Social Sciences And Race Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social Sciences And Race - Essay Example Race was invented in the eighteenth century by anthropologists who were then referred to as â€Å"radiologists† to claim the superiority or inferiority of different races. Races are usually identified by skin color, hair texture; among other physical features possessed by different people (Reich, 1972). It is insufficient to use just one characteristic to explain race. It is usually a combination of two or three of these characteristics. Conventionally, there are five human races, including mongoloid- the Asian and American Indian, Caucasoid- European, Negroid- East African black, Australoid-Australian and Oceanic and Capoid- South African black. A mixture or races are referred to as â€Å"mongrels†. This theory has been rejected over time since there is almost a hundred percent similarity in genetic composition among all the races. This classification has, however, been accepted as a standard over time. The above theory of race has been used to promote racial profile and racism. The Caucasoid race is predominantly from Northern Europe and is characterized as tall, light skin(white), light colored eyes, thin lips and narrow noses. Their hair is straight or wavy and is usually blond. Mongoloids are said to have straight black hair, yellow skin, thin lips and almond eyes. Their faces are broad and flat. Negroid`s skin color varies from brown to black. They have kinky hair, brown or black eyes, broad noses, thick lips and they are mostly the Africans. Australoids are similar to Negroids, but their hair is a little different.