Blog Post 1 Race, Ethnicity, Family, Racial Identity, Ethnic Identity, Nationality, and Culture

  Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

            Terms like race, ethnicity, and culture are used frequently. I know I have heard these words, but I never really knew what they meant or how they were different from one another; I had a general idea, but when it really came down to it, I wouldn’t have been able to confidently state the meaning of each of these words or what their impact is. Over the course of the past week, however, I feel that I have learned a lot in relation to these topics and have a firmer understanding about how these are interwoven into our society, and what role they play for me, personally.

            The term race is defined as “a social construction to describe a group of people who share physical and cultural traits as well as a common ancestry” (Golash-Boza, 2014). This definition was interesting to me because I had never thought about the face that race is a social construct; it’s something we created to create divisions and a hierarchy between us. We were also able to briefly discuss how race is different depending upon where you live; Americans see race different than Brazilians do, for example. The other two terms we discussed were ethnicity, “a group of people with a common cultural identification, based on a combination of language, religion, ancestral origin, or traditional practices” (Golash-Boza, 2014) and nationality, which refers to the nation/country you have citizenship in. It was interesting to explore how these ideas fit together in our society. This new information also prompted me to consider my own race, cultural, and nationality and how these have shaped me and my experiences. Since I went into this week not knowing much or having a very strong or formulated opinion, I would not say my attitude has changed, rather I feel much more educated on the topic and ready to explore these ideas more deeply in my personal life and in society as a whole. 

 

Racial Identity, Racism, and Culture


            After gaining a better understanding of these terms, our class was then able to put these ideas into a larger context and explore them in a deeper capacity. One of the big ideas we discussed was racial categorization and the pros/cons that comes with getting rid of it. This was a debate I have had before in some one of my previous courses, Multiculturism and Education (EDCI 285). There are many downfalls to racial categorization; it opens the door to racism, which justifies white supremacy, greatly affects people’s opportunities, and is a systematic failure on country’s part. These have led people to believe that racial categorization should be done away with, and they make a very good point. However, I believe that people will always find something to put us into categories. If it is not race it will be hair color, gender, religion, etc. The elimination of race might help certain groups, this is true, but it will not change the fact that a group will be discriminated against. Some people have adapted a “colorblind” mentality, meaning that they choose to see everyone as the exact same. I understand the thinking behind this; however, I don’t agree with this line of thought. A person’s race, culture, and ethnicity can play a huge part in their personal identity. Page 37 of our textbook includes an interesting graphic. The picture depicts an iceberg and is meant to represent how deeply a person’s culture affects them. This could be on a visible level, such as their food, dress, or music. This could also be on a deeper level, such as a person’s concept of beauty, body language, or notions of leadership (Sensoy, 2017). These differences should be celebrated and explored, not ignored. Everyone has some unique and meaningful to bring. People are not the same, and they are not supposed to be. 

            I have not explored my own identity in depth yet, but I believe this class will help me do just that. In the future, I will (hopefully) be an elementary teacher. I think these ideas are topics that should be discussed at least in some capacity in the classroom. If I can learn to celebrate my own identity, I hope I can help my future students do the same. 

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