SOCI QUIZ 3 CH. 8- Race and Ethnicity as Lived Experience

Symbolic interactionism and race

Focus on the ways that race, class, and gender intersect to produce an individual's identity See race as an aspect of identity established through interaction

Conflict theory and race

Focuses on the struggle for power and control over a scarce resource ex: A "split labor market," in which one group of workers (usually defined by race, ethnicity, or gender) is paid less than those in other groups, keeps wages low for racial and ethnic minorities, compounding the effects of racism with those of poverty.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws designed to enforce segregation of black people from white people

Assimilation

a minority group is absorbed into the mainstream or dominant group, making society more homogeneous

Pluralism

a pattern of intergroup relations that encourage racial and ethnic variation and within a society

Race

a socially defined category based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people

One way that was used in the past to determine who belongs in which race was the "one drop" rule

a way of defining any person with just one drop of blood from African ancestry as black- was used as a justification for slavery and denying rights during much of the 19th century.

Discrimination

an action or behavior that results in unequal treatment of individuals because of their membership in a certain racial or ethnic group; Usually motivated by prejudice. ex: person turned down from getting a job/ home loan because of they are Black/ Hispanic

Situational ethnicity

an ethnic identity that can be either displayed or concealed depending on its usefulness in a given situation ex: Dr. Ferris's Lebanese ancestry never mattered much, outside her own family, when she lived in Southern California. She felt she should downplay her ancestry because given the political climate people viewed people with Arabic background with suspicion. When she moved to Peoria, Illinois, she discovered that this small city had a relatively large population of Lebanese descent. She gained social support and made new friends based on shared revelations of ethnic group membership.

Symbolic ethnicity

an ethnic identity that is only relevant on specific occasions and does not significantly affect everyday life ex: Irish Americans don't display their Irish ancestry on a daily basis, but on St. Patrick's Day displays of Irish Identity in parades, hats, green clothing, and etc. ex: Cinco de Mayo

Racism

an ideology oran action set of beliefs about the claimed superiority of one racial or ethnic group over another ; used to justify inequality social arrangements between the dominant and minority groups. It is often rooted in the assumption that differences among groups are genetic(biological) based

Prejudice

an inflexible attitude (thought process) about a particular group of people that is rooted in generalizations or stereotypes. Applied to all members of that group. Unlikely to change regardless of the evidence against. ex: "All Irish are drunks" ex: "All Mexicans are lazy"

individual discrimination

discrimination carried out by one person against another ex: A racist teacher might discriminate against a Hispanic student by assigning him a lower grade than he deserves.

From a sociological perspective, a minority status is determined by numbers

false

Functionalist theory and race

focus on the ways that race creates social ties and strengthens group bonds (Group cohesion) acknowledge that such ties can lead to violence and social conflict between a group because groups may view each other in an ethnocentric viewpoint: belief that one's own culture and way of life as right and normal than others.

Race and ethnicity influence all aspects of our lives, including _______________________________

health, education, work, family, and interactions with the criminal justice system and health care

Symbolic Interactionism: Racial passing

living as if one is a member of a different racial category, has a long history in the United States ex: some light-skinned African Americans attempted to live as whites in order to avoid the dire consequences of being black in a racist society.

Sociologist define a minority group as________________

people who are recognized as belonging to a social category(here either a racial or ethnic group) and who suffer from unequal treatment as a result of that status. They are denied the access to power and resources generally accorded to others in the dominant groups. ex: In South Africa; black people outnumbered white people, yet before the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela, a small white minority controlled the country while blacks occupied the lowest status in that society.

Racial assimilation

racial minority groups are absorbed into the dominant group through intermarriage ; which means minority groups having children with the dominant group until the different races are completely mixed.

Cultural assimilation

racial or ethnic groups are absorbed into the dominant group by adopting the dominant group's culture

Ethnicity

social category that is applied to a group with a shared ancestry or cultural heritage. Socially defined category based on a common language, religion, nationality, history, or other cultural factor ex: Scotch-Irish are white, but are a distinct group in American society

institutional discrimination

systematic discrimination carried out by social institutions (political, economic, educational, and others) that affects all members of a group who come into contact with it

Symbolic Interactionism: Double-consciousness W.E.B. DuBois's term about what?

the divided identity experienced by blacks in the United States. The question was whether one could be black and at the same time claim one's rights as an American.

Internal colonialism

the economic and political domination and subjugation of the minority group by the controlling group(Dominant group) within a nation.

Segregation

the physical and legal separation of groups by race or ethnicity