Chapter one Race and Ethnicity

Gender relations creation of minority status for Native Americans and Mexican Americans

-prior contact, society was patriarchal with gender based division of labor -migrant work required men's absence from home -economic insecurity strained family structure (women became especially vulnerable) -consequences of contact varied for Mexican American women (ultimately, a loss of status resulted)

Origins of slavery in America

1619 Dutch ship introduced slavery to colonial Jamestown, Virginia -first Americans were likely indentured servants -by the 1660's the first slave laws were enacted by the 1750's, slavery had become clearly defined in law and custom Indentured servants are contract laborers who are obligated to serve another for a specific length of time -usually without pay but in exchange for free passage to a new country As a colonial society grew and developed, agricultural production began to emerge -plantation system was based on cultivating and exporting crops -often no large tracts of land using a large, cheap labor force

Horace Kallen

1915 argued that people should not have to surrender their culture and traditions -rejected Anglo-conformist, assimilation model -integration and equality are possible without extensive acculturation -multiculturalism stresses inclusion, mutual respect, and a celebration of group diversity

Twilight of White ethnicity

21st Century -symbolic ethnicity is superficial, voluntary, and changeable; symbolizes one's roots in the "old country" White ethnic identity may be on the verge of disappearing altogether -"what the grandson wished to remember, and the great-grand-daughter was never told" Today, various hyphenated ethnic identities are merging into a vernalized "European American" identity -based on race and a common history of immigration and assimilation --flawed belief of how the White immigrant groups succeeded and assimilated in the past --deeply ideological view of how racial minority groups should behave in the present

persistence continued

A sense of social distance is part of the cultural package of intergroup prejudices we acquire from socialization -socialization is the process of psychological and social development by which a person learns his/her culture It is important to note the importance of the social situation in which attitudes are expressed and behavior occurs -what people think and what they do is not always the same, Robert LaPiere's 1934 work exemplifies this

Evolution of White Ethnicity

Absorption into the mainstream was neither linear nor continuous -Marcus Hansen's 1952 principle of third generation interest -beginning in the late 1960s there was notable increase in White ethnic revival -genealogical roots, and/or ethnic festivals, traditions, and organizations -revival also fueled by societal resource competition Principle of third generation interest- idea that the grandchildren of immigrants will stress their ethnicity much more than will the second generation Ethnic revival- increase in the interest in heritage that occurred among White ethnics in the 1960-70s

Individual Prejudice

Affective dimension in addition to the cognitive -Robert Merton 1968 makes this distinction between dimensions dramatically -Merton analyzed stereotypical perceptions of Abraham Lincoln, Jews, and Japanese -The three "stereotypes" are identical in content but different in emotional shading Affective and cognitive dimensions of prejudice vary not only by race and ethnicity but also by gender and class -for example the stereotypes and feelings attached to Black men differ from those attached to Black women -feelings about lower class Mexican Americans are different from those evoked by upper class members of the same group

Split labor market theory

Agrees with the Marxist idea that prejudice and racist ideologies serve the interests of a specific class -in a split labor market theory, there are three actors in the economic sector of an industrial society -elites, capitalists, and the working class -economic nature of the competition and the economic self interests of higher priced labor are obscured by appeals to racial or cultural unity against the "threat" represented by the minority group

Chains of immigration

All immigrant groups tend to follow chains established and maintained by group members Immigrants often responded to US society by attempting to recreate as much of their old world as possible -for example, Little Italys, Chinatowns, and Little Tokyos -they did so, in part, to avoid harsher forms of rejection and discrimination -they also did this solidarity and mutual society

The Campaign Against Immigration: Prejudice, Racism, and Discrimination

Anti-Catholicism -much of the prejudice against the Irish and other new immigrants was expressed in this way -threatened Protestant social, economic, and political hegemony Although Catholics were often stereotyped as single group, they also varied along a number of dimensions -intracatholic group differences also caused conflict for resources

cont.

Anti-Semitism: prejudice/ideological racism directed specifically toward Jews -Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe faced intense prejudice and racism -the most dreadful episode in the long history of antisemitism was the Nazi Holocaust --6 million Jews died -antisemitism did not end with the demise of the Nazi regime By the 1920s antisemitism was quite prominent among the KKK and other prejudice groups Anti-Semitism: still has a prominent place inn the ideologies of a variety of contemporary extremist groups -"skinheads" -some of the targeting of Jews seems to increase during economic recession --this may be related to the stereotypical view of Jewish Americans as prosperous (Cohen, 1982) Successful exclusions: -campaigns against European immigration waxed and waned between 1820-1920 -antiimmigration forces triumphed with the passage of the National Origins Act in 1924 -an openly racist quota system was used to determine the number of immigrants until the mid-1960s

what is a minority group count.

