Social Research on Racism and Sociology: Understanding the Concepts and Benefits

This research paper focuses on the subject of sociology, its concepts and benefits and how it helps in studying about the concepts of social relationships of humans. The research on racism has been given focus to in the project, where the historical as well the historical and the modern concepts have been included, instances of racism from the past have been provided and the laws against racism and anti-racism activities have been highlighted as well.

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Social Research

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Sociology....................................................................................................................................3
Racism........................................................................................................................................4
International Law.......................................................................................................................5
Modern Racism..........................................................................................................................5
Anti-Racism...............................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
Reference List............................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Since ages, racism has been a topic of prior concern and debate. Certain ethnic groups of the
society have been facing racism from a long period of time. Racism basically is the belief of
supremacy of one race over another one. This leads to creation of undue differentiation,
injustice and prejudice to the lower or minor considered parts of the society. This project
emphasizes on the subject of sociology, its concepts and benefits and how it helps in studying
about the concepts of social relationships of humans. The research on racism has been given
focus to in the project, where the historical as well the historical and the modern concepts
have been included, instances of racism from the past have been provided and the laws
against racism and anti-racism activities have been highlighted as well.
Sociology
The study of institutions and human social relationships is known as sociology (Carr, Edward
Hallett, 2018). The subject matter of sociology is diverse, which ranges from religion to
crime, from state to family, from divisions of social class and race to the common culture’s
shared beliefs, and from radical changes in the entire society to social stability. The
unification of the study of such subjects of research is the purpose of understanding of
sociology which focuses on analyzing how both consciousness and human actions are
brought to shape by the surrounding social and cultural structures. It is an illuminating and
exciting field of research and study that helps in analyzing and explaining the crucial matters
of the personal lives, the world and the communities within which people reside. Sociology
helps in investigating various aspect at the personal level (Sullivan, Michael, 2018). These
include the social consequences and causes of things like gender and racial identity, romantic
love, family conflicts, aging, abnormal behavior and religious faith and beliefs of people
(Sullivan, Michael, 2018). At the level of the society, the investigations that sociology
undertakes include matters of law and crime, wealth and poverty, education and schools,
discrimination and prejudice, urban communities, business companies and social movements.
Finally, sociology also examines various aspects at the global level as well. The studies
include the phenomena of migration and population growth, peace and war, and development
of the economy.
Prior emphasis is given by sociologists to the evidence analysis and cautious gathering of
social lives for the development and enrichment of the understanding of people regarding the
vital social processes. There are various ways and methods which are used by sociologists for

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research on the study of sociology. The daily life of groups is observed by the sociologists,
who then undertake the conduct of surveys on a large scale. This is then followed by the
interpretation of past documents, analyzing census data, studying video interactions,
interviewing group participants, and finally conducting experiments in the laboratory. The
sociology theories and methods of research help in yielding powerful knowledge and insights
regarding the social processes that shape the social prospects and issues of the modern world
and the lives of humans (Favell, Adrian, and Virginie Guiraudon, eds, 2011). With the help of
better understanding and knowledge of these social processes, it becomes easier and clearer
for people to understand the forces which shape the results and personal experiences of
people. The ability of seeing and understanding such a connection between personal
experiences of people and wide social forces. Such an ability is known as sociological
imagination, according to C. Wright Mills (Young, 2011). This ability is highly valuable
educational development for effective living and rewarding professional and personal lives
inn a complex and changing society.
Racism
The belief in the supremacy of one race over another one, which usually leads to prejudice
and discrimination towards the people on the basis of their ethnicity and religion (Boxill,
Bernard R., 2013). Nowadays, usage of term “Racism” does not possess a single definition.
The ideology of racist practices usually includes the intention that the subdivision of human
can be done into different groups that are distinct because of their social behaviors and their
inborn capabilities, and also the idea that these people can be ranked as superior or inferior
according to their races and ethnicities. There are several instances of racism from the
history, which include South Africa’s apartheid regime, the Holocaust, segregation and
slavery in the United States as well as South America’s slavery (Verwey, Cornel, and
Michael Quayle, 2012) (Goldberg, David Theo, 2016). Racism has been a feature of the
social organization of several colonial empires and states. The concepts of ethnicity and race
are considered in the modern social science. However, both the terms hold a vast history of
equality and uniformity in the literature of ancient social science as well as popular usage.
Ethnicity and Race are often used as closely related and are traditionally attributed. For
instance, the human groups’ division is on the basis of the qualities that are considered crucial
or inborn for the group, like shared behavior or shared ancestry. Hence, racial discrimination
and racism are usually used for describing any sort of discrimination or prejudice done on a
cultural or an ethnic basis, without depending on the argument whether the differences are

