Validity of the Concept of Race
The term 'race' has been employed throughout Western history as a way to categorize difference in society and to justify exploitation of certain groups by the powerful. Scholars in the field of sociology question the validity of the concept and term 'race' in academic analysis. Miles and Satzewich argue that the use of categories employed by the racists to categorize and oppress, reproduces the myths and fallacies that 'justifies' oppression. As well, since the 1960's there has been a change in the discourse that racializes groups of people. Solomos, find that the discourse of racialization can be powerful even without the explicit use of 'race' and blatant racist remarks. The impact of academic discourse on 'common sense' knowledge and the inconsistency of the meaning associated with the word 'race' challenges sociologists to examine the discourse of racism. In "Conceptualizing Racism", Satzewich petitions for the abandonment of the term 'race' in sociological analyses of racism. He challenges the category of 'race' and establishes the elastic mutability of the concept. Maintaining the fallacy of biological base for hierarchy of races, he examines the evolution of the idea of 'race', tracing the variability of
While the scientific community has repeatedly proven "as a biological doctrine, racism is dead" (Satzewich 25), academic and political discourse has in some ways perpetuated the common sense notion of the false doctrine. The challenge is to reorganize how we think about racism and racialization and develop understanding of the implications of certain language. One area of impact would be a chapter on Racism in Introductory Sociology. The framework for discussing these issues must be within a structure of Power and Dominance. Central to the discussion must be the dichotomy of white/black as the Western world is the predominant actor in racialization. The implications of language used must be considered and the authors of the new chapter must take care to avoid passive terms such as "disadvantaged" and "oppressed" which minimize the active role of those responsible for racialization. Equally important is to address problems of racialization not as individuals against ind! 2) Academic use of the term 'race' influences the 'commonsense' as there is no way to control the way the public understands the term, so use of 'race' may actually "serve as legitimation not only of a belief in the existence of "race" as a biological phenomenon but also of racism itself" (Miles 32) The three articles surveyed uphold removing 'race' as "the element which cements common sense notions." (Solomos et al 31) This challenges the sociologist to reconceptualize the issues of racism without the category of 'race.' Instead, inequalities must be examined as result of actions of the oppressors in terms of exploitation and racialization economically, politically and socially. The authors also bring attention to the evolving discourse of racialization used by the powerful to exploit and stratify society to maintain the old order. Goldberg (who is quoted by two of the authors surveyed) asserts, "resistance must oppose the language of oppression." (Satzewich 30) After 15 year
Some common words found in the essay are:
Britain British, Dominance Central, Omi Wittant, Race Matter, Racism Satzewich, Miles Satzewich, Omi Winant, Race Matters, , Publishing Inc, et al, solomos et al, solomos et, term 'race', race racism, idea 'race', racism racialization, common sense, economic crises, race matter, racism social, peterborough broadview press, knowles peterborough broadview, broadview press 1996, 'common sense' knowledge,
Approximate Word count = 1358
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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