SOC-1001-501 - CHAPTER 8
Ethnicity vs. Race
Ethnicity = The identity with a group of people who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth. (Jews are an ethnic group but not a race.) Race = identity with a group of people descended from a common ancestor (African American, Hispanic, Asian)
U.S. POPULATION BY RACE
Figure 8.1 shows the breakdown of various racial and ethnic groups and their percentage of the U.S. population. In 2018, whites made up approximately 60 percent of the population, Hispanics/Latinos 18 percent, blacks 13 percent, Asians 6 percent, and Native Americans about 1 percent (U.S. Census Bureau 2019d) - Many Americans identify themselves as belonging to two or more races.
In the nineteenth century, biologists came up with a schema that grouped humans into three races:
Negroid, Mongoloid, and Caucasoid (corresponding roughly to black, Asian, and white). - It was believed that each race was characterized by its own biological makeup, separate and distinct from the others
Prejudice vs. Discrimination
Prejudice is thoughts "prejudgment" rooted in generalizations and stereotypes. Discrimination is action or behavior resulting in unequal treatment of individuals or groups.
DOUBLE-CONSCIOUSNESS
W. E. B. DuBois's term for the divided identity experienced by blacks in the United States
PLURALISM
a cultural pattern of intergroup relations that encourages racial and ethnic variation and acceptance within a society
ASSIMILATION
a pattern of relations between ethnic or racial groups in which the minority group is absorbed into the mainstream or dominant group, making society more homogeneous
RACISM
a set of beliefs about the claimed superiority of one racial or ethnic group; used to justify inequality and often rooted in the assumption that differences among groups are genetic
MINORITY GROUP (pg. 213)
a social group that is systematically denied the same access to power and resources available to society's dominant groups though its members are not necessarily fewer in number than the dominant groups. - it is possible to be in the numerical majority and still have minority status with regard to power and opportunity. *** Take South Africa, for example: Blacks there dramatically outnumber whites by a ratio of seven to one, yet before the 1994 election of President Nelson Mandela, a small white minority controlled the country while blacks occupied the lowest status in that society. - Membership in a minority group may serve as a kind of "master status," overriding any other status, such as gender or age.
ETHNICITY
a socially defined category based on a common language, religion, nationality, history, or some other cultural factor
RACE
a socially defined category based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people
SITUATIONAL ETHNICITY (pg. 211)
an ethnic identity that can be either displayed or concealed depending on its usefulness in a given situation. - we see how larger social forces can govern the identities we choose—if we have a choice.
SYMBOLIC ETHNICITY
an ethnic identity that is relevant only on specific occasions and does not significantly affect everyday life. - St. Patrick's Day (especially in cities like Boston and New York), displays of Irish identity can be pretty overwhelming! - Cinco de Mayo, Passover
PREJUDICE (pg. 214)
an idea about the characteristics of a group that is applied to all members of that group and is unlikely to change regardless of the evidence against it
RACE CONSCIOUSNESS
an ideology that acknowledges race as a powerful social construct that shapes our individual and social experiences
COLOR-BLIND RACISM
an ideology that removes race as an explanation for any form of unequal treatment
IMPLICIT BIAS
attitudes or stereotypes that are embedded at an unconscious level and may influence our perceptions, decisions, and actions
INDIVIDUAL DISCRIMINATION
discrimination carried out by one person against another
INSTITUTIONAL DISCRIMINATION
discrimination carried out systematically by institutions (political, economic, educational, and others) that affects all members of a group who come into contact with it
MICROAGGRESSIONS
everyday uses of subtle verbal and nonverbal communications that convey denigrating or dismissive messages to members of certain social groups
PASSING
presenting yourself as a member of a different group than the stigmatized group to which you belong
MISCEGENATION
romantic, sexual, or marital relationships between people of different races
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
the adoption of cultural elements belonging to an oppressed group by members of the dominant group, without permission and often for the dominant group's gain
WHITE NATIONALISM
the belief that the nation should be built around a white identity that is reflected in religion, politics, economics, and culture
REVERSE RACISM
the claim by whites that they suffer discrimination based upon their race and, therefore, experience social disadvantages
GENOCIDE
the deliberate and systematic extermination of a racial, ethnic, national, or cultural group
INTERNAL COLONIALISM
the economic and political subjugation of the minority group by the dominant group within a nation
POPULATION TRANSFER
the forcible removal of a group of people from the territory they have occupied
SEGREGATION
the physical and legal separation of groups by race or ethnicity
RACIAL ASSIMILATION
the process by which racial minority groups are absorbed into the dominant group through intermarriage
CULTURAL ASSIMILATION
the process by which racial or ethnic groups are absorbed into the dominant group by adopting the dominant group's culture
CRITICAL RACE THEORY
the study of the relationships among race, racism, and power
racial profiling
the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense. - Racial profiling of black drivers even has a name: "driving while black." - Politically, the war on drugs has made driving while black (or brown) even riskier than before.
EMBODIED IDENTITY
those elements of identity that are generated through others' perceptions of our physical traits
PRIVILEGE
unearned advantage accorded to members of dominant social groups (males, whites, heterosexuals, the physically able, etc.)
DISCRIMINATION (pg. 214)
unequal treatment of individuals based on their membership in a social group; usually motivated by prejudice
Ta-Nehisi Coates (2015)
warns his own son in Between the World and Me, "The police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body. It does not matter if the destruction is the result of an unfortunate overreaction. It does not matter if it originates in a misunderstanding. It does not matter if the destruction springs from a foolish policy."
ANTIRACIST ALLIES
whites and others working toward the goal of ending racial injustice
there are no "pure" races
—that the lines among races are blurry rather than fixed. - there is greater genetic diversity within racial populations than between them.