Ascribed status usually determined at birth -visible traits/characteristics cannot be easily changed -status is usually involuntary and permanent Ethnic or cultural characteristics are more acceptable Intimate relationships -tend to choose each other as close friends, partners, and spouses -voluntarily and/or involuntarily

Types of assimilation

Assimilation can follow a number of different pathways Americanization/Anglo-conformity is a type of assimilation in which the dominant culture pressures others to conform Melting Pot is a form in which different groups come together and contribute in roughly equal amounts -this view emphasizes sharing and inclusion

Creation of minority status for Native Americans and Mexican Americans

At contact, American Indian societies were highly variable in culture, language, size, and substance technology When Jamestown was established in 1607 there were 1 to 10 million indigenous inhabitants in the US mainland -by 1890 only 250,000 left -majority of loss was due to European disease and the destruction of food supplies -the result of the contact situation for the Native Americans was essentially genocide Native Americans were a colonized minority group -they faced high levels of prejudice, racism, and discrimination -like African American's they were controlled by paternalistic systems (reservations) and in a variety of ways were coercively acculturated -in 1763 the British Crown ruled that the various tribes were to be considered "sovereign nations with inalienable rights to their land" -each tribe was to be treated as a nation-state and had to be compensated for any loss of land

Hate crimes

Attacks or other acts of intimation motivated by the group membership of the victim or victims -targets increasingly include the gay community in addition to racial, ethnic, and religious minorities Not all hate crimes are reported Contemporary white supremacist groups commonly use modern communications technology Often fueled by: -perceived threats, frustration, fear, anger, and scapegoating -an undeserved rise in the status of minority groups -fear of job loss, decreased income, deteriorated neighborhoods, and inferior schools Idea that many hate crimes involve scapegoating is supported by the spontaneous, unplanned, and highly emotional nature of these crimes

Visible distinguishing traits

Biological vs. social constructions of race Race and human evolution -human dispersion -physical adaption-- melanin -cultural adaptation--hunting/gathering to agricultural society Race and western traditions -15th century European imperialism Race and biology -typologies and genetic difference -the social construction of race-- narrative portrait Gender -gender roles are societal expectations regarding the behavior, attitudes, and personality traits of men and women -additional source of minority group variation -biological differences and gender roles -gender and inequality are correlated --patriarchy is men's dominance --sexism refers to belief systems that label women as inferior and rationalize their lower status

cont.

Blauner Hypothesis -identifies two different initial relationships -colonization -immigration -minority groups created by colonization will experience intense prejudice, racism, and discrimination than those created by immigration -the disadvantaged status faced by groups created by immigration

Creation of minority status cont.

By the early 1800's four areas of Mexican settlement had developed in the area that would eventually become Texas, California, New Mexico, and Arizona -they were sparsely settled -the economy was based on farming and herding -social and political life organized around family and the Catholic Church -Groups were dominated by an elite class of landowners

Assimilation and Pluralism

Contrary processes They are not mutually exclusive They may occur together in na variety of combinations -some groups may be assimilating -others are maintaining or even increasing differences

Types of Pluralism

Cultural pluralism- exists when groups have not acculturated or integrated; groups maintain a distinct identity Structural pluralism- exists when a group has acculturated but not integrated -Integration without acculturation may exist (Many native Americans are culturally pluralistic, maintaining their traditional languages and cultures and living on isolated reservations) Enclave minority groups- establishes its own neighborhood and relies on a set of interconnected businesses for economic survival Middleman minority groups- relies on interconnected businesses, dispersed throughout a community, for economic survival

