Download SOC 31 Chapter 7 Power Point (Inequalities of Race

INEQUALITIES OF RACE AND
ETHNICTY

The concept of race typically is used to refer to differences among groups
in their physical characteristics (skin color, hair texture, facial features,
stature, and head shape)

Sociologists define race as a group of people who see themselves, and are
seen by others, as having hereditary traits that set them apart from others

Sociologists are interested in is the social significance people attach to
various traits; for example, skin color becomes a sign or mark of social
status
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Races are groups that are not easily identified by cut-and-dry
classifications

There is NO connection between physical traits associated with race and
characteristics such as intelligence and moral character

This is this process by which social, economic, and political
forces create and perpetuate racial categories and meanings

Micro Level – people internalize their racial identities in
accord with how their society defines them (Example: white
Americans develop a “white” identity and African Americans
develop a “black” identity even though they are both part of
the American culture)

Macro Level – race is an organizing principle that affects the
nature and content of political, economic, and cultural
activities, organizations, and institutions
 Racism
exists at two levels – individual and
institutional
 Individual
– racism is the belief that some racial
groups are naturally superior and others are
inferior
 Institutional
– racism involves discriminatory
policies and practices that result in unequal
outcomes for members of different racial groups
A
cognitive component that often includes negative
stereotypes
 An
affective component that involves negative
reactions and emotional feelings
A
behavioral component that includes the tendency
to discriminate or behave negatively

An ethnic group is a group we identify on cultural grounds, like
languages, folk practices and traditions, dress, gestures,
mannerisms, and religion

Jewish, Italian, Greek, Russian, and Hispanic Americans are all
examples of ethnic groups in our country

Ethnic groups sometimes deem themselves to be a nation due
to a shared history

Ethnic identities are often “constructed” by their bearers

A minority group is a social group whose members experience
discrimination, segregation, oppression, or persecution at the hands of the
dominant social group and lack access to the power necessary to change
their situation

They are characterized by physical or cultural traits that distinguish them
from the dominant group

They are self-conscious; they possess a social and psychological affinity
with others like themselves which provides them with a sense of identity

Membership in the group is generally not voluntary; an individual is born
into the status

Members of a minority group, by choice or necessity, often marry within
their own group (endogamy)

Prejudice – attitudes of aversion and hostility toward individuals (typically
members of a minority group) simply because they belong to a particular group
and are presumed to have “objectionable” qualities

Dominant groups – believe they are superior to minority groups and have an inborn claim to privilege, power, and prestige; they also believe minorities are by
their nature different and alien and have designs on dominant group benefits

Symbolic racism – stereotypes African Americans as people who do not share the
American work ethic, would rather be on welfare than work, would be as well of as
whites if they “tried harder”, and have recently been “getting more than they
deserve”; theory assumes that whites worry they will lose their special status in the
United States

Discrimination – prejudice in action; it is a process in which members of one or
more groups or categories in society are denied the privileges, prestige, power,
legal rights, equal protection of the law, and other social benefits that are available
to other groups; it is a form of racism when those discriminated against are a racial
minority

Institutional discrimination – the functioning of the institutions of society
in a way that produces unequal outcomes for different groups; some
institutions give the illusion that they are nondiscriminatory

Example – a university application specifying a prerequisite of graduation
from a private high school; many African Americans cannot afford to
attend a private high school

Gatekeeping – institutional discrimination is maintained because certain
people are admitted to offices and positions of privilege, prestige, and
power within society; generally, gatekeepers tend to be white males

Environmental racism – practice of locating hazardous waste facilities near
minority communities

Assimilation – process whereby groups with distinctive identities become culturally and
socially fused

Melting pot tradition – people and cultures would produce a new people and new
civilization

Anglo-conformity view - American culture is a finished product based on the AngloSaxon (white, Caucasian) pattern and insists that immigrants give up their cultural traits
for those of the dominant American group

Integration (Structural assimilation) – when different ethnic groups participate with one
another in the major institutional structures of society, like schools and the workplace

Acculturation (Cultural assimilation) – this is when cultural elements of one group
change in the direction of another group; members of different groups within a society
must share some cultural elements in order to communicate and interact with others

Pluralism – a situation where diverse groups coexist side by side but still maintain their
separate identities

Equalitarian pluralism – cultural identity and group boundaries are
maintained while participation in political and economic institutions
is conducted on an equal basis; this is the goal of many American
minority groups

Inequalitarian pluralism – pluralism promoted by dominant groups
in an attempt to maintain their power and privilege by controlling
the participation of minorities in society

Examples of inequalitarian pluralism – racial segregation in the
southern United States before the 1960s and the apartheid policy of
South Africa

An extreme example is genocide which is the systematic
extermination of a racial or ethnic group; the Holocaust during
WWII and Armenian Genocide of 1915 are unfortunate examples

Hispanics/Latinos – many Hispanic and Latino groups have different
histories and cultural characteristics

African Americans – they have made tremendous progress but remain
disadvantaged due to continuing social and economic barriers; but 76% of
black families do NOT live in poverty

American Indians and Alaskan Natives – they are the most severely
disadvantaged of any population in the U.S. due to high poverty and
unemployment rates

Asian Americans – consists of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Laotian,
Cambodian, and Vietnamese Americans

White Ethnics – many whites in American have ancestry from England,
Germany, Holland, Italy, Greece, Poland, and Russia; U.S. national political
leadership is dominated by white Protestant males of northwestern
European heritage

Functionalist – ethnic differentiation reduces consensus
(agreement), increases the chances of conflict, and threatens the
equilibrium of society, but it also promotes group formation and
cohesion

Conflict – prejudice and discrimination can be best understood in
terms of tension or conflict among competing groups;
ethnocentrism enhances the potential for prejudicial attitudes and
stereotyping because one group will judge the behavior of other
groups by their own standards

Interactionist – ethnic groups are seen as products of social
interaction; ethnicity arises when communication channels between
groups are limited and the different groups develop different
systems of meanings
 *NOTE
– Answers may vary.
 His
mother was white, but his father was from Kenya
 He
was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia
 He
had an Indonesian stepfather
 His
skin color and features are black
 He
married an African-American woman

*NOTE – The following answers were not covered in depth by the
regular Power Point presentation. You were required to research
this information by reading Chapter 7 and working on the Review
Guide.

12. who has power and privilege and who doesn’t
36. 13th Amendment
37. 1960s
38. structural features of U.S. society
40. Cuban Americans
41. migration of American Indians
43. Japanese Americans
44. Asian Americans
50. depends on how the questions are asked
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