The Power of an Illusion

Or the purposes of this discussion topic, please complete the following:

Go to the links to the PBS documentary, Race: The Power of an Illusion. There are two segments available to watch online:

Race: The Power of Illusion Introduction

How the Racial Wealth Gap Was Created

Please respond to the following questions:

1.) What do sociologists mean when they say that race is “socially constructed?” Use your textbook (yes, cite the textbook) and give examples from the video and textbook that demonstrate your understanding of this.

2.) How did the information, presented in the videos, increase your understanding of race from a sociological perspective? In other words, how does the everyday actor see race versus how a sociologist approaches race?

3.) Provide an example from the video to support how race has become “institutionalized.”

Cite three references from this video to support your response.