Variations in Assimilation

Degree of similarity -old immigrants experienced less resistance than new immigrants -resistance to any one group of immigrants fades as new groups arrive -the sheer volume of new immigration increased resistance toward seemingly racially inferior, unassimilable immigrants A major differentiating factor in the experiences of the European immigrants groups was religion -Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish immigrants lived in different neighborhoods and belonged to unique social networks --Triple melting pot is the idea that structural assimilation for White ethnic groups took place within the context of the three major American religions Social class affected the European immigration groups in a number of ways -social class combined with religion shaped the social world of descendants -Gordon 1964 argued the most important structural unit within American society is the ethclass: the group formed by intersection of social class and ethnic or racial group Sojourners -birds of passage -no intention of becoming citizens -return to the old country once enough capital accumulated --Italian Immigrants Instructor's Note: As the children and grandchildren of the immigrants married, their pool of partners continued to be bounded by religion but not so much by ethnicity. Thus, later generations of Irish Catholics continued to marry other Catholics but were less likely to marry other Irish. As assimilation proceeded, ethnic group boundaries faded (or "melted"), but religious boundaries did not. Kennedy described this phenomenon as a triple melting pot: a pattern of structural assimilation within each of the three religions (Kennedy, 1944, 1952). In Milton Gordon's view, the most significant structural unit within American society was the ethclass,defined by the intersection of the religious/ethnic and social class boundaries (e.g., working-class Catholic, upper-class Protestant, etc.). Thus, people weren't "simply American" but tended to identify with, associate with, and choose their spouses from within their ethclasses. In general, male immigrants outnumbered females. It was common for the male members of a family to immigrate first and send for the women only after they had secured lodging, jobs, and a certain level of stability. However, women immigrants' experiences were quite varied, often depending on their original cultures. These sojourners, or "birds of passage," were oriented to the old country and intended to return once they had accumulated enough capital to be successful in their home villages or provinces. Because immigration records are not very detailed, it is difficult to assess the exact numbers of immigrants who returned to the old country (see Wyman, 1993). We do know, for example, that a large percentage of Italian immigrants were sojourners.

Key concepts in dominant-minority relations

Discrimination is the unequal treatment of a person based on his/her group membership Prejudice is the tendency of an individual to think about other groups in negative ways -cognitive prejudice and affective preclude Dimension vs. Individual vs. Group/societal chart Cognitive prejudice -stereotypes Affective prejudice --negative emotional responses Cognitive and affective prejudice are highly correlated --can vary independent of each other Ideological racism is a belief system that asserts that a particular group is inferior -it is the group or societal equivalent of individual prejudice -members of the dominant group use ideological racism to legitimize or rationalize the unequal status of minority group -through the process of socialization, such ideas pass from generation to generation, becoming incorporated into the society's culture Institutional discrimination -the societal equivalent of individual discrimination -refers to a pattern of unequal treatment based on group membership, built into the daily operations of society -public schools, the criminal justice system, and political and economic institutions can operate in ways that can discriminate against some groups, disadvantaging its members

Persistence cont.

Doyle and Aboud 1995 found that prejudice is highest for younger children and decreases between kindergarten and the third grade -this is related to increased awareness of racial similarities and perspectives on race -changing levels of prejudice in children may reflect an interaction between children's changing mental capacities and their environment rather than a simple learning of racist cultural values Further evidence for the cultural nature of prejudice is provided by research on the concept of social distance -social distance is the degree of intimacy that a person is willing to accept in his/her relations with members of other groups -research using social distance scales demonstrates that Americans rank other groups in similar ways across time period and geographic location

Contemporary Immigrants: does the traditional perspective apply

Due to changing social, economic, and political conditions: -assimilation in the US today is fragmented/segmented -some contemporary immigrants will follow the pattern of European immigrants --other will become part of the urban poor --others will form close knit enclaves and resist acculturation

Comparing minority groups

Each of these groups became involuntary players in the growth and development of the US -all three were overpowered and relegated to an inferior, subordinate status against their will -they were coercively acculturated in the context of subordinate status against their will -they were coercively acculturated in the context of paternalistic relations in an agrarian economy --in Gordon's 1964 terms, we might characterize these situations as "acculturation without integration" or structural pluralism --Blauner's concept of colonized minority groups seems far more descriptive

Prejudice history

Every form of prejudice started at some specific point in history If we go back far enough, we can always find some instance in which one group successfully dominates or eliminates a perceived threat by another group -group competition is associated with the emergence of prejudice -typically prejudice doesn't cause group competition it results from it

Pluralism

Exists when groups maintain their individual identities -in a pluralistic society, groups remain separate, and their cultural and social differences persist over time

