What is identity? Is it really necessary if yes then is it correlated to race? These are some of the questions that scurried in my head when I was reading through the articles “Black behind the Ears” and “Racial Formation in the United States”. I began to analyzed them and reached a certain form of […]
In “Behind the Black Ears”–and Up Front Too? Dominicans in The Black Mosaic,” by Ginetta E.B. Candelario, the idea of “the box” is presented. The box is the idea that racial identity is more important than national or ethnic identity. A Dominican woman, Carmen Quander, said, I am a person of color and very proud […]
In initiating a racially-fueled social structure, an individual’s personal exposure to a racial group may become diluted by preconceived notions of a racial group’s characteristic behavior, as described by the general populace. Stereotypes pose significant threat to those who are being stereotyped. Michael Omi and Howard Winant of “Racial Formation in the United States” bring […]
In “Black Behind the Ears”, Ginetta E.B. Candelario brought up an interesting point about how Dominicans in America used a tactic of embracing their “Latino identity” in order to combat “anti-black racism” and to distance themselves from their African heritage. Giving an example of this, Candelario writes, “Doña Campos clearly understood that she and her children […]
What is a race? The term race is a very problematic one that has been used incorrectly time and time again. In Lifespan Development, a Topical Approach, Feldman describes that although race is purely biological, it has taken on many more meanings, such as skin color, religion, or culture. “Depending on how it is defined […]
Science suggests that climate and sun exposure differences are responsible for the evolution of differently pigmented humans. The extra exposure to UV A and UV B radiation in regions closer to the equator allowed for people with darker pigmented skin in those areas whereas humans located further up north evolved to have lighter skin pigmentation […]
It appears to me as though the two readings assigned this week examine two sides of the same coin: methods of racial categorization have both practical and humanitarian impact. Which offers greater insight into the issue at hand is difficult to say, though it is apparent that one impacts the other. Separation between scientific and […]
For many people, race is an important factor that contributes to their identity. It is the right of an individual to recognize themselves as part of a particular race group. That is not to say that any person should randomly choose their identity based on whim. On the contrary, a person’s racial identification is influenced […]
There are times when I can go through life barely trying to look at things for more than they appear on the outside. But recently I’ve been questioning a lot about how society operates and why we do the things we do and see the things we see. The piece, Racial Formation in the United […]
Daniel Cohen Discussion Blog Post #1 Ginetta E. B. Candelario wrote a splendid analysis of the Anacostia Museum’s Black Mosaic exhibit, which covers the history of black immigrants in the Washington, D.C. area. Candelario’s principal argument is that the U.S. has a very binary concept of race, whereas many black immigrants from regions such as […]
Race is no intrinsic biological component of identity but may be used at the discretion of the individual in order to either strengthen or shed light upon a related longstanding history and culture. In “Racial Formation,” Michael Omi and Howard Winant propose the definition, “race is a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and […]
Peter Kwong’s analysis of the flaws in the immigration debate gave voice to many of my ideas in a way that I was not able to explain. He provided historical context like the Chinese Exclusion Act to point out how deeply xenophobia and immigration restrictions are ingrained in American culture. Although I learned about these […]
What defines American culture? The fact that it’s a “melting pot” or a “salad bowl”, depending on which way you look at it. The fact that it’s unique because it’s not just one culture. It’s the build up of culture after culture that was brought here, to the New World. There’s only one reason America […]
Amongst the varied points raised in Peter Kwong’s “What’s Wrong with the U.S. Immigration Debate?”, stands an issue that is touched upon seldom: the ever-increasing ethnic disunity created between documented and undocumented individuals of the same race through the passage of legislation and the continued exploitation of said legislation. These laws are many and far […]
While reading “Making the Model Minority Myth” by Robert. G. Lee, I could not help but laugh at how true of a description of Asians in America we were given. A lot of the characteristics of Asian Americans talked about in the article resonated with me because as an Asian American myself I can say […]
