RACE-ETHNIC

According to Webster dictionary, ethnicity is relating to large groups ofpeople classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious,linguistic, or cultural origin or background. Also, race is defined as a group of persons related by common descent or heredity. Race and ethnic is an intertwining terminology, a common term used loosely to describe an individual or group in a specific defined category. My personal definition of race, it is the nature of what in the human category you “belong” to base on the respected population you may resemble most. From my observation, race is usually the perception of “others” placing individuals or groups with similar characteristic features such as skin color, hair type, and eye color/shape in a category. Race may be a prejudgment view of within where in the human category you best fit in based upon your exterior appearance and mannerism that may project towards others. Ethnicity is from my definition is an individual and/or group association with common beliefs, values, knowledge, attitude, and practices. A subcategory of race, instead of just being labeled based on exterior features; ethnicity of oneself is a self-identification we are comfortable associating with. Race is the board category you are placed in and ethnic is the subcategory within race that we associate with.

My understanding of race and ethnicity has slightly altered since my pre-reading response but at the same time remains the same. The reason why my understanding of race and ethnicity has slightly changed is because I’ve only added on new/more meaning to the terms race and ethnicity while keeping my own definition and understanding of the terms in tact. The reading, Mapping the Terrain, helped enlightened my knowledge that the term race and ethnic are self-concept that man have given to define one on the hierarchy-ladder, and the definitions are ambiguous and varies from academic, history, and so forth. So, my perception and understanding of what is race and ethnic remains the same but has been adjusted to accept additional meaning to the terms.

Race and ethnicity may have different meanings in this country; I believe the leading reason why there is so much confusion in the usage of these two terms is because we have different opinion and analysis of the word with no concrete reinforcement of improper and proper usage. Also, the two terms are used to define an individual or groups, and since there are no clear define definition of the two meaning/usage of race and ethnicity they became synonyms.

-416W