Colonized minority groups

Forced into minority status by the dominant group -subjected to massive inequalities and attacked on their cultures -assigned to positions from which assimilation is extremely difficult and perhaps even forbidden -identified by highly visible racial or physical characteristics

cont. gender relations

Gender Relations -American Indian societies were generally patriarchal but in many tribes women held positions of great responsibility and controlled wealth -In some cases, the relative status and power of women rose under the pressure to assimilate --Navajo tribe -Conversely, women in the Cherokee Nation lost considerable status under the pressure to assimilate

Patricia Hill Collins Minority group status

Gender, race, and ethnicity cannot be explored independent of each other -intersectionality is a factor whenever a power differential is present Limits access to wealth, income, property, prestige, and power -correlated with social class, but separate social reality -increased social class lies at the heart of dominant-minority relationships

Theoretical perspectives cont. 2

Gerhard Lenski -the level of development of society is the stage of evolution of a society, including agrarian, industrial, and postindustrial -a subsistence technology is the system by which a society satisfies basic needs -postindustrial society is dominated by service work, information-processing, and high technology

Persistence of Prejudice

Gunnar Myrdal 1944/1962 produced the idea that prejudice is perpetuated through time by a self-fulfilling prophecy or a vicious cycle -the dominant group uses its power to force the minority group into an inferior status (such as slavery) Individual prejudices are reinforced by the everyday observation of the inferior status of the minority group -over a few generations, an internally reinforced system of racial inferiority becomes an inertial and accepted part of everyday life Research on the development of prejudice in children confirms that prejudice is learned through socialization This prejudice may be acquired through direct and indirect socialization -by age 3 or younger, children recognize the significance of racial groups

Group interests

Herbert Blumer 1958 argued that prejudice is activated when groups feel that they are threatened by other groups they see as beneath them -dominant group is particularly likely to use prejudice as a weapon when it feels that its privileges are in peril -for example the reaction of many Southern Whites to the Black civil rights movement of the 1950-60s

Scapegoat hypothesis

Holds that people sometimes express their frustrations against substitute targets -when substitutes are other groups, prejudice increases -researchers have used this theory to explain a variety of political, social, and economic events -for example the rise of the Nazi party in Germany during the 1930s

Immigration and globalization

Immigration is a major concern in our society -it is a global phenomenon that affects virtually every nation in the world -about 244 million people- a little more than 3% of the world's population- live outside their birth countries --some Americans see newcomers as threats to traditional culture and the English language and few see immigrants as the human consequences of the economic globalization of the world -contemporary immigration must be understood in terms of changes that affect many nations and the entire global system

Cont.

Immigrations from Germany -more German Americans today than any other group (other than English) -earlier than 1800s arrivals became farmers, while later arrivals were urbanites -relative affluence allowed children to move into white collar and professional careers Immigrant laborers from Ireland and Southern Eastern Europe -largely non-Protestant, less educated and skilled -The Irish arriving in the 1820s made up part of the Old Immigration -Souther and Eastern Europeans made up the New Immigration of the 1880s and beyond -experienced greater rejection and discrimination

Cognitive dimension of Prejudice

Includes stereotypes about people in other groups -stereotypes are over-simplified generalizations that are said to apply to all group members -for example all feminists, Christians, or Southerners

Prejudice

Individual prejudice is a set of feelings or emotions that people attach to groups, including their own -for example, someone may have a negative view of the Irish and call them "drunks" -this is a generalized association with an entire group Several psychological and social-psycholgocial research traditions focus on the emotional or affective aspect of prejudice -The scapegoat hypothesis and theory of the authoritarian personality

Industrialization and Immigration

Industrial Revolution- the shift in subsistence technology from labor-intensive agriculture to capital-intensive manufacturing Labor Intensive- a form of work in which most of the effort is provided by people working by hand Capital Intensive- a technology replaces hand labor with machine labor -large amounts of capital are required to develop, purchase, and maintain the machines

Selective perception

Is the tendency to see only what one expects to see

Patterns of assimilation

It takes generations for groups to become completely Americanized -first generation: slightly acculturated and integrated -second generation: very acculturated and highly integrated inn secondary sectors -third generation enjoyed high levels of integration at both secondary and the primary levels Instructor's Note: People today--social scientists, politicians, and ordinary citizens--often fail to recognize the time and effort it takes for a group to become completely Americanized. For most European immigrant groups, the process took generations, and it was the grandchildren or the great-grandchildren of the immigrants who finally completed acculturation and integration. Mass immigration from Europe ended in the 1920s, but the assimilation of European ethnic groups was not completed until well after World War II (and in some ways, it is still not complete). Scholars have demonstrated that immigration to the United States was in large measure a group (sociological) phenomenon. Immigrant chains stretched across the oceans and were held together by the ties of kinship, language, religion, culture, and a sense of common peoplehood (Bodnar, 1985; Tilly, 1990). The networks supplied information, money for passage, family news, and job offers.

