did you find most interesting?

One point made by the theorist that I find interesting is to learn that racial formation guides our expectations. Those expectations will guide all our daily interactions. Individuals that do not perform according to our racial expectations disrupt this micro-level process. Another point made by the theorist is "racial formation perspective" is needed to explain race as a field of social conflict, political organizations, and cultural/ideological meaning. 3. In your own experience of living in society, can you relate to the points made by the theorist in your chosen reading?

I can relate only because I live in it every day. I had a chance to experience seeing my parents be racially profiled when they were in the process of starting up a family business. We lived in a rural area in Los Angeles, my mother and father both worked. I would say we were a middle class family. When my parents went to get a business loan they were questioned on where they lived and my mother was asked who is the head of this household. My mother being the woman with more of an education than my father was always the aggressor in business, which at