The Genomic Challenge to the Social Construction of Race

• Published in: Sociological theory Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 67 - 88
• Main Authors: Shiao, Jiannbin Lee, Bode, Thomas, Beyer, Amber, Selvig, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Wiley-Blackwell 01.06.2012; SAGE Publications; Wiley; American Sociological Association
• Subjects: Alleles; Ancestry; Biological variation; Biology; Classification; Conceptualization; Cultures and civilizations; Ethnicity; Gene expression; General studies; Genetic research; Genetic variation; Genetics; Genomes; Genomics; Human genetics; Individualism; Medical genetics; Race; Seminars; Social construction; Social Constructionism; Social Perception; Social theories; Sociobiology; Sociology; Theory; United States > US; ancestry; genetics; ethnicity; Race; sociology; genomics; social construction; racial formation; Biological identity; Contructionism; Ethnicity; Social construction; Human genome; Racial difference
• ISSN: 0735-2751; 1467-9558
• DOI: 10.1177/0735275112448053

Recent research on the human genome challenges the basic assumption that human races have no biological basis. In this article, we provide a theoretical synthesis that accepts the existence of genetic clusters consistent with certain racial classifications as well as the validity of the genomic research that has identified the clusters, without diminishing the social character of their context, meaning, production, or consequences. The first part of this article describes the social constructionist account of race as lacking biological reality, its main shortcomings, and our proposed solution: the concept of clinal classes. The second part discusses the character of the group differences that would be consistent with clinal classes and introduces the concept of genomic individualism, which extends an emerging model for understanding biosocial causation to include the genetic effects of ancestry. The third part develops the argument for a "bounded nature" reformulation of racial constructionism that reconceptualizes racial and ethnic categorization as the social perception of ancestry. The final part summarizes the article's contributions and outlines implications for future research.