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Chapter 9
Race and
Ethnicity as Lived
Experience
Defining Race and Ethnicity

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Race is a socially defined category, based on
real or perceived biological differences
between groups of people. Ethnicity is a
socially defined category based on common
language, religion, nationality, history, or
another cultural factor.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Defining Race and Ethnicity (cont’d)

3
Sociologists see race and ethnicity as social
constructions because they are not rooted in
biological differences, they change over time,
and they never have firm boundaries.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Defining Race and Ethnicity (cont’d)

5
The distinction between race and ethnicity is
important because ethnicity can be displayed
or hidden, depending on individual
preferences, while racial identities are always
on display.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Defining Race and Ethnicity (cont’d)

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Symbolic ethnicity is an ethnic identity that is
only relevant on specific occasions and does
not significantly impact everyday life.
Situational ethnicity is an ethnic identity that
can be either displayed or concealed
depending on its usefulness in a given
situation.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
What Is a Minority?
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A minority group is made up of members of a
social group that is systematically denied the
same access to power and resources available
to the dominant groups of a society, but who
are not necessarily fewer in number than the
dominant group.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
What Is a Minority? (cont’d)

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Unequal and unfair treatment typically
generates a strong sense of common identity
and solidarity among members of minority
groups.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination
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Racism refers to a set of beliefs about the
superiority of one racial or ethnic group, is
used to justify inequality, and is often rooted
in the assumption that differences between
groups are genetic.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination
(cont’d)

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Prejudice is 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.
Discrimination is usually motivated by
prejudice and refers to the unequal treatment
of individuals because of their social group.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination
(cont’d)

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Individual discrimination is discrimination
carried out by one person against another.
Institutional discrimination is discrimination
carried out systematically by social
institutions (political, economic, educational,
and others) that affect all members of a group
who come into contact with it.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Theoretical Approaches to
Understanding Race in America
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Functionalist theorists focus on the ways that
race creates social ties and strengthens group
bonds, though they also acknowledge that
such ties can lead to violence and social
conflict.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Theoretical Approaches to
Understanding Race in America (cont’d)

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Conflict theory focuses on the struggle for
power and control over scarce resources.
Early conflict theorists tried to explain race as
a result of economic oppression.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race as an Interactional
Accomplishment

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Symbolic Interactionists focus on the ways
that race, class, and gender intersect to
produce an individual’s identity. They see race
as an aspect of identity established through
interaction. There are several different ways
that we project and receive our racial and
ethnic identities.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race as an Interactional
Accomplishment (Cont’d)

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Racial passing, or living as if one is a
member of a different racial category, has a
long history in the United States.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race as an Interactional
Accomplishment (Cont’d)

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The way that we are perceived in the physical
world, our embodied identity, historically has
been used as a basis for discrimination. This
issue becomes particularly interesting today
as we examine online communication, where
our physical traits often remain hidden from
those with whom we interact.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances

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Race and ethnicity influence all aspects of our
lives, including health, education, work,
family, and interactions with the criminal
justice system.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances
(cont’d)

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Health care is an area in which we find
widespread disparity between racial and
ethnic groups. Disparities in access to health
care may help explain the life expectancy
rates for men and women of different races.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances
(cont’d)

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In U.S. education, the highest high school
dropout rates are associated with those from
economically disadvantaged and non-Englishspeaking backgrounds.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances
(cont’d)

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Inequality can also be seen in the workplace
and in income distribution. People of color,
who are less likely to achieve high levels of
education, are more likely to have lowerpaying jobs.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances
(cont’d)

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In 2004, the median income for whites was
$34,164, for Asian Americans $36,816, for
African Americans $27,300, and for
Hispanics $23,712.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances
(cont’d)

24
Finally, non-whites are more likely to interact
with law enforcement. African Americans and
Hispanics are much more likely to go to
prison than whites. African Americans are
also far more likely to be murdered than
whites. Also, more than two-thirds of racially
motivated hate crimes in 2003 targeted blacks.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race Relations: Conflict or
Cooperation
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Interactions between dominant and
subordinate groups can take many different
forms. Genocide is the deliberate and
systematic extermination of a racial, ethnic,
national, or cultural group. The treatment of
Native Americans is an example of
population transfer, the forcible removal of a
group of people from the territory they have
occupied.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race Relations: Conflict or
Cooperation (cont’d)
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Internal colonialism is the economic and
political domination and subjugation of the
minority group by the controlling group
within a nation.
Segregation is the formal and legal separation
of groups by race or ethnicity.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race Relations: Conflict or
Cooperation (cont’d)

27
Assimilation is 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. Racial assimilation is the
process by which racial minority groups are
absorbed into the dominant group through
intermarriage.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Race Relations: Conflict or
Cooperation (cont’d)

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Cultural assimilation is the process by which
racial or ethnic groups are absorbed into the
dominant group by adopting the dominant
group’s culture. Finally, pluralism (or
multiculturalism) is a pattern of inter-group
relations that encourage racial and ethnic
variation within a society.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
1. A socially defined category based on common
language, religion, nationality, history, or another
cultural factor is called:
a. ethnicity.
b. symbolic ethnicity.
c. symbolic race.
d. race.
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The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
2. The unequal treatment of individuals because of
their social group is called:
a. racism.
b. discrimination.
c. prejudice.
d. institutional racism.
30
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
3. Light-skinned African Americans who attempt to
live as white in order to avoid the consequences of
being black in a racist society are practicing:
a. racial passing.
b. social fraud.
c. ethnic cleansing.
d. symbolic racism.
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The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
4. In the early nineteenth century, the U.S. government
forced Native Americans to move onto reservations.
This is an example of:
a. population transfer.
b. assimilation.
c. pluralism.
d. genocide.
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The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
5. The pattern of intergroup relations that encourages
racial and ethnic variation within a society is called:
a. pluralism.
b. segregation.
c. population transfer.
d. assimilation.
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The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.