Essay Sample on Race Classification

Introduction

More than a hundred years ago, some biologists defined race according to biological construction. They argued that there were some genetic variations in people of different colors. However, sociologist Dubois believed that race was defined by the social and cultural differences of a given population. When further research was carried out on genetic variation of different populations, it was found out that there was no major variation in genetics between the blacks, Asians, and the whites. As such, the biological construction of races was discarded because it failed to appreciate the scope of human diversity. The race is a social and historical construction and not biologically constructed.

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Firstly, a race is a cognitive belief of humans that they are different from each other (Cornell & Douglas 12). According to biological research on different human population, all humans are more the same genetically (Cornell & Douglas 9). However, the difference in color, body shape, and different environments makes a difference in the human population. Humans tend to think that the physical difference between them is what makes different races. For instance, people tend to think that humans with a given type of skin color belong to a certain ethnic group. The reason for such human cognitive is because over time physical markers such as body shape, skin color, and other properties have been viewed as ethnic markers.

Additionally, a race is historically constructed rather than biologically constructed because of the justifications of evolutionary theories. According to evolutionary research conducted on different divided ethnic groups, the members of a given ethnic shared the same cultural and social organization. For instance, the Nuer in Sudan and Iroquois in North America have the same social and cultural organization. The same social construction of some ethnic groups justifies that ethnicity is culturally transmitted and not biologically transmitted. Golash &Tanya (12) believes that human is evolutionarily disposed to perceive some biological physical differences which make people believe that they originate from different races. However, human evolution suggests that all humans shared the same characteristics. The only difference was the cultural and social organization that developed in different ethnic groups and has over the years been transmitted culturally to give rise to different races. For example, today, parents and children display the same markers such as skin color and body shape as those of their ancestors (Golash &Tanya 12). Additionally, children have adopted cultural beliefs that they belong to a certain race because the learned that from their ancestors.

Consequently, a race is socially and historically constructed because of culture evolved cognition (Darwin 3). Cultural transmission is a social aspect that differentiates human population depending on their beliefs and preferences. Different ethnic groups have a different way of doing things. Over the years, cultural practices have been associated to belong to certain ethnic groups. Thus, people believe that the race concept has been associated with a person's social environment.

Finally, a race is socially constructed because it is transmitted from one generation to another through social learning (Cornell & Douglas 15). The social learning theory affects how the race concept is transmitted among the generations. For instance, children from a certain ethnic group will learn the concept of races depending on how their parents classify people into races. Also, it is important to note that although children's mind cannot spontaneously classify people into races, they are primed to draw racial distinctions from parents' classification of races. Therefore, the social learning of one culture gives rise to humans differentiating other people in terms of skin color, body shape, and other physical properties.

The classification of race, as a social and historical aspect, was mainly developed by many scientific kinds of research. Scientists carried out scientific research and found that there was no major biological difference between people from different ethnic groups. Scientists have come up with modern theories that associates race with social and historical context rather than biological construction. For instance, social learning theory was used by scientist to show how children learned the concept of races from their parents. For instance, through scientific research, Thomas Jefferson discovered that human intelligence did not differ in different races. Jefferson made people understand that the difference in human physical properties did not affect how people think and, therefore, concluded that ethnic groups should not be neglected (Smedley 34). Another scientist who felt that race was socially and historically constructed was Samuel Smith. Smith pointed out that the difference in color was as a result of different climatic conditions (Smedley 35). For instance, Smith claimed that the black pigmentation of Negros was just as a result of an oversupply of bile triggered by the tropical climate. Both Smith and Jefferson brought to a better understanding of the difference of the physical properties which were earlier used to classify the human race. Thus, modern society can today appreciate human diversity and understand that race is socially and historically constructed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a race is socially constructed as opposed to arguments that it is biologically constructed. Scientists have found that there lack major difference in genetic variation between the blacks, whites, and Asians. Further research on racial difference has associated race with social and historical concepts. For instance, human cognitive thinking, cultural transmission, and social learning are some of the social and historical aspects that correctly define the existence of different races. Scientists, such as Smith and Jefferson played a role in illustrating how a race was socially and historically constructed and not biologically connected as it was defined there earlier.

Work Cited

Cornell, Stephen, and Douglas Hartmann. Ethnicity and race: Making identities in a changing world. Sage Publications, 2006.

Darwin, Charles. "On the origin of species, 1859." (2016).

Fredrickson, George M. Racism: A short history. Vol. 18. Princeton University Press, 2015.

Golash-Boza, Tanya Maria. Race & racisms: A critical approach. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Smedley, Audrey. Race in North America: Origin and evolution of a worldview. Routledge, 2018.