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race

Definition of Race

(noun) A socially created and poorly defined categorization of people into groups on basis of real or perceived physical characteristics.

Race Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: race

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /rAYs/
  • British English – /rAYs/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /reɪs/
  • British English – /reɪs/

Usage Note

  • Plural: races

Related Quotations

  • “For essentialists, race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, and social class identify significant, empirically verifiable differences among people. From the essentialist perspective, each of the these exist apart from any social processes; they are objective categories of real differences among people” (Rosenblum and Travis 2012:3).
  • “‘Race’ was a form of social identification and stratification that was seemingly grounded in the physical differences of populations interacting with one another in the New World, but whose real meaning rested in social and political realities” (Smedley 1998:694).
  • “[S]ingling out members of a race or ethnic group for heightened police surveillance—is a way to act on the assumption that whole categories of people are dangerous” (Rosenblum and Travis 2012:199).
  • “Today scholars are beginning to realize that ‘race’ is nothing more and nothing less than a social invention. It has nothing to do with the intrinsic, or potential, qualities of the physically differing populations, but much to do with the allocation of power, privilege, and wealth among them” (Smedley 1998:698–99).

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Additional Information

Related Terms


References

Rosenblum, Karen Elaine, and Toni-Michelle Travis. 2012. The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, Sexual Orientation, and Disability. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Smedley, Audrey. 1998. “‘Race’ and the Construction of Human Identity.” American Anthropologist 100(3):690–702. doi:10.1525/aa.1998.100.3.690.

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Cite the Definition of Race

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “race.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 28, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/race/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

race. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/race/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “race.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/race/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“race.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/race/>.