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racial or not. A United Nations convention for racial discrimination stated that, there is no
dissimilarity or variance between the terms “ethnic” and “racial” discrimination. It is further
concluded by the convention that supremacy that is on the basis of racial distinction is
morally deplorable, scientifically wrong, socially dangerous and unjustified, and be it theory
or in practice, racial discrimination has no justification anywhere in the world (United
Nations Human Rights, 2018). In several aspects of social life, racist ideology can be obvious
and apparent. The presence of racism is in social practices, actions, or political systems as
well, like the apartheid, which supports the detestation in practices or discrimination or then
expression of preconceptions. Several social actions are related or associated to racism might
include xenophobia, nativism, otherness, supremacism, hierarchical ranking, segregation, and
other related social phenomena. There are various aspects of racism whose ideology can
become apparent in many points of social life. These aspects mainly are, Aversive Racism,
Color Blindness, Cultural, Institutional, Othering, Racial discrimination, Racial segregation,
Supremacism, Symbolic/Modern racism and Subconscious biases (Van Dijk, 2015).
International Law
In 2001, racism was particularly banned by the European Union. It also went on banning
some other forms of social prejudice and discrimination (Bleich, Erik, 2007). The ban was
implemented in the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, whose legal effect
would be limited to European Union’s institutions. According to the Charter’s Article 21,
discrimination is prohibited on the grounds of color, race, belief, religion, political or other
opinions, language, genetic features, social origin, belongingness to a minority group,
disability, property, sexual or age orientation and nationality (Bleich, Erik, 2007).
Modern Racism
Pygmies were hunted and eaten like game animals during the Congo Civil War that went on
from 1998 to 2003. These pygmies were considered are subhuman by both the sides of the
war and it was also the belief of some people that the meat of these pygmies could grant
magical and supernatural powers. In 2003, there were several reports of cannibalism being
carried out by rebels, as reported by the activists of the UN human rights.
In Nanjing, China, there were mass riots and demonstrations which went on from December
1988 to November 1989, nearly a year (Kristof, 1988). During 2008 Summer Olympics, the
owners of the bars of central Beijing were order by the police for not serving the Mongolians
or the black people (The Age, 2008). This was because the believed that these ethnic groups

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were associated with drug trafficking and illegal prostitution. In 2009, November, it was
reported by The Guardian (a British newspaper) that Lou Jing, a person that had mixed
African and Chinese parentage, had come out to be one of the most famous contestants of a
talent show in China and had become a subject of massive debate due to the color of her skin
(Vines, 2009). The attention of the media on Lou Jing gave rise to enormous debates about
Chinese racism and racial differentiations (Chang, 2009). In late 1980s, around 70,000 black
African Mauritanians were barred and thrown out of Mauritania. During the same period of
time, in the Sudan, the black Africans that were captivated from the Civil war were enslaved
and the female prisoners were sexually abused as well. The conflict of Darfur has also
considered as a racial matter (Degomme, Olivier, and Debarati Guha-Sapir, 2010). Niger
made an announcement in October 2006 that the around 150,000 of Arabs would be deported
to Chad who lived in eastern Niger’s Diffa region (Gakunzi, David, 2018). During this
incident, there was a demise of two girls who tried to escape from the Government force
while it was collecting the Arabs for deportation, and there were reports of miscarriages of
three women as well.
Anti-Racism
The concept of anti-racism includes the actions, beliefs, policies and movements which are
established, adopted and developed for opposing racism. Usually, an egalitarian society is
promoted by the concept of anti-racism where people are not discriminated or differentiated
against, racially. The various common instances of anti-racist movements are the Anti-
Apartheid movement and the civil rights movement (Vershbow, Michela E., 2010). Non-
violent resistance is often considered and accepted as an aspect of the movements of anti-
racism, whoever this was not the case previously. Affirmative action, racist speech bans and
laws of hate crime, are also the instance of policies of the government that are intended for
suppressing and ending racism.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that sociology is an important part of our society. Anyone who studies
and researches about sociology, it has intellectual consequences. It is necessary for
understanding how social systems work and the importance of human societies as well.
Hence, sociology is very important as it focuses on the problems of individuals. Racism has
been a concept of massive debate since historical times and has prevailed in the society since
as long time. A massive part of the human age has suffered due to the concept of racism as

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they were tortured and abused physically and mentally. With time, racism started to diminish
as people started becoming more literate and contemporary, and the Governments came up
with rules and regulations, and even the people came up with social activities for protecting
their human rights against racism.

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Reference List
Bleich, Erik. "Hate crime policy in Western Europe: Responding to racist violence in Britain,
Germany, and France." American Behavioral Scientist 51, no. 2 (2007): 149-165.
Boxill, Bernard R. "What Is Racism?" Phi Delta Kappan (January 1972) 297 (2013): 307.
Carr, Edward Hallett. What is history? London: Penguin UK, 2018.
Chang, E., 2009. TV talent show exposes China's race issue. [online] Available at:
<http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/21/china.race/index.html> [Accessed on:
16 Nov 2018]
Degomme, Olivier, and Debarati Guha-Sapir. "Patterns of mortality rates in Darfur
conflict." The Lancet 375, no. 9711 (2010): 294-300.
Favell, Adrian, and Virginie Guiraudon, eds. Sociology of the European union. Macmillan
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Gakunzi, David. "The Arab-Muslim Slave Trade." Jewish Political Studies Review 29, no.
3/4 (2018): 40-42.
Goldberg, David Theo. Racial subjects: Writing on race in America. Abingdon: Routledge,
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The Age, 2008. Fears of a 'no-fun' Olympics in Beijing. [online] Available
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Van Dijk, T.A., 2015. Racism and the Press. Abingdon: Routledge.

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Vershbow, Michela E. "The sounds of resistance: The role of music in South Africa's Anti-
Apartheid Movement." Inquiries Journal 2, no. 06 (2010).
Verwey, Cornel, and Michael Quayle. "Whiteness, racism, and Afrikaner identity in post-
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