The sociology of racism, a field of study that examines how people see themselves in the world and how they see others, is undergoing a shift in emphasis.
In a new article, The New Yorker’s Kate Harding outlines how researchers are using a new field of research to understand what it means to be racist.
“The field of sociology of race, which I am now calling sociology of white supremacy, has developed to better understand how white supremacy is expressed,” Harding writes.
“It is a very difficult field, and it requires a certain level of discipline, but there are also very good reasons to be interested in it.”
Harding points to research showing that “white supremacy” has become “a much less controversial and problematic phenomenon.”
Racism is not a race, Harding writes, and the word “racism” has now become “one of the most widely used terms to describe white supremacist ideology.”
The article argues that the term “white supremacist” is becoming increasingly outdated because it has become used to label groups of people.
“Racism is a set of social and cultural beliefs and practices that have a particular historical and contemporary relevance,” Harding explains.
“For example, racism in the United States is a term used to describe racial discrimination and oppression against people of color.”
Sociologists have been studying racism for more than two decades, Harding explains, and have discovered “how the way people see their own identity and race has become deeply entrenched in American society.”
Harding also explains that the field of race is a much more “tangible, nuanced, and nuanced” subject than other disciplines.
“As a field, we are much more concerned with how people are able to understand and understand each other and the world around them,” Harding wrote.
“We are not looking for some abstract or theoretical understanding, we just want to know what makes people think about race in particular ways.”