The Concept of Cultural Diversity is Society - Assignment Example

Cultural Diversity Q. Define social Identify and define the three criteria used to conceptualize social placement. A.A social class may be understood as a class of people who identify themselves as one on the basis of educational qualification, social position, class background, culture, race, color, sex, and other aspects of the society. This means some type of distinction and difference are made among the individuals of a society in their power positions. The particular quality of the person in a social class brings privilege, superiority or inferiority as the case may be. The privilege enjoyed by a social group over the other is due to the misconception of the superiority of its social status on the basis of color, race and class. As Jane Elliott's "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" experiment teaches, there are many criteria of distinction like racism and prejudice. Racism and Classism which are inextricably tied together are the two most common criteria of conceptualization of social class. David Wellman defines racism as a "system of advantage based on race." (Wellman1977). Color is the other main criterion that determines the social class and this may well be defined as the diction made between people on the basis of the color of their skin. The power of the money that one owns also determines the social class of the person and thus we have the rich and the poor. In the modern society we see the rich becoming the richer and the poor the poorer. All these elements go into the making up of the social classes. Q. What are the similarities and differences between a racial group and an ethnic group A. Two of the basic distinctions that we find in the social class system are that of race and ethnicity. These are the two major kinds of class discriminations that we face in the modern society, especially in the US. Racial group and ethnic group, often considered as the same, have many similarities as well as differences. Before we make the detailed distinction between the two, let it be remembered that any kind of distinction made on the basis of race and ethnicity is the most harmful situation in the world today. The "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" experiment of Jane Elliott teaches us how important it is to raise above the barriers of such distinctions made on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, and so on. Nobody is more privileged than others on the basis of the color of the skin, the ethnic group or the particular race or class one belongs to. Let us also remember the great voice of Martin Luther King who pleaded for the racial equality of all the people. "History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals who pursued [the] self-defeating path of hate." (Sklar 1997). There are striking similarities between racism and ethnicity. A racial group is one that is distinguished from that of other groups on the basis of some well defined and salient features of its own. This type of classification is a general categorization on the basis of color and other types of distinction. On the other hand, when we speak about an ethnic group, we are particularly identifying the distinction based on the individual cultural aspect of that community or group. The members of an ethnic group identify themselves on the basis of their descent, ancestry and lineage. They have a distinction on the basis of the culture, religion, language and other characteristics. Thus, in the racial discrimination of the Blacks from the Whites, we see the racial group formula working out. In the case of particular ethnic group existing on its own to sideline the other cultural, national, and racial groups we find the distinction based on the individual ethnicity. The impact of these differences whether it is racial or ethnic begins even at a very young age. The racial caste system is a way of life that subjugates one race of the community to another. Jim Crow was such a racial caste system and under this system the Afro-Americans were treated as the second class citizens. The racial group distinction makes a group superior over the other and we have in America the Whites enjoying their superiority over the Blacks in all important ways. This type of discrimination based on the race also happens on the basis of the ethnic group one belongs to. This type of discrimination is on the basis of their descent and origin. This criterion makes the similarity between the racial group and ethnic group. These similarities make both the groups to be the instruments of social class discriminations. The classification on the basis of race and ethnicity, however, cannot be static. White, Black, Asian, Red Indian, Hispanic and other such variety of racial and ethnic groups now-a-days mean the same type of classification. The discriminations or the privileges based on these identities do not make difference of any kind to the identity of these groups. Thus, in the context of social class, there is not a great difference between a racial group and an ethnic group. The varied definitions and identity as racial group and ethnic group tells the hidden political interest of the superior class group. On the other hand, it is evident that there is a definite demarcation between the racial group and the ethnic group. Though related concepts, race is very often distinguished on the basis of their definitions. Whereas ethnicity means the heritage of culture, religion, language and other behavioral peculiarities, race suggests the focus of inherited units of genes and other physical characters that change very often. The ethnic groups do not often correspond with the racial groups and the cultural peculiarities of an ethnic group do not automatically go along with the characteristics of a particular racial group. Thus, it is an often found mistake to identify both the groups as one and the same. When we speak about racial discrimination, we are particularly pointing to the type of discrimination that exists between the Whites and the Black or Afro-American people. The Jim Crow System was such a system that taught the racial superiority of the Whites. According to this, "Whites were superior to Blacks in all important ways." (What Was Jim Crow). To conclude, we can very well see that there are many similarities as well as differences between a racial group and an ethnic group. In the context of privileges and superiority based on color, race, ethnicity, money power, and other aspects of human life, we can see that such distinctions between the groups are not very relevant. The conclusion that the racial and ethnic groups have similarities as well as differences should lead us to a better understanding of the social class system. This will help in the process of cultural understanding and thus reduce the heaviness of the racial and other types of discrimination. Thus, the knowledge of the cultural diversity that exists in the current era will lead us to join a fight against the social evils. Works Cited Wellman, D. Portraits of White Racism. Chapter. 1. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1977. Sklar, Holly. Imagine a Country. 1997. 13 Nov. 2007 . What Was Jim Crow Jim Crow. Ferris state University. 13 Nov. 2007 . Read More