What Constitutes Race

These two opposing paradigms of what constitutes ôraceö speak to the question of how racial formation occurs. Omi and Winant (1994, p. 55) defined racial formation ôas the sociohistorical process by which racial categories are created, inhabited, transformed, and destroyed.ö They argued that racial formation is a process of historically situated projects in which human bodies and social structure are both represented and organized. Hegemony comes into play when a particular group achieves dominance within a culture or society and then posits race as consisting of essential physiological characteristics. Next, these mainstream elites or hegemons instrumentally make race a vital (even primary) element in determining privilege, prestige, power relationships, and stereotypes.

Consider, for example, the case of Thomas JeffersonÆs descendants, the children he had with Sally Hemin

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and the culture of my ancestors as that culture is at times distinct from mainstream American culture. Instrumentally, understanding my social identity as shaped by my gender and my ethnicity helps me to understand my ôplaceö within the American multicultural society. Both perspectives are riddled with weaknesses. As the example of Tiger Woods demonstrates, refusing to accept the limitations imposed by the essentialist or instrumental perspective, liberates one from these perspectives. In his own terms, Tiger Woods emerges as a tremendously talented, extremely successful, and quite wealthy athlete. This essay has attempted to differentiate between the essentialist and instrumentalist articulations of race. More than anything else, it demonstrates the persistence of race as a subject and as a construct within American society. Race does signify and symbolize social conflicts. It posits the existence of ôthemö and ôus,ö with ôthemö as an inferior ôother.ö Emphasizing race polarizes, divides, and engenders tensions within society. References Lennon, Thomas. (1999). JeffersonÆs Blood. PBS Television Film. Nakashima, D. (2001). A rose by any other name: Names, multiracial/mult
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Omi Winant, George MichaelÆs, Alcott School, Cathy Tashiro, Compton California, Tiger Woods, Instead Cher, Howard Winant, Asian-Americans Latinos, AustenÆs Emma, leland 1995, winant 1994, maslin 1995, omi winant 1994, omi winant, race ethnicity, gleiberman 1995, 1995 film, racial formation, philadelphia temple university, eds sum, articulation race, sum philadelphia temple, nakashima eds sum, williams-leon cl nakashima,
Approximate Word count = 2366
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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