Reflection On Race And Ethnicity In The United States

When I first entered sociology 235, I expected to learned topics about race and ethnicity in the United States. I wanted to know more about how one’s race and ethnicity can impact their daily lives. Also, I want to become more competent about diversity. As an aspiring social worker, I wanted to understand how the words “race” and “ethnicity” are define. I also wanted to learn about the relationships race and ethnicity and inequality. Understanding this would enable to better services client of different race and ethnicity.
I learned that race was socially constructed. Society made up this idea of different race and has continued to socially important and significant among people. Race is defined by physical characteristics, such as facial structure or skin color. Race is use as a way to justify inequality and racism. Individuals use race to label one as inferior or superior. Ethnicity refers to cultural traits that are shared by a category of people such as language, religion, or national origin.
Throughout this semester, I have learned a great deal about race and ethnicity. I learned that in the United Sates, the increasing …show more content…
Noel hypothesis uses three characteristics of contact situations that when combined can lead to inequality between groups. These features are ethnocentrism, competition, and differential in power. Ethnocentrism is the judgment of other cultures according to prejudices originating in the standards and customs of one 's culture. Which can lead to the belief that other cultures are inferior. Competition is the struggle over rare product and services. The last characteristic is the differential in power. Power can be defined as the ability to control or influence someone’s behavior. Prejudice towards another culture can lead to the belief that other cultures are inferior and the dominate group controlling every aspect of that