Social construction refers to the ideological theories in sociology that analyzes the existence of jointly constructed comprehension of the shared reality and how the society deal or view the events or objective. On a wider perceptive, social constructivism explains how individuals perceive and react to social reality. It focuses on pushing the collaboration and sharing of ideas in the environment based on critical thinking and understanding the facts other than just recalling and executing on cue. Social constructivism gives a lot of emphasis on the prominence of culture and the understanding of the reality behind what occurs in the society through constructive knowledge. It believes that human activity plays a bigger role in the construction of reality both socially and culturally, and that the properties of the world are invented by the shared ideas between the society members. Therefore in trying to understand the whole context, the paper seeks to examine and analyze the major aspects of social constructivism and how they affect the society. They include “race and racism,” “health and technology,” and lastly “power and privilege.
Race and racism as a social construct
Basically, race is defined by how human perceive and classify various social realities in the society. The category arises as result of different skin color, beliefs, and facial features, which brings the notion of diving human kinds into groups rather than individuals. Some individuals tend to isolate themselves from other members of the community regarding their identity group as most superior from other ethnic groups. These divisions often lead to social conflicts where by the members of the minority racial groups face undue suffering caused by those from the majority groups (Kukla, 2013). Therefore, examining the racial problems in the society as part of the culture, especially ploughing back from the history of the United States of America, gives a clear understanding of the whole context of race as a social construct.
Despite racism being a physical issue that affects the behaviour of the society, it has been there since the existence of human life. The construction of racial differences has been the most challenging aspect in the United States all through from 1500s to date. During the colonial period there were rules that were employed in the society by the Anglo White American that influenced much in the upbringing of the racism America (Kukla, 2013). They English or White American identity had the largest number of members, hence took over the authority and established laws that separated themselves from other groups such as the Native Americans, Blacks, Asians, and other White groups from the Southern part of America (Kukla, 2013). The Anglo Whites victimized other racial groups believing that they were so superior regarding physical being and mind. They denied freedom and basic rights to the African Americans who came as slaves from Africa and the Natives who were conquered by the European Colonies, terming them as inferior and were not supposed to share properties such as schools, residential areas, and even job or government positions.
In the American modern generation, things have slightly changed and various institutions have risen to fight against racism as a social construct. Human slavery was abolished, African Americans are now set free to enjoy their freedom. For example Blacks ` right to vote, they are now allowed by the American Constitution to choose the leaders to represent them in the government. The Anglo White American signed treaties with the Native Americans and gave the right to their mothers` land back to them, resolved the conflicts that existed between them (Kukla, 2013). As also witnessed in several states, there are incidents where Whites are intermarrying with the Blacks.
Therefore, looking at race as a social construct in a clear sense, there is nothing like cluster or gene that is mutual to all African Americans or all White people. If genes were constitutes of genes, there would be a constant racial division across countries. Hence, racism generally can be fluid in that, clustering individual basing on racial backgrounds, can shift with time and experience depending on how someone conceives it. Therefore this variation in racial ideology with time may end the notion of classifications that some people in the in the society still hang on it exist in the society.
Health and technology
Medical technologies provides the health care sectors with effective tools that enables the practitioners to offer high quality health care service and coerce the society into approved healthy lifestyle. For example, Psychopharmacologies have been enhanced by powerful, sufficient, and profitable drug engineering which has become the most preferable health facility for the treatment of deviant behaviour. According to Doctor Peter Conrad in “Sociology of Health and Illness,” came up with the idea of medical technology to enhance the health care services in hospitals as an institution that promote social control (Conrad, 2007).Conrad suggests technological ways that medicine would increase the standards of treatment by encouraging the interest of sociologists in health and illness. Employing innovative mind in medicine such as applying technical skills in the department of brain surgery would fasten the process being carried out in the theater hence, boosting behaviour modification (Timmermans, 2003). This will also cut down the cost incurred while seeking medical attention from other controls and treatment such as long-term psychotherapy and altering environment.
On the other hand, in understanding how employing Technogym in the health care influence the behaviour of the society. Alan Pout introducing and familiarizes the use “Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) as a new invented apparatus that would compact the issue of acquiescence and social control (Downing, 2010). This technology would then support people suffering from asthma whom had been disappointed due to deficiency of proper facility for fruitful treatment. The MDI can not only advance treatment of asthma but can also effectively serve to treat biomedicine criticism. The MDI according to Prout was a solution to the inhalation therapies, it allows the specified dosage depending on doctor’s prescription, hence, and eluding the wary that exited prescribing ephedrine to patients (Downing, 2010). Therefore, with the technologies in the health sector would enable physicians in the medical sector to establish systems that is built upon sociological understanding of the health care work.
Power and privilege as a social construct
Privilege regarding classifying individuals according to class another social problem that affects America. It cut through other dimensional social aspects such as ethnicity, gender educational backgrounds, geographic and national origins, marriages and eventually race. Therefore, privilege and possession power can be defined as the attainment of status by a distinct group or individual by virtue of their influence over other groups and economic strength that can influence change in the society.
In looking at the history of power and privilege in United States, it show that there have struggle between various categories of class human beings since 1600s (Frauley " Pearce, 2007). Conflicts between the rich and poor, blacks and whites, and between male and female gender in terms of privilege and who has more powers than the other, explains the meaning of social constructivism. According to American history being white, male, or rich is a privilege over other individuals in the society. Thus, because of this privilege the emerged class that divided people in the society into different groups in that the rich associate with those have and the poor share what they have between themselves. As a result of this class regarding gender and race in American history, victimization and subordination came up.
It is believed that being male and white earns an individual powers to subject the other groups under their command. Women and the colored people, and poor are subjected to regular relegation because of their nature and that they have no power to speak against their superior (Frauley " Pearce, 2007). In summary therefore, although those privileges in the modern society is being argued that they are justifiable and still occur in some places, the United States government and other concerned organization dispute the notion. The government through the Congress has passed laws and policies that protect subjected groups and maintains that there should be an equal sharing of power, resources, duties, and property and that there is no one above the other.
References
Conrad, P. (2007). The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders (1 edition). Johns Hopkins University Press: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Downing, K. (2010). Information Technology, Education and Health Care: Constructivism in the 21st century. Educational Studies, 3(3), 229–235.
Frauley, J., " Pearce, F. (2007). Critical realism and the social sciences heterodox elaborations. In Social sciences--Philosophy (1 edition, p. 349). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Retrieved from http://voyager.canyons.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=19"recCount=10"recPointer=2"bibId=238606
Kukla, A. (2013). Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Science (second edi). London: file:///C:/Users/JAMES/Downloads/9781134567393_googlepreview.pdf.
Timmermans, S. (2003). The practice of medical technology. Sociology of Healthy and Techonology, 25(3), 97–114. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-9566.00342
