AAS 201 LAST TERM Paper Outline PDF

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Professor Teresa Williams-Leon, Essay...

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LAST TERM PAPER OUTLINE PROMPT: Explain racism as a set of attitudes and racism as a system of power. How have "race" and "racism" informed, affected, and influenced your life and your world view? INTRO: Growing up as a consumer of society’s values, I’ve admittedly been conditioned to generalize and accept the normality of “race”. I’ve evolved to question society’s values and developed my own perception from an academic standpoint throughout this course. Omi Winant defines race as, “ ...a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies”. Fully understanding “race” as a toxic concept has informed, affected and influenced my worldview in various ways. Living through society and accepting “race” as a social normality, I was impacted to learn that “race” was an idea to intentionally exclude and categorize those who are not white. Exploring this idea has allowed me to reflect and take notice that the foundation of American culture has been developed through race. CONCLUSION: Race has been put on a pedestal and I feel fooled to have accepted this as a social normality in the past. As a society, we’ve been deceived and informed “the white way, is the right way”. We must continue to question societal values, find and bring awareness to the facts. According to Google minor means, “lesser in importance, seriousness, or significance”. “ Race” is a white man made idea to intentionally keep whites “dominant” and minorities “minor”. Yet, our cultural terminology remains socially accepted. My perception and worldview has immensely shifted to learn American culture was mainly built on the foundation of race. “Race” has changed the way I choose to accept social norms, the necessity to challenge authority and act on what isn’t right.

22 topics 1. Racism as a set of attitudes -We are conditioned to believe the accuracy of racial categorization and to accept the normality of this mindset. Racism as a system of attitudes is this very idea of exercising these practices whether we are aware of it or not. ““l ooks at and interprets racism to mean when individuals have racially-based prejudices in which preconceived notions of various racialized groups are cognitively held. One may be aware of these notions or not. These prejudices may or may not be practiced or acted out by individuals. (Week 5 lecture). T hese

attitudes are developed through racial categorization and why race was invented. Race was made in the overall purpose to categorize humans and to ensure whites were “dominant”. 2. Racism as a system of power Race is a formed idea to systematically categorize and exclude different cultural backgrounds within our administration as well. Racism as a system of power, “examines differential treated, systematic exclusion, structural inequality, & social hierarchy based on group social location in the society. Has little or nothing to do with individual prejudices or attitudes that individuals hold or don’t hold. This is about racial group status and socio-political placement in the society as part of a sociohistorical process,” (Week 5 lecture). 3. Race is identified differently nowadays through “new racism” and we must be aware of what it looks like. -Most whites assert they “don’t see any color, just people… most whites insist that minorities (especially blacks) are the ones responsible for whatever “race problem” we have in this country,” (Bonilla-Silva 1). -Suburban white America voiced its belief in racial equality, but relentlessly held

on to white class privilege and all the policies and structures that made it possible. Many social scientists would call this the “new racism” or “laissez-faire racism,” in which white Americans failed to actively address racial inequality and, in doing so, maintained the racial status quo,” (Glaude). 4. Race is a conditioned idea valued in society and integrated in the foundation of American values. “Just because race isn’t biological, doesn’t mean it’s not real. Race is a social construct has a lot to do with where somebody lives, what schools they will go to, what jobs the will get, where there or not they will have health insurance”

“Idea of race is a biological myth requires a major paradigm shift. Race is not based on biology but race is rather an idea that we ascribe to biology,” (Goodman)

5. Popular culture is a significant influential source to American culture. “In the United States, popular culture as assisted in the maintenance of a white supremacist racial hierarchy since its American inception,” (Mueller).

“Popular culture has served as part of the ideological and material apparatus of social life for as long as it’s existed,” (Mueller). “We view contemporary forms of racist popular culture as dangerous not only for the same reasons as they were in the past… but because we can easily look back at popular images with disdain… that it temporarily blinds us from its subtle forms today,” (Mueller).

