Task 2: Take the U.S. Census
In this part of the activity, you will take various versions of the U.S. census from 1790 to the present. Your answers will be anonymous. As you answer the questions for each census, think about how your race and other people’s races might change from census to census. There will likely be some categories you don’t recognize, and you may even find it difficult to categorize yourself in some. Make note of these to discuss in your video. Think about how the changing categories illustrates that race is a social construction.
U.S. Census from 1790 to present (U.S. Census, 2024)
Optional: If you are interested in reviewing every census form you can find them here: U.S. Census Bureau Questionnaire ArchiveLinks to an external site.
Task 3: Write your Paper
Race and ethnicity are often discussed synonymously, but they are separate categorization systems. Make sure you complete Tasks 1 and 2 before writing.
Start your paper by explaining the differences between race and ethnicity. Using the sociological definitions of race and ethnicity, give some examples of racial categories and ethnic categories from the U.S. Census forms you completed in Task 2. Remember, the sociological definitions of race and ethnicity may be different from those of the U.S. government. For instance, on the U.S. census, a question might be listed as race, but may include ethnic categories. [1-2 paragraphs]
Next, talk about your experience of selecting your race/ethnicity on the various U.S. census forms. What categories did you select on the forms? What did you notice about the process, categories, your race, other options, etc.? How did your race “change”? How might the race of other people have “changed”? Address both your race and that of others. [1-2 paragraphs]
Finish your paper by explaining race as a social construction and addressing how we know race/ethnicity is a social construction using the various census forms as examples. For example, if you found the older census categories confusing, how does this illustrate race as a social construction? You can see that race changes throughout time in the U.S., how does this help explain race as a social construct? Explain what a social construction is, how the census forms illustrate race is a social construction, and use at least one specific example from the census forms in your argument. [1-2 paragraphs]
Activity Rubric
Explains the differences between race and ethnicity: 6 points
Correctly offers examples of racial categories from census forms: 3 points
Correctly offers examples of ethnic categories from census forms: 3 points
Discusses your experience of selecting your race/ethnicity on the various U.S. census forms: 8 points
Explains how we know race/ethnicity is a social construction using the various census forms as an example: 10 points
Formatting Guidelines
As discussed last week, review activities will allow you to review course concepts. You will submit a written response, and you should follow these guidelines:
Please do not put your name on your paper; begin your first sentence on the first line of your submission.
You must use the sources provided in this course.
As with all assignments in this course, you cannot quote material or directly copy text from any source in your answers; use your own words. Responses that are not written in your own words or that include AI generated content will receive a “0.” You should be paraphrasing, as addressed in the syllabus and this particular activity. Submissions will be run through the Turnitin Originality Checker to identify any acts of plagiarism and AI generated content. Plagiarism and AI content will be submitted to the university for adjudication through the sanctioned process (see syllabus for more information).
You should include an in-text citation any time you are using a specific concept, example from a source, statistic, etc. Use the “Citing Sources” section below for specific details on citation formats.
Your answers should be written in complete sentences, and be typed, double-spaced, in Times New Roman or Calibri 12 pt. font.
Your full submission should be 1-2 pages. Any submission that is not at least ½ page in length or exceeds three pages will receive a “0.”
To submit, click Start Assignment and post your submission here as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file. If you complete your paper in Pages, Google Docs, etc. you will need to save your file in one of these three formats before submission.
