SOC 1100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 14: Bogardus Social Distance Scale, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Miscegenation

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1100
• Professor: Deanna Behnke- Cook

Document Summary

Race: socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important. Could be based off physical characteristics; skin colour, facial feature, hair texture, body shape. Diversity appeared as a result of human ancestors living in different parts of the world: regions of intense heat; people developed darker skin from melanin as protection from the sun, variety is a result of migration. Different categories of people might see physical traits differently: ex: canadians might see fewer racial categories (black, white, asian) where brazilians distinguish between branca/white, parda/brown, morena/brunette, mulata/mulatto, preta/black, amarela/yellow etc. Scientists identified 3 racial types as they tried to organize the world"s diversity: caucasoid (light skin & fine hair, negroid (dark skin & coarse hair, mongoloid (yellow/brown skin & distinctive eyelid folds) The 3 categoires differ in only 6% of their genes. Still, the superficial physical traits are regarded as logical grounds for classifying people.