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Chapter 11 Racial and Ethnic Inequality Introduction to Sociology Spring 2010

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Page 1: Chapter 11 Racial and Ethnic Inequality - Weeblysgonzales.weebly.com/uploads/3/7/3/1/3731428/chapter_11_intro._to... · Define racial, ethnic, and minority groups •Racial group

Chapter 11Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Introduction to Sociology

Spring 2010

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Define racial, ethnic, and minority groups

• Racial group – A group that is set apart from others because of physical differences that have taken on social significance. (Ex. Whites, Blacks, Native Americans, Alaskan natives, Asian Americans)

• Ethnic group – A group that is set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. (White ancestry [single or mixed, non-Hispanic] and Hispanics (or Latinos)

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• Minority group – A subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than the members of a dominant or majority group have over theirs. (Ex – African Americans, Hispanics or Jews)

• 5 characteristics: 1) unequal treatment, 2) physical or cultural traits, 3) ascribed status, 4) solidarity, and 5) in-group marriage.

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Discuss the social construction of race.

• Social construction of race refers to the process by which people come to define a group as a race based in part on physical characteristics, but also on historical, cultural, and economic factors.

• Examples: People put other people in categories, as in creating the Native American reservation system or the “one-drop” rule.

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Discuss prejudice and its correlation with racism.

• Prejudice – A negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority.

• Racism – The belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior. It is one important and widespread form of prejudice.

• Stereotype – An unreliable generalization about all members of a group that does not recognize individual differences within group.

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Discuss discrimination and institutional discrimination, and their impact on social relations.

• Discrimination – The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons. (Example: job discrimination)

• Institutional discrimination – The denial or opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the normal operations of a society.

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• The Commission on Civil Rights (1981:9-10) has identified various forms of institutional discrimination:

1. Rules requiring that only English be spoken at a place of work, even when it is not a business necessity to restrict the use of other languages.

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2. Preferences shown by law and medical schools in the admission of children of wealthy and influential alumni, nearly all of whom are White.

3. Restrictive employment-leave policies, coupled with prohibitions on part-time work, that make it difficult for the heads of single-parent families (most of whom are women) to obtain and keep jobs.

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Identify the views of functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism regarding racial and ethnic

equality.

• Functionalists observe that racial prejudice and discrimination serve positive functions for dominant groups, whereas conflict theorists see the economic structure as a central factor in the exploitation of minorities. The interactionist view stresses the manner in which everyday contact between people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds contributes to tolerance or leads to hostility.

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Describe the various patterns of intergroup relations.

• Genocide and expulsion are extreme behaviors. More typical intergroup relations follow four identifiable patterns:

• [Genocide – The deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation. (Ex. - Nazi Germany’s extermination of 6 million European Jews, as well as gays, lesbians, and the Romani people (“Gypsies”).)

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• Expulsion – Forcing individuals from their homes. (Ex. - In former Yugoslavia, the Serbs drove out more than 1 million Croats and Muslims from their homes.)]

1. Amalgamation – When a majority group and a minority group combine to form a new group. (Ex. – A + B + C = D). (Intermarriage occurs)

2. Assimilation – The process through which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture. (Ex. – A + B + C = A) (B & C imitate the majority, A, to try to be indistinguishable from.) (Alan Alda)

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3. Segregation – The physical separation of 2 groups of people in terms of residence, workplace, and social events; often imposed on a minority group by a dominant group.

4. Pluralism – Mutual respect for one another’s cultures among the various groups in a society, which allows minorities to express their own cultures without experiencing prejudice. (Ex. – Switzerland – a nation with no national language or dominant religious faith.)

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Describe the pattern of immigration to the U.S. and elsewhere.

• Worldwide, immigration is at an all-time high. Each year, about 191 million people move from 1 country to another. The major migration streams flow into North America, the oil-rich areas of the Middle East, an the industrial economies of western Europe and Asia.

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• Today, the largest racial minorities in the U.S. are African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. The largest ethnic groups are Latinos, Jews, and the various White ethnic groups.

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Describe the various population patterns of racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S.

According to the text, Figure 11-4, Latinos have largely settled in the western U.S. – as west inc. Texas. Blacks have largely settled in eastern U.S. – east inc. Louisiana. Indian reservations are largely in northern U.S., or in Arizona/New Mexico. NJ is Latino north, and Black south. This is based on minority group with highest % of county population, excluding White, non-Hispanic.

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• Racial Groups:

1. African Americans

• Could not pass down property or the benefits of their labor to future generations.

• “Jim Crow” laws enforced segregation after the Civil War.

• 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education outlawed segregation of public school students.

• During the 1960’s civil rights movement emerged.

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2. Native Americans – 2.2 million. Since 1960, the count has tripled, suggesting Native Americans are no longer concealing their identity.

3. Asian Americans

• Diverse group, and 1 of fastest growing segments in the U.S. population (up 69% between 1990 and 2000).

• Held as a model or ideal minority group.

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• Southeast Asians living in the U.S. have the highest rate of welfare dependency of any racial or ethnic group.

• Consist in Vietnamese Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Korean Americans.

4. Arab Americans

• Immigrants and descendents from 22 countries in North America and the Middle East.

• Most Arab Americans are not Muslims.

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• Ethnic Groups

1. Latinos

• Represent the largest minority in the U.S. More than 40 million in the U.S. in 2002. Rise in population due to immigration and high birth rates.

• Mexican Americans the largest of the Latino population.

• Puerto Ricans 2nd largest segment of Latinos in U.S.

• Cuban Americans came after Castro to power. FL largest center of settlement.

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2. Jewish Americans – Almost 3% of U.S. population. A 2003 study suggested that 47 % of Jews who married in the past 5 years married non-Jews.

3. White Ethnics – 43 million of German ancestry, 31 million of Irish ancestry, 16 million of Italian ancestry, and 9 million of Polish ancestry.

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Discuss the relative economic positions of various racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.

• Racial Groups

1. African Americans – 1 out of every 4 African Americans – as opposed to 1 out of every 12 White non-Hispanics – is poor. Today the median household income of Blacks is still 60% that of Whites, and the unemployment rate among Blacks is more than twice that of Whites.

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2. Native Americans

• Life remains difficult for Native Americans. (Ex. – 1 teenager in 6 has attempted suicide –a rate 4x higher than the rate of other teens.)

• About 2/3rds of recognized Indian tribes are not involved in gambling ventures.

3. Asian Americans

• In 2007, for every Asian American family with an annual income of $100,000 or more, there was another earning less than $35,000 a year.

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4. Arab Americans

• Some had to flee their homes to save their lives, and live on a lower standard of living in the U.S. than what they were accustomed to.

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• Ethnic Groups

1. Latinos

• In 2007, about 16% of all Hispanic households earned less than $15,000, compared to 11 percent of White non-Hispanic households.

• As of 2007, only 13% of Hispanic adults had completed college, compared to 29% of White non-Hispanics.

• In 2007, the poverty rate was 21.5% for Hispanics, compared to 8.2% for White non-Hispanics.

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2. Jewish Americans

• Despite being in the U.S., the World’s largest concentration of Jews, Jews often encounter Anti-Semitism (anti-Jewish prejudice) (Ex. –In 2009, 1 in 4 people in the U.S. blamed the Jews for the financial crisis. Jews are excluded from social clubs and fraternal groups.

3. White Ethnics

• Forget their ethnic heritage as live in States. Inter-racial tensions are higher as more compete for fewer jobs.