Sociologist view race and ethnicity as?

Question

Determined at birth, biological facts social constructions or socially unimportant factors?

Answer 1

Social constructions.

Sociologists are the least rigorous of the social scientists, so what they say has little validity in the empirical sense.

Answer 2

@ Grizzled

Hey genius, Emilio Estévez is only 1/4 Spanish, just so you know. And ''la raza'' doesn't strictly translate to ''the race''. That's completely taken out of context. There isn't as much race segregation in a lot of Spanish-speaking countries as in the USA, so that's why there's a feeling of unity and shared identity to a certain extent.

Answer 3

sociologists view race as a social construction, as it's biological and genetic foundations is microscopic and the physical characteristics associated with it are far from rigid. as for ethnicity, that simply describes a shared history, and could really be applied to any group. and yes, the two are constantly confused. and as for the afformentined comment, regarding sociolgy having little merit within the natural sciences, that doesn't make sense. it's typical for natural science students to learn that social science is loose but the fact is that they are two distinct disciplines uncovering completely different phenomona requirening completely different methodologies. rest assured that sociology has much to contribute

Answer 4

It is my opinion that 90% of the world doesn't know the difference. For example the classification of Hispanic people as a race, makes my blood boil. Being Hispanic simply means that one descends from a country where the Spanish language is spoken. It doesn't classify them as being a different race they can be of any race, but most people can't grasp this. Coincidently Hispanics are the worst at understanding. They use the term La Raza which literally translates to The Race. Which race? Emilio Estevez' race or Sammy Sosa's race? Because according to their definition Estevez and Sosa are of the same race. How any logical person can believe that is beyond me. Clearly one man is black and the other man is Caucasian. They are of different races, but belong to the same ethnic group. They are linked together because of linguistic and possibly religious reasons (Most Hispanics are Catholic), but to say that they are part of the same race is obtuse and will continue to be until we live in an intergalactic community and they can be grouped together as part of the Human race, and not Vulcans or Klingons. (I hope that I didn't offend any Trekies or Trekers out there.)

     There are only three actual races the Black race, the white race, and the Mongoloid (Asians and Native American). A shared language does not redefine that. One may argue that Hispanic people have brown skin and not white. Well so do a lot of Greeks, Italians, Arabs, Turks, East Indians, Armenians, and even some Jews but they are still considered Caucasians. Look at the weather conditions in the some of the countries they call home. Even the most Nordic looking person on earth would eventually develop a tan if he spent some time in those places.

     One may also present the argument that many people from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and other countries are definitely not white, to which I will concede, but their either Native American or Mestizo which is a mix of Caucasian from Spain, and Native American. If anything they are biracial.

     This argument is going to go on for a long time and people will continue to insist and refuse to learn the difference. It’s a petty topic when it comes down to it, but the obsession with the issue that many Hispanics have makes it less trivial. In all fairness my passion for the subject stems from the fact that I’m Hispanic as were both of my parents, however I have fairly light skin and my “brethren” have often rejected me as one of their own, and I have felt a bit of resentment because of it. Over the years little things like my mother in law who’s skin is perhaps a half a shade darker than mine and suffers greatly from this misconception constantly speaks of me as being of a different race as her own, regardless of the fact that my parents spoke Spanish as a first language. Things like that just annoy me and I feel the need to explain to people that they are mistaken, as I do on other nonrelated topics.

Answer 5

As determined at birth. I just realized what you are asking. Race and ethnicity and are often used interchangeably.