chapter 11 race and ethnicity. definitions race –a socially constructed category composed of...

Chapter 11

Race and Ethnicity

Definitions

• Race– A socially constructed category composed of

people who share biologically transmitted – Traits that members of a society consider

important

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Definitions

• Meanings and importance of race vary across time and place– No society contains biologically “pure” people.– More genetic variation within each racial

“category” than between “categories”


Definitions

• For most people, ethnicity is more complex than race

• Ethnicity–a shared cultural heritage– The United States is a multiethnic society– Like race, ethnicity is socially constructed


Definitions

• Remember: Race is constructed from biological traits and ethnicity is constructed – From cultural traits, such as ancestory,

language, or religion


Minority

• General characteristics– Distinct identity: Race, sex, sexual orientation,

the poor– Subordination: Often saddled with lower

status


Minority

• Stereotypes, stigma, and labeling

• Group size not always a factor– Women in US outnumber men– Blacks in South Africa outnumber whites



Where the Minority Majority Already ExistsSource: U.S. Census Bureau (2011)

Prejudice

• Prejudice–A rigid and unfair generalization about an entire category of people.

• Stereotype–An exaggerated description applied to every person in some category


Measuring Prejudice

• The Social Distance Scale

• Student opinion shows a trend toward greater social acceptance.

• People see fewer differences among various minorities

• September 11, 2001, might have reduced social acceptance of Arabs and Muslims



Bogardus Social Distance Research

Racism

• The belief that one racial category is innately superior or inferior to another

• Racism has been widespread throughout US history where ideas about racial – Inferiority supported slavery

• Overt racism in the US has decreased, but remains a serious social problem


Theories of Prejudice

• Scapegoat theory– Disadvantaged people who unfairly blame

minorities for their own problems

• Authoritarian personality theory– Rigid moralists see things in “black & white”

• Culture theory – Prejudice is embedded in culture


Theories of Prejudice

• Conflict theory– Self-justification for the rich and powerful in

the United States– Minorities might cultivate climate of race

consciousness for greater power & privileges



IQ: The Distribution of Intelligence

Discrimination

• Institutional prejudice and discrimination– Bias built to operation of society’s institutions

• Carmichael and Hamilton: – People are slow to condemn or recognize

institutional prejudice & discrimination – Because it often involves respected public

officials and long-established practices


The Vicious Circle

• Prejudice and discrimination begin as ethnocentric attitudes

• Groups can be placed in a situation where they’re socially disadvantaged & labeled

• A group’s situation is explained as a result of innate inferiority rather than looking at – The social structure; The cycle repeats itself



Prejudice and Discrimination: The Vicious Circle

Majority and Minority Patterns of Interaction

• Pluralism–People of all races & ethnicities are distinct but have equal social standing

• Assimilation–Minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominant culture


Majority and Minority Patterns of Interaction

• Segregation–The physical and social separation of categories of people

• Genocide–The systematic killing of one category of people by another


Race and Ethnicity in the US

• Native Americans

• White Anglo-Saxon Protestants

• African Americans

• Asian Americans– Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipinos



Land Controlled by Native Americans, 1784 to Today

Race and Ethnicity in the US

• Hispanic/Latino Americans– Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans

• Arab Americans

• White Ethnic Americans



The Concentration of Hispanics or Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans,and Arab Americans, by County

Race and Ethnicity: Looking Ahead

• The US will remain a land of immigrants.

• Most immigrants arrived in a wave that peaked about 1910

• Immigration post WWII & swelled as govt relaxed immigration laws in 1960s

• Now: Immigrants from Latin America, Asia; Mexicans, Asian Indians, & Filipinos


chapter 11 race and ethnicity. definitions race –a socially constructed category composed of...

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