ANTH 1120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Oscar Lewis, Ascribed Status, Rastafari
13 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Race refers to the presumed genetic, natural heritable characteristics of a group of people normally based on physical attributes like skin colour, eye colour, or hair type. We live in a society that views race as a natural, ascribed category (something we are born with, and that this a fixed and unchanging form of identity) Race has been used to reinforce these hierarchies. Racial stratification involves ranking people within a hierarchy that defines their social, economic and political worth. Most academics view race as a culturally constructed category (a byproduct of cultural beliefs, not biology); despite this fact, some societies continue to view race as a natural category. In order for a race to exist, you need at least one defining feature across everybody, and that doesn"t happen; there is diversity. Race in terms of the human race. Racism: relates to the discrimination and mistreatment of particular racial groups.