Connt.

Jewish immigrants from Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe followed a third party pathway into US society -these immigrants were a part of the New Immigration and began arriving in the 1880s Unlike most European immigration groups, Jewish Americans became heavily involved in commerce -capitalizing on their residential concentration, Jewish immigrants created an enclave economy -the garment industry became the lifeblood of the Jewish community Jewish Americans today surpass the national averages in income, levels of education, and occupational prestige Eastern European Jewish immigrants and the Ethnic Enclave -enclave success due to group cohesiveness, family labor, and commercial ability -economic advancement preceded acculturation -the Americanized children helped preserve and expand the family enterprise

Theoretical perspectives

Karl Marx -class conflict is inevitable -relationship to the means of production The means of production are the materials, resources, and social relationships by which society produces and distributes goods and services Bourgeoisie are the elite or ruling class that owns the means of production Proletariat are the workers

Origins cont.

Labor supply problem -dwindling supply of White indentured servants -attempts to enslave Native Americans failed -slaves imported from Africa became the most logical, cost effective way to solve labor needs -the colonist created slavery to cultivate their lands and generate profits, status, and success

Authoritarian personality theory

Links prejudice to childhood experiences with stern, severe parents -on the surface children of authoritarian families respect and love their parents but internally they resent and fear their severe/distant parents Prejudice provides people with authoritarian personalities as a way of coping with their conflicted feelings

Recent trends: traditional prejudice and modern racism

Many social scientists argue that racism has not declined by has evolved -this new form of prejudice refers to modern racism, color blind racism, and symbolic racism Prejudice can take forms that seem positive such as "affectionate paternalism" -people may treat an adult with "special" care suggesting they are weaker or less competent Some of the strongest evidence that traditional prejudice is declining comes from public opinion research -the figure on the next slide shows data gathered from White Americans who participated in several research studies over a 64 year period -poll shows that prejudice has not vanished

Theoretical perspectives on Group competition and prejudice

Many theorists have examined the dynamics of group competition and the results for prejudice and discrimination Marxist Analysis: -class inequality is a result of the capitalist economic system -under capitalism, the bourgeoisie exploits the proletariat -a key reason capitalism continues is because the elites control ideas -this results in group competition and prejudice between classes

Theoretical perspectives cont.

Max Weber -economic position -prestige is honor, esteem, or respect and power is the ability to affect the decision-making process of a social system

Modern racism: the new face of prejudice

Modern racism rationalizes the status quo, thereby not just permitting inequality, but producing it Modern racists believe: -they are not prejudiced -discrimination in American society no longer exists -efforts to reduce inequality are unjustified and unfair because inequality no longer exists -any remaining racial or ethnic inequality is the fault of the members of the minority group

Robber's Cave

Muzafer Sherif conducted this experiment in the 1950s with 11-12 y/o boys at a summer camp Conducted in an artificial environment with young boys (all white) who had no previous experience with one another -thus the results may be only partially generalizable to group conflicts in the "real world" -nonetheless Robber's Cave illustrates a connection between group competition and prejudice

Contact situation

Noel Hypothesis -if two or more groups come together in a contact situation characterized by ethnocentrism, competition, and a differential in power, then some form of racial or ethnic stratification will result -if the contact situation has all three characteristics, some dominant minority group structure will be created

European Origins and Conditions of Entry

Northern/Western European immigrations shared many Americans values -these immigrants included Danes, Dutch, English, French, Germans, Norwegians, Swedes, and Welsh The Protestant Ethnic stressed hard work, success, and individualism -also supported principles of democratic government -analyzed by Max Weber in The Protestant Ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism Immigrants from Norway -most immigrants to the US before 1890 (compared to any European nation except Ireland) -became moderately prosperous midwest farmers who created strong ethnic networks -chains of communication and migration brought Norwegian to these areas for decades

Recent trends cont.

