CHAPTER 12Race and Ethnicity

Race: Myth and Reality

Myth 1 - Idea That Any Race is Superior All Races Have Geniuses and Idiots Genocide Still Around Genocide: the systematic annihilation or

attempted annihilation of a people because of their presumed race or ethic group

Race: physical characteristics that distinguish one group from another

Ethnicity: having distinctive cultural characteristics

Race: Myth and Reality

Myth 2 - Idea that Any Race is Pure Human Characteristics Flow Endlessly Together

Ethnic Groups

Race Refers to Biological Characteristics Ethnicity Refers to Cultural

Characteristics Common Ancestry Cultural Heritage Nations of Origin

Minority and Dominant Groups

Minority group: people ho are not singled out for unequal treatment and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination Example – Women are a minority all

over the world Dominant group: the group with

the most power, greatest privileges, and highest social status Dominant group does the

discriminating

Emergence of Minority Groups

Minority Groups Occur Because of…

Expansion of Political Boundaries

Migration

Constructing Racial-Ethnic Identity

Sense of Ethnicity Relative Size Power Appearance Discrimination

Ethnic Work and the Melting Pot Ethnic work: activities designed to discover,

enhance, or maintain ethnic and racial identification

Melting pot: the view that Americans of various backgrounds would blend into a sort of ethnic stew

Prejudice and Discrimination

Learning Prejudice Prejudice vs. Discrimination

Prejudice: an attitude or prejudging, usually

in a negative way

Discrimination: an act of unfair treatment

directed against an individual or group

Discrimination is Action

Learning from Association

Prejudice and Discrimination

Far-Reaching Nature of Prejudice

Internalizing Dominant Norms

Media

Group Membership

Individual and Institutional Discrimination

Individual discrimination: the negative treatment of one person by another on the basis of that person’s perceived characteristics

Institutional discrimination: the negative treatment of a minority group that is built into a society’s institutions; also called systematic discrimination

Health Care

Home Mortgage and Car Loans

Theories of Prejudice

Psychological Perspectives

Frustration and Scapegoats Scapegoat: an individual or group unfairly

blamed for someone else’s troubles The Authoritarian Personality: Theodore

Adorno’s term for people who are prejudiced and rank high on scales of conformity, intolerance, insecurity, respect for authority, and submissiveness to superiors

Theories of Prejudice

Sociological Perspectives Functionalism Conflict Theory

Reserve labor force: the unemployed; unemployed workers are thought of as being “in reserve” – capitalists take them out of reserve (put them back into work) during times of high production and then lay them off (put them back in reserve) when they are no longer needed

Split labor market: workers split along racial, ethnic, gender, age, or any other lines; this split is exploited by owners to weaken the bargaining power of workers

Symbolic Interactionism Labels Create Prejudice Self-Fulfilling Prophesy

Selective perception: seeing certain features of an object or situation, but remaining blind to others

Global Patterns of Intergroup Relations

Genocide: the systematic annihilation or attempted annihilation of a people because of their presumed race or ethic group

Population Transfer: forcing a minority group to leave

Internal Colonialism: the policy of economically exploiting minority groups

Global Patterns of Intergroup Relations

Segregation: the policy of keeping racial-ethnic groups apart

Assimilation: the process of being absorbed into the mainstream culture

Multiculturalism (Pluralism): a philosophy or political policy that permits or encourages ethnic differences

Rac

e an

d E

thn

ic R

elat

ion

s in

th

e U

nit

ed S

tate

s

Rac

e an

d E

thn

ic R

elat

ion

s in

th

e U

nit

ed S

tate

s

Race and Ethnic Relations in the United States: Europeans Americans

Nation’s Founders Included Only Those

from England (WASPs) WASP: White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant;

narrowly, an American

Other “White” Europeans Inferior White ethnics: white immigrants to the

U.S. whose cultures differ from that of WASPs

Race and Ethnic Relations in the United States: Latinos (Hispanics)

Numbers Origins, Location

Race and Ethnic Relations in the United States: Latinos (Hispanics)

Spanish Language Diversity Comparative Conditions

Race and Ethnic Relations in the United States: African-Americans The Struggle for Civil Rights Rising Expectations and Civil Strife

Rising expectations: the sense that better conditions are soon to follow, which, if unfulfilled, increases frustration

Continued Gains Current Losses Race or Social Class? Racism as an Everyday Burden

Race and Ethnic Relations in the United States: Asian-Americans Background of Discrimination Diversity Reasons for Success

Race and Ethnic Relations in the United States: Native Americans Diversity of Groups From Treaties to Genocide and Population

Transfer The Invisible Minority and Self-

Determination Pan-Indianism: a movement that focuses

on common elements in the cultures of Native Americans in order to develop a cross-tribal self-identity and to work toward the welfare of all Native Americans

Looking Towards the Future

The Immigration Debate

Affirmative Action

Towards a True Multicultural Society