Open Collections

UBC Faculty Research and Publications

Unsettled identities amid settled classifications? : Toward a sociology of racial appraisals Roth, Wendy D.

Abstract

Individuals are claiming greater scope for choice in their racial identities. But how they are seen and classified by others is not necessarily changing in a similar way. Racial appraisals are the way that people classify the race of others, both particular individuals and larger groups. In this paper, I make a case for the study of racial appraisals as a field of sociological inquiry. I map out the different analytical levels and methodological approaches for this field and discuss how these can be used to understand observed race, norms of racial classification, and societal norms of the racial order. I present an example of how societal norms and logics of racial classification can be analyzed in real time through survey research, using 2015-2016 data on 866 White Americans’ reactions to Rachel Doležal’s racial identity claims. I present an agenda for studying changes in racial boundaries and classification norms through the longitudinal tracking of racial appraisals.

Item Metadata

Title
Unsettled identities amid settled classifications? : Toward a sociology of racial appraisals
Creator
Roth, Wendy D.
Date Issued
2018-02-08
Description
Individuals are claiming greater scope for choice in their racial identities. But how they are seen and classified by others is not necessarily changing in a similar way. Racial appraisals are the way that people classify the race of others, both particular individuals and larger groups. In this paper, I make a case for the study of racial appraisals as a field of sociological inquiry. I map out the different analytical levels and methodological approaches for this field and discuss how these can be used to understand observed race, norms of racial classification, and societal norms of the racial order. I present an example of how societal norms and logics of racial classification can be analyzed in real time through survey research, using 2015-2016 data on 866 White Americans’ reactions to Rachel Doležal’s racial identity claims. I present an agenda for studying changes in racial boundaries and classification norms through the longitudinal tracking of racial appraisals.
Subject
Observed race; Race perception; Racial classification; Norms; Multiple dimensions; Rachel Dolezal
Genre
Article; Postprint
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2019-08-08
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0368567
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/66234
Affiliation
Arts, Faculty of; Sociology, Department of
Citation
Roth, Wendy D. “Unsettled identities amid settled classifications? Toward a sociology of racial appraisals.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2018, 41(6):1-20.
Publisher DOI
10.1080/01419870.2018.1417616
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

Item Media

Item Citations and Data

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International