Interrogating the concept of stereotyping and its use in Social Sciences in relation to the phenomenon of racism

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 20th century and up to the present day, the concept of stereotype has been frequently used in academic studies on racism and discrimination; however, over the course of time its use has opened up to different disciplinary traditions, it has reached different definitions, it has permeated common sense, and in some cases it has been used without deepening on its conceptualization. This obliges us to maintain an attitude of epistemological vigilance against the possibility that the use of the concept of stereotype remains at the level of a spontaneous sociology, it is uncritical or it falls into methodologism. Here we seek to interrogate the concept of stereotype, theoretically, historically and methodologically by reviewing studies carried out at higher education institutions from this concept, through a systematic analysis of articles that work on this problem. Based on this analysis, we critically reflect on the conceptualization of stereotype, the historical conditions in which its form and contents emerge, and the risk of methodologism, to conclude on the relevance of monitoring the use of concepts in order not to reproduce academic racism.