SHORT ANSWER ONLY - Assignment Example

1. The Origins of the Human Race, Its Meanings and Implications Over the Last Two Centuries Race is defined as a group of people in a geographic location united on the basis of a common history, nationality, culture and possessing genetically transmitted physical characteristics "(Race, n.d.). Charles Darwin’s “Theory of Evolution” (“Evolution of Man, 2012) suggested that men originated from primates and through the “combination of environmental and genetic factors, there emerged a variety of ethnicities…” (Ham, et.al. 2000).

“Races in different geographical locations have distinctive socio-cultural and biological characteristics, different distribution of genetic variations which are fundamental and necessary to pursue biomedical studies that will address any menacing diseases that will emerge and adversely affect the population.” (Tiskoff & Kidd, 2004). 2. Define scientific racialism and explain how its historical context allows the concept of racism to still be looked at today by scientists. Scientific racialism is “defined as the use of scientific techniques, that is, employing anthropology, paleontology, anthropometry and other disciplines, as well as hypotheses to sanction the belief in racial superiority, inferiority or racism” (Scientific racism, n.d.) .

After World War II, Racism redeemed a new meaning _ “racial discrimination and a harmful intent. A racist makes prejudicial judgments. Focusing on the said ‘harmful intent’, contemporary scientists, sociologists, and politicians continue to monitor and study how to prevent racism among groups in the context of more controversial issues on “race and intelligence, race and health and race and crime” ( Savant, 2008). 3. Describe the Circumstantialist Model and provide an example of how it shows itself on a daily basis in U.S. culture.

In order to belong to an ethnic group, one can choose from using Primordial or Circumstantial method. Circumstantial view of ethnicity suggests that to be in an ethnic group, one must be raised in that ethnic group or at the very least be adopted into that ethnic group at some point. (Circumstancialist, 2007). On a U.S. daily basis in U.S. culture, “characterizing police practices as in racial profiling, in explaining voting patterns in terms of racial or ethnic loyalties; when imputing identities or interests into racial ethnic or national groups” are just some o f the model -related examples (Brubaker, et. al., 2004). 4. Explain why WASP dominance is still seen in U.S. government policies and actions of today.

“White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP), originally denoted as an ethnic group, culture, customs and heritage of early Western European settlers in what is today in the U.S. WASP vary in religion, from secular to Episcopalian to Congregational. The 21st century saw WASP influence over U.S. social structure particularly major American institutions, cultural, educational, business and financial entities. Institutional reforms initiated by the Progressive Movement (1900-1920) like Consumer Protection Law and graduated income tax, among others were just some of the reforms successfully pushed by Progressive representatives, most of whom are WASP.

WASP continues to influence and be found in all levels of the American society.” (U.S., Progressive Era, n.d.) 5. Compare and contrast the concepts of multiculturalism, cultural pluralism, and melting pot theory. Give an example of each. Multiculturalism is simply defined as the equal coexistence of diverse cultures in a mutually supportive relationship within the boundaries of a host nation.” (Jenkins, et. al ,2008). Example: issues dealing with dual citizenship. Cultural pluralism is defined as “different groups in society keeping their distinctive cultures while coexisting peacefully with the dominant group like the Amish people in Pennsylvania” (CulturalPluralism, n.d.) .

Finally, the melting pot theory is the “best ascribed to ‘America’s multi-ethnicity’. People who come to the America assimilate and adopt the standard of their new adopted society, contributing something along the way, e.g. China Town (in SF, U.S.),etc. ” (Melting Pot, n.d.). WORKS CITED America’s Founding Principles and Multiculturalism [From Classical Individualism] (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www1.chapman.edu/argyros/faculty/machan/founders&multiculturalism.pdf Brubaker, R., Loveman, M.

and Stamator, P. (2004). Ethnicity as cognition. Theory and Society, 33:31-64. Retrieved from http://www.yale.edu/sociology/faculty/pages/stamatov/brubaker_loveman_stamatov.pdf Circumstancialist Model (2007). What are the views of Primordialists and Circumstantialists/ Instrumentation? [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071010071112AA32JnU Cultural Pluralism (n.d.). What is cultural pluralism ? and give an example of it? [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?

qid=20081117105845AAZXH7s Evolution of Man-Theory Concepts (2012) , Retrieved from http://www.allaboutscience.org/evolution-of-man.htm K. Ham, J. Sarfati and C. Wieland, (2000) The Revised and Expanded Answers Book. Batten, D. (Ed.) Arizona, AZ: Creation Ministries International. Retrieved from https://christiananswers.net/q-aig/race-definition.html Jenkins, C., Lanser, C., Johnson, D, Mohamed, Johnson F., Lofgren, A. and Prissel, C. Cultural Pluralism. [ Power Point Slides],Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/christopher_josep_21/d/54440511-Cultural-Pluralism Melting Pot. (n.d.). Why is America called the melting pot?

Retrieved from http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_America_called_the_melting_pot Multiculturalism. ( 2008). Definition of Multiculturalism [Web log comment], Retrieved from http://www.citizenwarrior.com/2008/09/definition-of-multiculturalism.html Race. (n.d.) In Free Online Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/race Racialism. (n.d.) Retrieved March 23, 2012 from en.wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racialism America: Melting Pot or Salad Bowl? (n.d.) , Retrieved from http://cc.kzoo.edu/~k03hk01/melting_pot_or_salad_bowl.

html Rosado, C. (1996). Toward a Definition of Multiculturalism [PDF document]. Retrieved from http://rosado.net/pdf/Def_of_Multiculturalism.pdf Savant, M. (2008). Between Racism and Racialism: What’s the Difference?. Retrieved from http://socyberty.com/sociology/between-racism-and-racialism-whats-the-difference/ Scientific Racialism. (n.d.) Retrieved March 23, 2012 from en.wikipedia. org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism Tiskoff, S.A. and Kidd, K. (2004) Implications of biogeography of human populations for ‘race’ and medicine. (2004), Nature Genetics.

36, S21-S27. doi:10.1038/ng1438. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v36/n11s/full/ng1438.html U.S., Progressive Era.(n.d.) Retrieved March 23, 2012 from wiki.answers.com: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_the_United_States_change_during_the_Progressive_Era