6. Political correctness is more important than we think it is. Exercising political correctness allows us to effectively communicate and express cultural sensitivity.

“...conservatives demonize political correctness because they resent having to suppress their own prejudices,” (Hannah). “Political correctness, in which public officials are careful to avoid language that alienates or offends, requires a certain type of expressive competence,” (Hannah).

7. Learning about race has enabled reflection in my personal experience as an Asian American women in America. 8. Environment is a significant source of influence. Conditioned environments condition the humans in it. 9. My personal experience as an Asian American women is what developed my place in society and the workplace. 10. Why I think education is a priority to change “In order to move toward new visions of what oppression is, I think that we need to ask new questions,” (Collins) 11. Racism exists in a different way and my generation is responsible for changing it 12. Race has affected me to question why and how things are modified. It has influenced me to advance my understanding and others. 13. Self awareness RACISM AS A SET OF ATTITUDES: “l ooks at and interprets racism to mean when individuals have racially-based prejudices in which preconceived notions of various racialized groups are cognitively held. One may be aware of these notions or not. These prejudices may or may not be practiced or acted out by individuals. (Week 5 lecture)

In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is the process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such.  Omi/Winint Def of RACE: “race is a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies”. Omi and Winant go on to define racial  formation as “the sociohistorical process by which racial categories are created inhabited, transformed, and destroyed.” RACISM AS A SYSTEM OF POWER: examines differential treated, systematic exclusion, structural inequality, & social hierarchy based on group social location in the society. Has little or nothing to do with individual prejudices or attitudes that individuals hold or don’t hold. This is about racial group status and socio-political placement in the society as part of a sociohistorical process. Why do we call so-called non-whites “minorities” and “subordinate groups?” and so-called whites “the majority” or the “dominant group?” When “people of color” are discriminated against and denied access to resources, it is called, “discrimination” or “racism.” (Week 5 lecture)

“Idea of race is a biological myth requires a major paradigm shift. Race is not based on biology but race is rather an idea that we ascribe to biology,” (Goodman) Genetically, we arent that different. We similar amongst all species. Genes and biology have nothing to do with race and exterior appearance. For 200 years, scientists have mapped the human body. Measures of eye shape, hair form were measured identify differences of intelligence Biology becomes an excuse for social differences (Goodman). Ossorio, behavior is determined by genomes meeting your environment. The idea of biology has nothing to do with race. Biology has become a term to construct social differences Racist biology simply doesn’t work.. Race is a very salient social and historical concept. We live in racial smog Just because race isn’t biological, doesn’t mean it’s not real. Race is a social construct has a lot to do with where somebody lives, what schools they will go to, what jobs the will get, where there or not they will have health insurance Race is a concept that was invented to categorize the perceived biological, social and cultural differences between human groups (Hammonds) Race is a human invention. We can make it, we can unmake it (Hammonds).

“Race is a powerful social category forged historically through oppression, slavery, and conquest. Most geneticists agree that racial taxonomies at the DNA level are invalid. Genetic differences within any designated racial group are often greater than differences between racial groups,” (Duster, T. (2009). Debating Reality and Relevance. S  cience , 3 24 (5931), 1144-145.)

REFERENCES Analyzing American Racism in the Trump Era BY EDDIE S. GLAUDE, JR. http://time.com/5388356/our-racist-soul/ RACISM AND POPULAR CULTURE by Danielle Dirks and Jennifer C Mueller https://www.academia.edu/482708/Racism_and_Popular_Culture Are you asking me to talk the ‘right way’ or ‘white way’ by J olie A. Doggett https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-proper-english-grammar-racism_n_5ba91ec9e4 b069d5f9d549cd RACISM WITHOUT RACISTS by Bonillia-Silva POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IS A MUST by Mark Hannah http://time.com/4405217/trump-political-correctness-obama/ Toward a new vision: Race, Class, and gender categories of analysis and connection by Patricia Hill Collins https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e871/357bb34497e92534ad26f2eab578959d1d34.pdf...