SOSC 1000 Study Guide - Final Guide: Nanny, Sociology Of The Family, Immigration Policy

• School: York University
• Department: Social Science
• Course: SOSC 1000
• Professor: Terry Conlin

Document Summary

Definitions: race as a social construct: a social construct is a phenomena/perception that is created by the people/society through their practices. Race from this perspective is phenomena created by society to classify humans based on fixed characteristics/traits that these people have. Moreover, associate certain physical, social, psychological, and moral properties to these categories of people. Finally and as commonly practiced in many places people of these categories are ranked/ordered some given higher superiority than others. While people from lower ranked groups/races are predetermined to be inferior. According to augie fleras, all humans belong to a single biological species called homo sapiens; therefore race is a social and not a biological construct. However some argue that it is biologically constructed rather than socially, so this topic is therefore opened to the debate. The significance of race being a social construction is how people have used race to explain social problems like racism.