17012. "RACE" AND RACISM. Viewing the topic from a British perspective, this paper argues that it is important to have a theoretical and historical understanding of race and racism. Although “race” is a social construct rather than a fixed biological category, “racism” nonetheless has a real social impact, both because of prejudice and because people identify themselves with their “race”. Keywords: racism racial identity race theory. 15 pages; 49 footnotes; 12 bibliographic sources. 3,775 words.