Sociology Report: Race, Ethnicity, Social Stratification, and Theories

This sociology report delves into the core concepts of race and ethnicity, providing comprehensive definitions and exploring their significance within societal structures. It examines social stratification, highlighting its impact on various social issues. The report investigates key sociological theories, including functionalism, conflict theory, and the culture of prejudice, to understand the complexities of racial and ethnic dynamics. Furthermore, it addresses the effects of race and ethnicity on mental health, analyzes the issue of racism in Ireland, and explores strategies employed by social care workers to combat related challenges. The report also discusses workplace discrimination and anti-racism policies for immigrants, culminating in a critical evaluation of the theories and their applicability to contemporary social issues. The report aims to provide a solid understanding of the concepts of race and ethnicity, social stratification and their impact on society, and offers insights into strategies for promoting social harmony and addressing inequalities. The report also highlights the importance of cultural diversity and the need for inclusive policies to create a more equitable society.

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

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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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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

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conflict theory. These are three of the major theories that can explain the traditional consequence
of the relevant theories.
Functionalism:
According to Craib (2015), the concepts of functionalism is one of the oldest theories in
sociology related to inequalities due to racial and ethnic inequalities. This theory suggests that
race and ethnicity must have played an important function within the society, which helped them
to exist for longer duration. According to the believer of the functionalism racism and
discrimination has a positive effects on the society thereby forming the dominant group. This has
helped in shaping the structure of the society, which is of great importance for the up liftmen of
the elite section of the society. For example, the tradition of slavery in the 18th and 19th century
has been beneficial to the slaveholders, who have been able to expand the capability of their
business and introduce the idea of free trade. This later gave rise to the concept of globalization,
and the concept of capital market was introduced. With the introduction of the racism, the
superior section of the society was able to enjoy all types of economic and social prevelliages
that has helped them to improve their well-being.
Nevertheless, Burrell and Morgan (2017), have argued with the concept stating that
social discrimination in the forms of race and ethnicity that existed for longer period has caused
high level of social misbalance. The major outcomes for this include higher rates of crime
activities, rising level of poverty along with unemployment. This is evident from the case of
America, where the modern society is suffering from high crime rates and lack of educational
opportunity especially for the black skinned people.

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Olsson et al. (2015), have mentioned that the division within the society regarding the
Functionalism theory is done by the contribution that is done by each section of the society. It is
believed that each part of the society has to be functional in order to bring about permanent
stability. There are different parts of the society composed of diverse range of elements thereby
fulfilling diverse needs of the society. It is essential for all parts of the society to perform
effectively to ensure high productivity and stability.
Conflict theory
This theory was introduced by the famous sociologist and philosopher Karl Marx, who
mentioned that conflict, is perpetual within the society that is caused due to limited resources. It
is important to mention that harmony within the society is maintained by power of the dominant
group. Hence, the consensuses of the people, especially belonging from the weaker sections are
often neglected (Ritzer and Stepnisky 2017).
According to Ballantine and Hammack (2015), the origin of the social conflict is due to
the difference in the behavior and the opinions of individuals. The inequality within the society is
one of the main causes of the high levels of contradiction. The section of people within the
society, who controls the economic production, is believed to have the dominant power. The
opportunity to have access to social resources also depends on their dominance over the society.
Salamini (2014), has mentioned about the social intersection theory, which is considered
to be a major part of the conflict theory. It is believed that gender discrimination, race, and class
are often regarded as the integrated part of the society. The multiple layers of the society have
often originated due to high levels of social discrimination. According to the principle of
interactionism, the symbol of race is considered to be the prime cause of racism within the

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society that reflected with the behavior of individual. These behaviors are responsible for
expressing of dominant behavior of individual. It is also important to consider the fact that how
people have attitude towards their race and the race of the others.
Culture of Prejudice
This theory is based on the fact that pre convinced ideas related to that of the culture play
the most significant step in determining the growth rate of the culture. When an individual grows
up in an environment with the culture of race discrimination and ethnic difference, the behavior
of the same is reflected in the attitude of the same. The discriminating behavior is believed to be
reflected in the thought process that ultimately affects the decision making capability of the
individual (Jahoda 2015). Hence, the atmosphere within which, an individual has exposed off
plays a significant step into modifying the thinking that they will have about other races. For
example, an individual growing up in the German society will have higher pride in their race as
they will consider themselves to be the superior compared to that of the other race and ethnic
groups. Hence, as individual grows up in different cultural environment, their thought process
varies mostly thereby causing high levels of social discrimination in the global community.
According to the findings of the contemporary theories related to race and ethnicity,
there exists a major dissonance between the ideas of empirical research and conceptualization.
There is also the act of political activism that is causing higher levels of conflict within the
people of the society. Knowles (2010), has mentioned about the fact that the concept of race with
the contemporary ideas are isolated from all types of political engagement. The complexities of
the ideas related to that of racism and that of the ethnic discrimination are one of the major
causes of communal conflicts. This is believed to have higher levels of conflict within the