One possible cause of declining prejudice is education -education is said to broaden perspectives and encourage a more sophisticated view of human affairs The figure on the next slide demonstrates the role that education may play in decreased prejudice -it is important to remember that correlation does not equal causation -education and prejudice may be statistically associated, but this does not prove that one is causing change in the other Similar to education, contact and increased communication between groups has often been suggested as remedies for prejudice -contact between groups is not an automatic antidote for prejudice -equal status contact hypothesis argues that under certain conditions cooperative contacts between groups will tend to reduce prejudice

Enclave and middle man minorities

Originate as immigrant groups who bring some resources with them to carve out economic niches -they are racially distinguishable so certain kinds of opportunities may be closed -occupy an intermediate status between the more assimilated White ethnic groups and the colonized racial minorities

The "Traditional" Perspective on Assimilation

Park argues assimilation is inevitable in a democratic industrial society Robert park's Race Relations Cycle is the idea that group relations follow a predictable cycle starting with conflict but leading to eventual assimilation -contact -competition -accommodation -assimilation Milton Gordon broke down the overacted process of assimilation into different processes in Assimilation in American Life 1964 -there is a distinction between the cultural and structural components of society -Gordon's earliest stages of assimilation: --acculturation/cultural assimilation --integration/structural assimilation --intermarriage/marital assimilation

What is a minority group

Pattern of disadvantage or inequality -most important defining characteristics -variable patterns of inequality: exploitation, slavery, and genocide -minority, or subordinate groups, have less of what society values -pattern is a result of actions by the core of dominant group Visible traits/characteristics -selfconscious social unit --strong intragroup bonds --solidarity --different worldview Set members of the groups apart by attributing esteem to one group over the other -race vs. ethnicity -creations of historical and social processes

Dimensions of minatory groups status

Power, inequalities, and Institutional discrimination -plantation elite used their superior power to enslave Blacks -paternalistic relations became institutionalized and justified racial inequality -prejudice and racism became a result of this process, and subsequently reinforced rationalizations of domination Assimilation -apologists argue that slavery operated as a "school for civilization" -slavery has been likened to a "perverted patriarchy" -master's brainwashed, emasculated, and dehumanized slaves -they were stripped of their heritage and culture -despite abuses, African slaves coped and retained a sense of self firmly anchored in their traditions, kinship, and culture Gender relations -constraints were "tripled" for female slaves -"Black in a White society, slave in a free society, women in a society rules by men" -black women were raped and abused by White men -forced abortions occurred -women were used for domestic labor and field chores -sex segregated work groups produced opportunity to develop same sex bonds and relationships -women often used these bonds to resist the system

Sociology of Prejudice

Prejudice is more a result of group competition, rather than a cause Personality centered prejudice is difficult to reduce and likely impossible to eliminate Culture based or "traditional" prejudice differs not in intensity but in the extent to which it is resistant to change It is easier for a person to unlearn prejudice through education and contact with members of other groups Reduction of intergroup conflict for societal resources by reducing inequalities inn the distribution of resources and opportunities can prove most beneficial for reducing stereotypes and negative attitudes -reducing prejudice will not necessarily change the situation of minority groups -individual prejudice and discrimination are not the same as ideological racism and institutional discrimination

Other group relationships

Separatism- a minority group goal; a separatist group wishes to sever all ties with the dominant group Revolution: also a minority group goal; a revolutionary group wishes to change places with the dominant group and establish a new social order

Equal status contact hypothesis

Specifies four conditions under which intergroup contact can reduce prejudice -equal staus -common goals -they must interact intensively in noncompetitive, cooperative tasks -have the active endorsement of authority figures

Patterns of inequality

Stratification- system of unequal distribution of valued resources in society Social classes- people who have similar levels of access to valued goods and services -societies are divided into strata or social classes

Continuing Industrialization and Structural Mobility

Structural mobility- refers to rising occupational and social class standing that is a result of changes in the structure of the economy and labor market, as opposed to individual efforts -result of the continuing mechanization and automation of the workplace Descendants of European immigrants became upwardly mobile not because of individual ambitions, but because of the changing availability of jobs, opportunities, and education

