Friday 6 May 2016

What characteristics of culture, race, and ethnicity may play a key role in diversity?

Interesting question! The answers may be varied, depending on your own definitions of culture, race, and ethnicity. Sociology experts also hold varied positions regarding the three concepts. 


For example, some sociologists contend that race, culture, and ethnicity are interchangeable. Still others contend that race is a social construct, defined by tradition, bias, and personal conviction. Traditionally, race has been defined by a set of physical characteristics: eye color, skin color, blood types, facial features, and...

Interesting question! The answers may be varied, depending on your own definitions of culture, race, and ethnicity. Sociology experts also hold varied positions regarding the three concepts. 


For example, some sociologists contend that race, culture, and ethnicity are interchangeable. Still others contend that race is a social construct, defined by tradition, bias, and personal conviction. Traditionally, race has been defined by a set of physical characteristics: eye color, skin color, blood types, facial features, and hair types, to name a few. To date, there is some consensus among anthropologists that the three major races in the world are the Caucasoid, the Negroid, and the Mongoloid. 


However, because of immigration and intermarriage, the concepts of race, ethnicity, and culture have become more difficult to define. For example, someone who is one-fourth Caucasian and three-fourths African American may be classified as African-American by some or mixed-race/biracial by others. Also, he may share some but not all of the characteristics that define his ethnic group. For example, he may share the same nationality, language, and traditions as the others in his group, but he may practice a different religious faith (or none at all). He may also hold markedly different political views than those in his ethnic group or cherish different ideas about gender. These cultural differences play a key role in diversity.


So, the characteristics of culture, race, and ethnicity that may play a role in diversity are variations in gender, religion, political persuasions, sexual orientations, and personal backgrounds. 

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