Sociology 2140 Study Guide - Final Guide: Canada Green Building Council, Lung Cancer, Styrene
28 Sep 2016
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Race: refers to a category of people believed to share distinct physical characteristics deemed socially significant. Racial groups are distinguished based on physical characteristics as skin colour, hair texture, body shape, size. Some physical variations are the result of living for thousands of years in different geographical regions. Cultural definitions of race taught us to view race as a scientific categorization of people based on biological differences. But racial categories are based more on social definitions than on biological differences. Distinctions among human populations are graded, not abrupt. Skin colour is not black or white it ranges from dark to light with many gradations of shades. The science of genetics challenges the notion of race. Geneticists have discovered that genes of black and white are 99% alike. Genetic studies indicate that genetic variation is greater within racially classified populations than between racial groups.
