race and racism: some basic ideas roderick graham rhode island college race and cyberspace
Post on 15-Dec-2015
220 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Social Construction• Essential to the
understanding of race and racism.
• How we see the world is produced, built, or constructed through social interaction
• This means that 1. How we see the world can
change2. Social phenomena have
different meanings for different people
You
Family
Peers
Mass Medi
a
School
Terminology(Categories)
• Race – socially constructed category of people who share phenotype
• Ethnicity – socially constructed category of people who share a heritage
Terminology(Categories)
• Social construction is a two step process
1. The boxes must be constructed
2. The contents of the box must be constructed
I have given you the boxes…what is in those
boxes?
? ?
? ?
Terminology(Beliefs)
• Stereotyping – simplified description applied to everyone in a category
• Prejudice – generalization about a category
• Racism – belief that one racial category is superior to another
Terminology(Processes)
• Discrimination – unequal treatment of a category
• Institutional discrimination – unequal treatment of a category in a society’s institutions
Categories and Processes
Construction of racial category
Beliefs about category
Actions because of this belief
• There is a self-reinforcing nature between these categories and processes
Categories and Processes
Construction of racial category
Beliefs about category
Actions because of this belief
1. The category black is constructed
2. The stereotype is constructed that all blacks are lazy
3. Employers do not hire blacks
Terminology(Types of Racism)
• Classical Racism – belief in the innate genetic
inferiority of a racial categoryo Some racial groups are less intelligent, and therefore need to be
treated differently under the law
• New Racism – belief in the cultural inferiority of
racial categoryo Some racial groups do not possess the proper cultural and moral
makeup to excel in western capitalist society
top related