cont. creation of minority status

Texas -by 1835, legal and illegal Anglo-American immigrants outnumbered Tejanos 6 to 1 -Competition for land and labor led to the US annexation of Texas in 1845 -full scale war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 -with the Gadsen Purchase of 1853, the US acquired the territory known as the Southwestern US California -the California Gold Rush of 1849 spurred a massive population movement from the East -the rapid growth of a Anglo majority after statehood in n1850 doomed efforts to create a bilingual, multiethnic state -like in Texas, Anglo-Americans used violence, biased laws, discrimination, and other means to exploit and repress Mexicans in California Arizona and New Mexico -lower levels of postwar Anglo migration -only in New Mexico did Mexican Americans retain some political power and economic clout -even though the contact situation for Mexican Americans was highly variable by region, the ultimate realist was minority group status Mexican Americans and the Noel Hypothesis -American southerners readily transferred their prejudiced views to Mexicans who were a mixed race of European, Indigenous, and African stock -Anglo Americans used their superior numbers and military power to acquire control of the political economic structures Mexican Americans and the Blauner Hypothesis -colonized minority group -Mexican American culture and language were suppressed -property rights were abrogated and their status lowered -subjected to coercive acculturation -inn close proximity to their homeland and maintained close ties with villages and families -Mexican immigration since the mid-19th century war has kept the Spanish language were suppressed -property rights were abrogated and their status lowered -subjected to coercive acculturation -in close proximity to their homeland and maintained close ties with villages and families -Mexican immigration since the mid 19th century war has kept the Spanish language and Mexican heritage alive

Paternalistic Relations

The nature of intergroup relationships will reflect a societies subsistence technology -a society with a small elite class and a plantation-based economy will often develop a form of minority relations called paternalism Key features: -vast power differentials and huge inequalities between dominant and minority groups -elaborate and repressive systems of control over the minority group -caste like barriers between groups -elaborate and highly stylized codes of behavior and communication between groups -low rates of overt conflict Slaves were defined as chattel with no civil/political rights -master determined the punishment for misbehavior -slaves were forbidden to read/write -marriages were not recognized and families were separated -slavery was a caste system, a closed stratification system -a rigid, strictly enforced code of etiquette had slaves show deference and humility when interacting with Whites

Ethnic succession

The process by which White ethnic groups affected one another's positions in the social class structure -European ethnic groups unintentionally affected one another's positions in the social class structure of the larger society --overall pattern was that each European immigrant group tended to be pushed to higher social class levels and more favorable economic situations by the groups that arrived after it Irish tended to follow northern and Western Europeans and were in turn followed by the wave of new immigrants -political machines -labor unions -religion (Catholic Church) -other pathways of mobility (crime, sport, and entertainment)

Assimilation

The process in which separate groups come to share a common culture and merge socially -as a society undergoes assimilation, differences among groups decrease

Conclusions

These theories share the conclusion that prejudice flows from struggles to control/expand a group's share of scarce resources -no theory can explain everything and there are limitations -for example Burns and Gimpel 2000 found that opposition to immigration is greater when people feel economically threatened -they also found that anti-immigration prejudice cannot be explained by economic alone and that persists even when conditions improve

Prejudice function

To mobilize emotional energy for conflict, justify attack, and rationalize structures of domination The relationship between prejudice and competition has been demonstrated in a variety of settings and situations ranging from labor strikes to international war to psychology labs -to illustrate we will name a classic experiment known as Robber's Cave

Implications for examining dominant minority relations

To understand dominant minority relations: -we must examine some very basic societal realities --inequalities in wealth, prestige, and the distribution of power To discuss changes in minority group status we must be prepared to discuss changes in the way society distributes resources

Paternal cont.

Unequal interactions allowed elites to maintain an attitude of benevolent despotism often expressed as positive emotions of affection for their slaves Slavery was based on a contradiction -"the master learned to treat his slaves both as property and as men and women, the slaves learned to express and affirm their humanity even while they were constrained in much of their lives to accept their status as chattel." Powerlessness of slaves made it difficult for them to openly reject/resist the system, however, slaves: -revolted -ran away (Underground Railroad) -used other forms of resistance such as sabotage, intentional carelessness, dragging their feet, and work slowdowns A distinct African American culture was forged in response to the realities of slavery

Cont. Human Capital Theory

Upward mobility is a direct result of effort, personal values and skills and. investment in education -status attainment is a direct result of educational attainment, personal values and skills, and other individual characteristics -deemphasizes structural over individual factors -views assimilation as a highly desirable process -assumes success is equally available to all

Integration and Equality

White ethnics on the verge of being completely assimilated -this includes groups that were the most despised and rejected -distinct ethnic neighborhoods have faded away or been taken over by other groups --rate of intermarriage between different white ethics is quite high