Cultural Pluralism Exam #1

What are logical confusions of Race?

1. People have cultural attributes for different reasons and have physical attributes 2. People make mistake of thinking classifications based on physical differences relate to cultural achievement 3. Thinking physical characteristics of population influences the kind of society it becomes

What are the minority responses to ethnic stratification (subordination)?

1. Pluralistic minorities- want to get along but opt out of the dominant culture. 2. Assimilationist minorities- marry out, go to same schools as majority, lose representation 3. seccesionist minorities- native americans 4. militant minorities- want to rise up

What are the ideologies of distinction for sexism?

1. Start with belief that humans are divided into physical types 2. physical traits are related to culture, personality, and intelligence traits 3. differences between men and women are based on biology rather than sociology: one sex is different/superior to another

What are the ideologies of distinction for racism?

1. belief that humans are divided naturally into physical types- phenotypes- clearly distinct 2. Physical traits of these categories are related to personality 3. Belief that these differences and categories are innate and some groups are better than others

What are characteristics of ethnic prejudice?

1. categorical- describe categories of people 2. inflexible- big generalization including everyone 3. usually negative 4. supported by stereotypes

What are the different types of assimilation?

1. cultural assimilation- language, values, how you're entertained 2. structural assimilation primary- marry outside group secondary- voting, schools, military 3. psychological assimilation- how they see themselves 4. biological assimilation- mixing up gene pool

What are the systems of pluralism?

1. equalitarian pluralism/ accomodation 2. corporate/equalitarian pluralism 3. inequalitarian pluralism/segregation/apartheid 4. paternalistic/competitive race relations 5. expulsion/annihilation

What is a subordinate group: 5 characteristics?

1. experience unequal treatment, prejudice, discrimination 2. physical and cultural characteristics distinguish men from women 3. membership is involuntary, it is ascribed 4. aware of their subordinate status- aware of membership 5. subordinate status is usually institutionalized

What are the factors affecting assimilation?

1. manner of entrance 2. time of entrance 3. demographic factors 4. cultural similarity to the host society 5. visibility- amt of people

What are qualities of a group?

1. membership is involuntary 2. tend to have some physical or cultural characteristic that distinguishes one from another 3. differential power- minority groups have less- middlemen minority tend to have capital

What are three types of discrimination?

1. micro-discrimination- discrimination by individuals against individuals 2. macro-discrimination- institutional 3. structural discrimination- happens b/c of past, not because of individual action or institutional action in the present

What is the social construction of race and gender?

Gender roles refer to assigned "sex categories" at birth "on the basis of what the genitalia look like at birth"

What does hegemonic mean?

Hegemonic is a certain kind of dominance that you don't see or understand: gender is hegemonic

What is cultural racism?

In the US people assume racial cultural characteristics rather than classical cultural characteristics middle and upper class= more similar

What is ethnic stratification?

There is a stratification of groups

Why are women included in a course on race and ethnic relations?

They are a subordinate group

What are middlemen minorities?

They are in the middle of the social hierarchy and often provide services to both those above and below them. They act as a sort of mediator between dominant and minority groups. They can also form their own communities.

Define State

abstract organizations that govern territories

What is discrimination?

actions against minority ethnic groups

What is a militant minority?

always contesting position to try to advance

What do you need to take care of yourself?

authority, money, friends, support

What is prejudice?

beliefs about particular groups

If a person is highly essentialist, how do they define oneself?

by what society defines him as

What is privilege?

family connections, money, assets

What is the largest conspiracy of society?

gendering

What is involved in ethnic group that would be useful descriptors?

language- country origin, education, religion

What are some indices of social mobility?

look at income, wealth, assets, education, occupation, life expectancy

Why do we have ethnic stratification?

multi-ethnic societies- people come into states in different ways, and how they come in impacts them and determines where they end up on the social scale

What is wealth?

net-worth, combination of assets and income-assets

What is social distance?

on class scale- closer together, smaller social distance. A measure of prejudice.

