TY - JOUR AU - Sharp, Gwen AU - Wade, Lisa PY - 2011/10/26 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Illustrating the Social Construction of Race and Racial Stereotypes with Images JF - TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology JA - TRAILS VL - IS - SE - DO - UR - https://trails.asanet.org/article/view/illustrating-the-social-construction-of-race-and SP - AB - Instructors often encounter resistance when they challenge students’ pre-existing beliefs about race and ethnicity. Students often find the idea that these categories are socially constructed, rather than purely biological, difficult to grasp, if not threatening. We developed a classroom activity to use when discussing the social construction of racial categories and stereotypes that actively engages students in comparing and critiquing their beliefs about racial and ethnic groups, as well as the stereotypes we apply to them. The activity uses images that illustrate to students how inaccurate our perceptions of race often are. Responses to the activity were overwhelmingly positive. Students reported that the activity helped them understand the concepts we were discussing. Because they analyzed their ideas themselves, students seemed to enjoy, rather than resist, challenges to their beliefs about racial and ethnic categories and stereotypes. ER -