Race and ethnicity are terms that may not be used in place of one another but they are kindred terms in certain ways. When we talk about race studies it is readily seen as a concept involving oppression, a site with issues of power. On the other hand, as critics hold, the term ethnicity – even as ethnic groups make border formations and zealously protect their own cultural and territorial borders –may neutralize several very important political and issues of power. For instance ethnicity may be deployed to suggest that a social formation operates harmoniously with plurality and equality rather than as hierarchical racialized groups. There is a danger of talking about shared practices and not foregrounding issues of power intra-ethnically.

Race began as a biological discourse and the initial approach was one based on lines of descent and on a typology of hierarchies. This initial phase was characterized by the following: