We are students studying sociology at Bryant University looking to explore and understand the intricacies of racial and ethnic inequality in the United States. Based on our concentrated readings of Tanya Maria Golash-Boza's book, Race & Racisms (2016, Oxford University Press, http://radprof.weebly.com/) "race" is defined as "a group of people who share physical and cultural traits as well as a common ancestry," (pg. 2). "Ethnicity" is defined as "group identities based on notions of similar and shared history, culture and kinship," (pg. 3). We, as a class, look at inequality in two ways. Inequality can be a societal condition of the uneven distribution of important but scarce societal resources. At a micro-level, inequality can be the experience of feeling unworthy or of lower social value because of one’s membership in a racial or ethnic group.
We realize the aforementioned concepts go beyond the book definitions, and are far more abstract and complicated in our diverse world. As students, we constructed the syllabus for the second half of the course to allow us to explore and share the topics and concepts within our selected areas of interest. In this blog, with the hope of creating a dialogue, we post articles that describe and analyze specific aspects of inequality and we post our responses, thoughts, and developing insight..
Our blog themes listed on the right hand side of the page include Criminal Justice, Pop Culture, Privilege, Sports, and Workplace. The five themes address some of the major areas where inequality is prevalent in our society. We added Intersectionality as a place to blog and comment about the intersection of our identities or of the intersection of some of our themes.
Our class prides itself on being a respectful blogging community. As a newly established blog we appreciate comments or input from the larger community outside of our classroom.
We would like to thank Laura Kohl, Head of Research & Instruction Services at the library. Without Laura this blog would not have happened.
We would like to thank Laura Kohl, Head of Research & Instruction Services at the library. Without Laura this blog would not have happened.
Great idea to develop this blog.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your introductory statement, "At a micro-level, inequality can be the experience of feeling unworthy or of lower social value because of one’s membership in a racial or ethnic group." Yes, but inequality at the individual level also involves having fewer material resources and social networks that generally lack those who can offer serious assistance in helping the individual on the path to upward social mobility.
Inequality at the individual level might have involve having fewer resources but this view is about the experience of feeling less worthy, regardless of resources.
DeleteDear SOC 453 Students, Congratulations on creating a terrific blog for your Race and Ethnicity class! (Also, congratulations to Prof. McDonnell!) It's encouraging to see young people at Bryant studying and discussing racial inequality in U.S. society. To build upon your discussion, I'd like to ask the following questions: What are young people doing today to challenge racial inequality? How do their approaches to creating change illustrate some of the theoretical perspectives examined in your class (such as intersectionality)?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all -- keep the conversation going!
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DeleteGreat question. I do want to clarify that we did not study intersectionality as a theory. Our readings discussed it a bit but it was not one of our main topics or theories. I created that as a sixth theme to have a place to discuss issues that do not necessarily fit into one of the five themes that the class developed, but that speak to the reality of our identities, which occupy the intersection of various statuses.
DeleteHi Mr. Cabuso!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to answer your questions with some insight from someone in the "young people" category. (: While it is very difficult to challenge racial inequality in today's society, we discussed in class that one of the best ways to solve this issue is realize it is a problem in the first place and to talk about it. Race is a highly controversial topic and we believe that many people feel uncomfortable talking about it because they fear coming across as insensitive or ignorant. This blog facilitates discussion and insights on these tough topics in hopes that more people will visit this website and catalyze "talk." We need to talk about racial inequality. We need to educate people on the criminal justice and the workplace environment and why certain groups are at a disadvantage. We hope that with more voices come change. This would be an effective way to challenge racial inequality, mainly through education and awareness.
This is a wonderful opportunity for us to learn from one another. Congratulations to the students and professor alike. In order to piggybacking on Prof. Cabusao's questions and Grace's answer, I am curious to know if the class discussed issues of race and ethnicity in the context of Bryant. Are there any plans to get the conversation going on campus, beyond this wonderful blog? Count on me for support, if the students plan on activities/events on our campus. Keep up the good work. It is much needed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. Take a look at the video posted under Intersections. One of the students that contributed to the video will be back next year. Many of the students that are part of this blog will be back next year. Maybe we can use this blog to move us into a face-to-face conversation about our campus
DeleteAnother area you might want to consider for future discussion is the impact of race in the U.S. on health/longevity ... Even controlling social class measures (e.g., income; education; occ. prestige), blacks in the U.S. have a shorter life expectancy and suffer more from chronic diseases. Its a relatively new area of research, so there isn't a lot interpretative material on this phenomenon. One idea is that the constant 'background stress' of living in a white-dominated society is reflected in the health/longevity differentials.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you've got this wonderful resource (your blog!) ...!
Great idea. Using our text, which covered disparities in health, students decided on the themes/interest areas. So many themes we could have developed. Maybe next time.
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