A Sociological Issue On South Africa - 1799 Words

In South Africa race took a shift from biology to culture. Because is of its many diverse indigenous groups, race was no longer a difference between Afrikaners and the English but with Zulus, Xhosa and Tswanas. Language was used as a determinant of race. Dubow argues that not much scientifically constructed race has been done in South Africa despite the fact that race has deep-seated roots. This is because many dismissed race as being scientific as it began to appear to be a sociological issue. Science was then pushed aside and race was now seen as a â€Å"social and intellectual construct† (Dubow, 1995: 2-5) from natural science to solely social science resulting from everyday experiences. When we say race is a social construct we disregard any possibility of it being that of a scientific one. It is not something that we are â€Å"born with because of our culture† (Erasmus, 2005: 9), instead, simply out, race is a bunch of meanings that we attach to people. We do not d ispute the fact that there are differences among people. Those differences just run much deeper. By saying race is a social construct this is not to say that it doesn’t exist seeing that it affects our lives; it determines our real life experiences. Saying it is socially constructed means that race is a learnt behaviour and what can be learnt can easily be unlearnt. We say it is constructed because it was used as a basis of division by powerful people who felt superior. Its implications as a construct are still veryShow MoreRelatedThe Concepts Following Sociological Imagination675 Words   |  3 Pages In this essay I’ll be talking about Sociological Imagination and the concepts following it and more especially the importance of it. Sociological Imagination is one of the core concepts of Sociology whereas Sociology is all about studying people within the society and what they do. 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