Sociology Homework Assignment (Due on today 11:59p.m.)

Answer the following questions in full sentences (either handwritten or typed is fine). Your answers should be 4-6 sentences, depending on the question. Include page numbers in your responses so that you can refer back to the reading during the discussion or when asking questions.

Questions for Omi and Winant (2015), pages 105-136, 253-269:

1. How do Omi and Winant define the terms racial formation and race? 

2. Interpret the following quote: “Race is not something rooted in nature, something that reflects clear and discrete variations in human identity. But race is also not an illusion. While it may not be “real” in a biological sense, race is indeed real as a social category with definite social consequences” (Omi and Winant 2015, page 110). 

3. Historically, what roles have science and politics (and conflicts within them) play in racial formation?

4. How do Omi and Winant (2015) conceptualize racism and anti-racism? Keep in mind how their definition of racism may be different from the everyday use of the term. 

5. What is ‘colorblindness’? How do Omi and Winant explain its origins and critique it?

6. Thinking about the last few years, to what extent is ‘colorblindness’ still a dominant racial ideology? Choose a specific example from American society and/or politics.