Sociology: Chapter 9

Who are the Burakumin?

the descendants of Japanese war refugees of the fourteenth century

Which of the items would qualify as examples of collective resistance?

-An oppressed group rises up in organized, armed rebellion. -An oppressed group engages in a campaign of nonviolent protest.

Symbolic ethnicity today is a matter of choice for white middle-class Americans, but not for black middle-class Americans. What factors are behind this difference?

-For a white person, in the eyes of society, skin color is not a defining characteristic. -For a black person, in the eyes of society, skin color is a defining characteristic. -A white person can choose to be considered (for instance) Irish or German. -A black person cannot choose to be considered (for instance) Kenyan or Nigerian. -A black person cannot choose to be considered either white or black.

What are the main problems with the concept "African American" as a label for part of the U.S. population?

-Immigrants from Cuba, Jamaica, and Haiti think of those places, not Africa, as their countries of origin. -Many newly arrived immigrants from Africa do not want to be grouped with the blacks already here.

Which statements about race are correct?

-Race is a social construct. -Race is about bloodlines.

Institutional racism occurs when a seemingly race-neutral policy or social dynamic disadvantages minority groups. Which items are examples of institutional racism?

-The phenomenon of "white flight," which holds down home values in predominantly black neighborhoods. -Tax laws that ease the tax burden on the very wealthy. -Higher penalties associated with crack cocaine than with the powdered form.

Which statements are true of Arabs in the United States?

-They are united by a common geographic origin. -They are united by a shared linguistic heritage. -They are united by shared culture and cuisine.

Which items correctly describe the past and present state of the American penal system?

-Today, the majority of the prison population consists of blacks and Latinos. -One in four black men aged 20 to 29 is either incarcerated or else on probation or parole.

Which items represent the five major human population types, according to Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1788)?

Caucasian, American, Ethiopian, Malay, Mongoloid

Which is the single largest ethnic group in the U.S. today?

German Americans

When Greece and Portugal joined the European Union, when happened with those two countries' immigration and emigration patterns?

Greeks and Portuguese living abroad moved back to their home countries.

Which five U.S. states have the largest concentration of Asian Americans?

Hawaii, Illinois, California, New York, Washington

Which factors contributed to the decline and near-disintegration of Native American cultures in North America, following the arrival of European explorers in the late fifteenth century?

disease, forced assimilation, military technology, forced relocation

In the 1940s, Gunnar Myrdal studied white Americans who had reservations about full equality and integration for blacks. What did Myrdal find was most important to these whites?

maintaining distance between the races in personal relationships, especially marriage

What term refers to subordinate, oppressed people?

subaltern

Which items represented significant innovations to the survey form of the 2000 U.S. Census?

the ability to check more than one box for race

Why is residential segregation such a serious social problem?

-It fosters a culture of segregation. -It leads to other forms of segregation. -It is hard to change or prevent.

In American law, a once widely-used rule declared that "one drop" of black blood makes one black. Which items are among the effects of the one-drop rule?

-It put all blacks on the same level. -It was used to enforce anti-miscegenation laws.

What are some of the consequences of making everyone (whites and others) more aware of whiteness as a racial category?

-It removes the assumption that whiteness is normal and non-whiteness is deviant. -It encourages some whites to embrace white consciousness in racist fashion.

What are some ways the stereotype of Asian Americans as a "model minority" is unfortunate?

-Not all Asian American groups fit the stereotype equally well. -The stereotype places an unfair burden on Asian youth.

Which ancient sources explain the physical differences of different population groups as being due to differences in geography?

-a Chinese creation myth -ancient Egyptian records -the writings of the Greek philosopher Hippocrates

What three beliefs characterize racism?

-a belief that bloodlines or physical characteristics are linked to distinct cultures, behaviors, and intellectual abilities -a belief that humans are divided into distinct bloodlines and/or physical types -a belief that certain groups are, by virtue of their bloodlines or physical characteristics, superior to others

After "white, not Hispanic" (63.7% of the U.S. population) which is the next-biggest ethnic category in the U.S?

Hispanic alone

An 1851 article in Harper's Weekly described a certain racial group as having a "small and somewhat upturned nose" and skin with a "black tint." Which racial group was the article referring to?

Irish immigrants

What is the phrase "universal freckle" about?

It conveys the idea that dark skin is just a very durable suntan.

Which of the following actions by the federal government could in the long run lead to needed changes in U.S. immigration patterns?

Negotiating with other nations to relax their immigration laws.

What was the racial atmosphere in the housing project where Dalton Conley grew up in the 1970s?

Whites were a marginalized group.

According to the U.S. Census, the Native American population on the United States grew by 39 percent between 2000 and 2010. What explains this dramatic growth?

changes in how people identify themselves

What word, meaning "well born," refers to the effort to improve a human population by promoting selective breeding?

eugenics

What, according to Nell Irvine Painter, is the foundation of white identity?

not thinking about being white

When, during World War II, Japanese American families were given notice of their mandatory relocation to internment camps, how much time were they given to dispose of their lands and other property?

one week