What does the stratification system represent?

power, privilege, wealth

What does racailized mean?

put into a category anglo groups- highly racialized hispanics- not highly racialized

What is very important to wealth?

real estate factors: where you buy and loan availability

What is the conflict theory?

see societies as held together not by broad agreements among groups but by the power of dominant classes and ruling elites to impose their will on others

What does Hispanic mean?

spanish-speaking

Key thing about modern classification of race is:

the idea that it is fundamentally biological

Where you end up in the social hierarchy is shaped by what?

the methods of contact

How is inequality rationalized?

through ideology -Biggest ideology for rationalizing inequality in the US: Because they work harder, are smarter, dominant ideology says not a result of structure, but individuation.

Can gender roles change?

yes

Can gender roles vary from culture to culture?

yes, ex: Saudi Arabia

Is inequality structured?

yes- inheritance, education, assets, property taxes(related to education and neighborhood)

What is state failure?

Ethnic groups have more loyalty for themselves than for their states

What are some differences in ethnic groups?

1. Boundaries- weak vs. tight (high vs. low loyalty) 2. Demography- characteristics ex: birth rate 3. Relations with other groups 4. Distance in group migration 5. Environments- political and physical

When did ethnic groups emerge? (3 theories)

1. C. Geertz: ethnic identities were primordial- before the beginning of time 2. Anthony Smith: big identities- civilization identities- long history- what distinguishes them- written language and written religion 3. E. Hobsbawn- ethnic identities were created after French Revolution- that is when states became the norm for organizing communities

What are the forms of contact/ways people come into a society?

1. Conquest- taking over through forced action 2. Annexation- when a claim is acquired 3. Voluntary migration 4. Involuntary migration- slavery

What are the rules on how assimilationist/pluralist continuum operates?

1. Ethnic relations change 2. all societies have some kind of conflict 3. power relationships between the groups can change

What are the elements to race ideology?

1. Have to believe classification system 2. Have to believe classification not only relates to physical characteristics, but they are also attached to cultural and intellectual characteristics 3. Have to believe some categories are better than others- there is an hierarchy (United States has all of these)

What are 5 ethnic group characteristics?

1. Have unique cultural traits 2. Have sense of community/common past/history 3. Ascribed membership- not assigned 4. Ethnocentrism- typically "we're better" 5. Territoriality

What are the theories of assimilation?

1. Park- assimilation operates in cycles- cultural or biological- ultimately groups that have really strong boundaries and don't marry out and stay pluralist, boundaries start to fall apart and have to assimilate 2. Gordon- there are 7 stages- start with very strict boundaries. 3. Brubaker- different groups either choose or are assigned different levels of assimilation

What are the three main theories of why there are subordinate groups?

1. structural/functionalism(conservative)- there are inequalities in society because they are needed to function properly- *essentialism* 2. Conflict theories- society is a structure with different kinds of classes (capitalists on top and proletariats on bottom)- upper dominant groups assign functions so they can stay in power *group position theory*- constant fighting from attaining small advantages- compete with the closest in social hierarchy 3. labeling theory- get an idea of what you can do based on our social status *self-fulfilling prophecy*

What is ethnogenesis?

A group of people acquire an ethnicity. New identities are being born- Irish and African-American Most groups create new identity whether strong or weak

What group is at the top of the stratification hierarchy?

Anglo Episcopalian

Why do people not see how gender influences them?

Because it is hegemonically constructed, people completely internalize the message of what society has told them-people would describe oneself based on stereotypical expectations because of socialization

What is social mobility?

Capacity of groups and individuals to rise. Different societies have different levels of social mobility and it can be measured

What ethnic group has the biggest civilizational identity in the world?

Chinese (A. Smith)

Define Ethnic Systems

Most groups that have cultural affinities in most societies can be described as ethnic groups

What is power?

Most important word in social science. Majority is the people that have the most power. In the US its the people that have wealth and privilege

What is confusing about race?

People give it both biological and social meanings- biological meanings are fake

What is essentialism?

People start to identify their personal selves in terms of the big categories society has created (internalizing stereotypes)

What is cultural pluralism?

Peoples personal values about work is related to ethnicity not class- but class is more important "smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities, and their values and practices are accepted by the wider culture provided they are consistent with the laws and values of the wider society."

How does social construction of race compare with that of gender?

Social construction of racial identity is more society specific than social construction of gender identity (species wide)

Which method is most common?

Structural

How do majority groups use power?

To stay ahead of minority groups

What is culture death?

When ethnic groups die