Sociology Assignment | Racism and Discrimination

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Sociology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Notes

1SOCIOLOGY
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Definitions of Race and Ethnicity....................................................................................................2
Definition and theories of Social Stratification...............................................................................3
Theories of Race and Ethnicity........................................................................................................4
Functionalism:..............................................................................................................................5
Conflict theory.............................................................................................................................6
Culture of Prejudice.....................................................................................................................7
Effects of Race and ethnicity on mental health...............................................................................8
Racism in Ireland.............................................................................................................................9
Challenge of Racism for social care workers................................................................................10
Strategies Implemented by Social care workers to deal with issues related to race and ethnicity.
.......................................................................................................................................................11
Racism and discrimination in workplace and the ways to remove the same.............................12
Anti-racism policies for immigrants..........................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................16

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3SOCIOLOGY
Introduction
The aim of the current assignment is to properly define the concepts related to race and
ethnicities, which are two of the major elements in the study of sociology. The concept of social
stratification will be discussed alongside the same, which will help to identify all forms of social
issues that are caused due to the difference in the social class and ethnicity. The study will also
highlight upon the theories of social stratification alongside with race and ethnicity. This will
help in setting up of strategies that will be implemented by the social care workers to deal with
the community issues related race and ethnicity.
` Few of the important theories that will be discussed includes functionalism,
Interactionism, culture of prejudice, conflict theory and others. This will help to deal with all
mental health issues that are caused due to the social difference. The racism is believed to be one
of the major issues that have caused social stratification. It is important to shed light upon the
differences in the concept of race and ethnicity, which will help to suggest relevant intervention
strategies. The report will also critically evaluate all the theories that will help to understand its
applicability under the given situation of human community.
Definitions of Race and Ethnicity
According to Atkin (2016), race is term that is used to categorize a group of people based
on their biological and physical character. This includes skin color, stature, body structure and
facial features. These parameters within an individual differ due to their biological origin.
People in the European and American region vary highly in their skin color and body structure

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that is believed to significant element of people identification and categorize them according to
respective origin.
Wade (2017) has added in the given context that similarities and differences in the skin
and biological traits have been termed as social significant. This is the cause of people treating
another individual from dissimilar race with different behavior.
On the other hand, ethnicity refers to the shared cultural practices and belief that are
being followed within a community. People belonging to same ethnicity share common culture
and region along with historic heritages, which also provides them a fixed lifestyle. Tonkin et al.
(2016), have mentioned that few of the important common characteristics of people belonging to
the same ethnic background includes food habits and dress styles. Due to the globalized nature of
the world, most of the nations have people belonging from different ethnic background. Most of
the countries strive for pluralism, which aims to bring about social harmony between all people
irrespective of their ethnic background. Walker et al. (2016) have added that geographical
factors like local climate and availability of food have significant effects on the ethnic
background. For example, people living in the tropical region will have different food habits and
dress style compared to that of individuals in the temperate region.
Definition and theories of Social Stratification
Social stratification is an unethical practice within the society, which provides a system
framework for dividing people according to their capability are divided into various social ranks
of class. From the work of Doob (2015), there are some categories of people who capture
majority of the wealth. This gives them greater power and status within the society. According to
Sapir‐Hen et al. (2016), social stratification is a special trait of the society, which is reflected

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through differences in individual perspective in several social elements. This difference of social
stratification can exist over several generations. This is considered to be one of the universal
traits of every society, which is responsible for causing high level of social inequality.
Hence, social stratification is considered to be one of the basic characteristics of every Complex
society. The value of stock within this Complex society is not distributed equally among every
individual. The interconnection between several components of the society that gives rise to
social stratification can be described with the help of three components Theory of social
stratification (Aziz 2015). This is also called the Weberian stratification, which consists of three
elements namely wealth, prestige and power. Higher level of wealth and Prestige provides
people with high level of power. This higher power enables people or group of individual to
achieve their goals in spite of opposition from minority group on people belonging to low power
category. The individual capability to possess power provides them the ability to exploit all form
of social resources.
The people belonging from higher section of the society also can exercise their power for
their benefit. Hence, all individual in the society does not get equal access to the social resources,
thereby increasing social inequality for future generations. The group or individuals who are
aiming to make more power use political influence, in order to fulfill their purpose without
considering any form of ethical duties. They also gain the capability to ignore the legal system,
which is highly controlled by their social action.
Theories of Race and Ethnicity
Issues that are caused due to the difference in race and ethnicity can be determined using
the different types of social perspectives that include functionalism, social interactionism, and