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modern society. The concept of racism is believed to be highly related to the activity of
immigration. People from the developing nations like Asia and Africa often face the
consequences of racial discrimination in many cases. This often leads to physical and mental
torture of the immigrants.
There also have been reports of ethnic cleansing, done under the name of ethnicity that is
done by conflict from Iran and Sudan. The political disturbances that occur within the region of
are believed to be the causes of ethnic and racial discrimination in the given region (Guo 2017).
The global dimension of race is also another integrated complementary idea that aims to
interconnect the globalized world. It can be said that the globalized world is facing racism and
ethnic distribution as one of the major issues that are causing hindrance to the global economic
progress. This is more evident from the scenarios of Middle East and Asian regions. In the given
regards, the following sections will discuss the mental health issues that are caused due to the
effects of racism and ethnic discrimination. It is also important to highlight the contemporary
issues that will help the social care workers to focus developing intervention strategies.
Effects of Race and ethnicity on mental health
From the report of Takeuchi and Williams (2003), it is clear that the area of mental health
is one of the highly integrated parts that is caused due to racism and ethnic discrimination. The
parameter that has been used in the study of mental health and mental behavior regarding
sociology has been a matter of constant debate. The minority groups, who have been subjected
to the ethnic discrimination is believed to be more vulnerable to the effects of mental health. This
evident due to the facts that most of the mental health patients belong to the category of constant
social challenges and discrimination.

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Mossakowski and Zhang (2014), have mentioned about the fact that racial and ethnic
discrimination acts as one of the major psychological stressors, which can bring about radical
changes within individual. In the American region, the ethnic minority clients have been found to
be reported to have higher level of mental health issues. This is mainly because most of the
ethnically backward groups are not able to get the best access to mental health care service
(Cheng and Mallinckrodt 2015). It is also important to note that due to lack of awareness among
the socially backward, they are not able to avail the best quality of mental health service.
Racism in Ireland
There are various types of population in the community of Ireland. Nearly 12% of the
population falls under racial minorities of Ireland. The population of the same is expected to be
double by the second decade of the 21st century (Clayton 2014). The younger section of the
population is believed to be the major victims of the racial discrimination as they are not able to
get the best security from the haters. There also has been reporting, where immigrants have faced
racial attack. Most of the violent attacks occur within the Asian people in social places that
included trains and buses. All together that has been 245 officially reported cases of criminal
activity in the form of racism (Independent.ie, 2018).
The Immigrant Council of Ireland has arranged for roadside campaign, which aims to
raise the level of awareness among the people. This also encourages the local people to take
immediate action if they witness criminal activity in the name of racism.
Challenge of Racism for social care workers

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Racism is still considered to be one of the significant social issues in the Global
community in spite of all preventive measures taken in the form of civil rights implementation.
Organized hate groups execute all forms of criminal activities that include preventing the minor
groups to take part in social events and avail basic amenities, which includes health and
education. The subject area of racism is considered to be one of major challenges for the care
workers. The social care organization face the biggest threat from criminal activities. Hence, they
are not able to appoint sufficient number of care workers as very few agree to compromise up on
the level of safety.
In spite of all forms of civil acts that are being implemented, there are certain limitations
within the legal system that prevents the social care worker to take serious actions to improve the
level of security. In case of Ireland, there is a lack of unified theory concerning the need of
separated child. This gap within the legal system of Ireland for protection of separated child has
prevented the social care workers to take measures by making their admission in school or social
care center (Esource.dbs.ie 2018).
Cultural diversity concerning the global society is also one of the major challenges. The
social care workers have been reported to face the issue of language difference among
communities, which has prevented them from communicating properly with the victims of social
and racial discrimination (Hunn 2018).
Strategies Implemented by Social care workers to deal with issues related to race and
ethnicity.