Definition of Social Construction of Race
(noun) The idea that race is not biologically defined but socially constructed.
Social Construction of Race Pronunciation
Syllabification: so·cial con·struc·tion of race
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /sOH-shuhl kuhn-strUHk-shuhn uhv rAYs/
- British English – /sOH-shuhl kuhn-strUHk-shuhn UHv rAYs/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈsoʊʃəl kənˈstrʌkʃən əv reɪs/
- British English – /ˈsəʊʃəl kənˈstrʌkʃən əv reɪs/
Usage Note
- Plural: social constructions of race
Related Video
Additional Information
- Word origin of “social” and “construction” and “race” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Rosenblum, Karen Elaine, and Toni-Michelle Travis. 2016. The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, Sexual Orientation, and Disability. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Related Terms
- dominant group
- ethnicity
- institution
- institutional discrimination
- minority group
- norm
- power
- race
- scapegoat theory
- subordinate group
Works Consulted
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Scott, John, and Gordon Marshall. 2005. A Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).
Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of Social Construction of Race
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “social construction of race.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved May 29, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/social-construction-of-race/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
social construction of race. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/social-construction-of-race/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “social construction of race.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed May 29, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/social-construction-of-race/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“social construction of race.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 29 May. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/social-construction-of-race/>.