Ch 8 Sociology

What are the positive consequences of racial and ethnic categories?

They create a sense of identity and lead to feelings of solidarity.

According to Angela Davis, why are African American teenage girls disproportionately likely to have children?

They see few opportunities for education or work and choose motherhood instead.

How do the current demographics of California challenge the way the term "minority" has been used in the past?

Whites are now less than half of the population of California.

Societies that encourage racial and ethnic diversity have embraced the value of:

pluralism

There is greater genetic diversity within racial populations than between them.

true

A working-class straight black man will experience discrimination the same way a wealthy gay black man will because both of them are the same race.

False

How do many people hope that the Internet will have a democratic influence on society?

In online interactions, there is no way to see what other people look like.

Even though antimiscegenation laws have been struck down, interracial relationships are still relatively uncommon. Why?

Powerful cultural stereotypes discourage them.

What explanation does functionalism have for prejudice and discrimination today?

Prejudice and discrimination help to increase group cohesion.

Classical Marxist analysis often argued that everything is ultimately determined by the economy, even though sometimes it is through many complicated steps. Can economic factors explain racism?

The link between race and class is useful and important, but it does not provide a satisfactory explanation for all forms of racism.

The "ethnic miracle" is a term used to describe the process by which European immigrants and their descendants stopped being treated as members of minority groups and became assimilated into the dominant group. What kind of sociologist believes that this happened because it made society run much more efficiently?

a structural functionalist

What do sociologists call it when an African American individual is told he or she is NOT really "black enough"?

an identity challenge

In 2009 Barack Obama became the first black president. Some feel that this election demonstrates that racism is a thing of the past. This way of thinking is evidence of:

colorblindness.

Which of the following factors makes someone most likely to drop out of high school?

coming from a non-English-speaking background

When members of a minority group learn the cultural practices of the dominant group, they have undergone:

cultural assimilation.

Why are there differences in life expectancies for people of different races?

disparities in access to health care

According to William Julius Wilson, racism has created a black underclass, but this underclass is perpetuated by:

economic factors.

People in society who have the most privilege usually recognize that their advantages are unearned.

false

The "Jim Crow" laws in the American South, which mandated separate facilities for whites and blacks, were an example of:

institutional discrimination.

The exploitation of a minority group within the dominant group's political borders is called:

internal colonialism.

What historical event is sometimes referred to as the "forgotten genocide"?

the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the Turkish government after World War I

According to the text, which of the following countries is an example of a multicultural society, one in which people are encouraged to live peacefully together in political, social, cultural, and economic unity?

Canada

In 1991 an enormous controversy erupted after five Los Angeles police officers were caught on tape beating a motorist named Rodney King. Although there continues to be much controversy over the event, many people see it as a blatant act of discrimination. Under what circumstances would this beating be considered institutional discrimination?

If the leadership of the Los Angeles Police Department condoned or encouraged this type of behavior on a regular basis, it would be considered institutional discrimination.

Anatole Broyard, a literary critic and writer for the New York Times, lived a double life. He had a mixed racial heritage, and while African American friends knew him as African American, white friends and professional acquaintances thought he was white. After his death, Broyard's daughter tried to write his life story and, as part of the process, organized a family reunion. This was made more difficult by the fact that Broyard's extended family included many who thought of themselves as white, others as black. What does this demonstrate about passing?

Passing happens almost entirely through interaction.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, since 2004 Texas has had a minority population of at least 11.3 million, comprising 50.2 percent of its total population of 22.5 million. The primary minority group is Mexican Americans. However, despite this numerical prominence, Texas has never had a Mexican American governor and the percentage of Mexican Americans in its state House has never been higher than 26. Why would a sociologist still call Mexican Americans a minority group?

They are denied access to power and resources.

Why are poor women LESS likely to marry?

They feel that the men they encounter are less likely to offer the advantages that make marriage worth the risk.

How did the G.I. Bill of Rights, which provided funds for home loans, affect African Americans?

Though it was written to help all veterans regardless of race, African Americans were typically excluded from home ownership.

There are no positive consequences to constructing categories of race and ethnicity.

false

In 1993 six African American Secret Service agents filed a complaint with the Department of Justice against Denny's for refusal of service because the restaurant took much longer to serve them than other customers. After they filed the complaint, thousands of other African Americans came forward with similar allegations. What are these allegations evidence of?

institutional discrimination

White privilege is the idea that one group (whites) in society enjoys certain unearned privileges and that group members are:

largely unaware of the unequal benefits they possess.

When whites are less than half the population of any given state, it is called a ________ state.

majority-minority

In the early nineteenth century, Native Americans, who had survived clashes with the U.S. Army, were forcibly removed to reservations. This is an example of:

population transfer.

What is it called when members of a racial minority group intermarry and have children with members of the dominant group until the races are completely mixed?

racial assimilation

The belief that Asians are genetically predisposed to be more intelligent than Europeans is an example of:

racism

After the Civil War, most southern states passed laws that barred African Americans and whites from sharing most kinds of public facilities. This is an example of:

segregation.

In Chicago, a city with more Polish people than anywhere else in the United States, Casimir Pulaski Day is always a very important holiday. Although not well remembered in the rest of the country, Pulaski was a Polish-born hero of the American Revolution and a cavalry general. What concept helps to explain why this holiday is so much more important to people who trace their ancestry to Poland?

symbolic ethnicity

When someone of Irish ancestry who does NOT typically identify as Irish in everyday life puts on a green hat, drinks green beer, and wears a "Kiss me, I'm Irish" T-shirt on St. Patrick's Day, it is an example of:

symbolic ethnicity.

In the early 1900s, native-born Americans, usually Protestants, did NOT consider Irish, Italian, or Jewish immigrants to be white. What does this illustrate?

the social construction of race

According to conflict theory, what is the real source of racism?

the struggle groups have for power and control

What is the goal of affirmative action?

to provide a justification for reverse racism

A person who is not prejudiced may still participate in discrimination.

true

Prejudice is rooted in generalizations or stereotypes.

true