Comes from the Greek word ethnos meaning “people” or “nation”

 A population bound together by a common origin (shared ancestry), a distinctive common cultural heritage, and a set of unique traditions

1) Ethnic groups are associated with clearly recognized territories of origin upon which they have placed distinctive cultural marks and landscapes 2) Often identified with distinguishing languages or religious practices 3) Often a minority group set off from a majority culture

1) Large areas, often the place of origin, which are dominated or associated with sizeable ethnic populations who have a strong sense of attachment to that region

 A small rural area settled by a single, distinctive ethnic group that placed its imprint on the landscape (Scandinavians in North Central states, Scotch-Irish in Appalachia)

A small, usually urban, area occupied by a minority ethnic group 1) Provides refuge and support systems for new arrivals in an alien culture realm 2) Ethnic neighborhoods are typical in American cities since the 1840s because of the constant immigration (Little Italy, Chinatown)

a) Medieval Italian term originally used for the segregated area where Jews were forced to live b) In modern day America connotes an impoverished, urban, black enclave, usually situated in an undesirable location

 The attitude that one’s race, culture, nation, or ethnic group is superior to all others

The greater the perceived differences between the majority and a minority group, the less likely the minority group will be accepted or assimilate

The extent to which members of a minority group are not uniformly distributed among the total population

 A process in which a more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogeneous region

A premeditated effort to kill everyone from a particular ethnic group

The process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities

Balkanized North America

 Holocaust  Bosnia  Kosovo  Rwanda  Darfur  Cambodia

a. The United States does not have competing ethnic minority homelands => no ethnic territorial conflict like in most parts of the world b. Because of changing immigration from predominantly European ( s) to predominantly Asian and Latin American (1960s-present), the US is becoming dramatically more ethnically diverse

1) In 2002, Hispanics surpassed African Americans as the largest minority ethnic group in the United States

3) Approximately a third of the populations of Arizona, Texas, and California are Hispanic; almost half of New Mexico’s population is Hispanic

New Mexico

 A measure of the opportunities given to women compared to men within a given country a. Gender roles and the status of women are cultural spatial variables based on custom, religion, and economic development

1) Globally, males are dominant economically, politically, and socially => Gender inequality exists in every country in the world; it is just a matter of scale 2) Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) compares the ability of women and men to participate in economic and political decision- making (what percentage of professional, technical, managerial, and elected jobs in a country are held by women)

Compares the level of development between men and women

a) Women make less than men in every country b) Even in MDCs the average income of women is only 2/3 that of men

a) Education level and literacy are very low for women in LDCs, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and SW Asia (Middle East) b) Even in MDCs, women were not given the right to vote until the 20 th century

a) Women in LDCs are times more likely to die in childbirth than women in MDCs b) Female infanticide exists in regions where males are preferred over females (China) or dowry systems exist (India, Africa) => gender imbalances

d. In MDCs, many women have sole responsibility of the household => negative physical, economic, and cognitive effects on both women and children

a)The percentage of children living in two-parent homes has declined in every state and every ethnic group over the last decade b)Single parent homes are concentrated in inner cities, are more likely to live in poverty, and are overwhelmingly black c)78% of white, 67% of Hispanic, and 39% of black children live in a two-parent home

a)Births to unwed mothers nationally: 18% in 1980, 33% in 2000, 41% in 2011 b)By race (US): 72% of black births, 66% of Native American births, 53% of Hispanic births, 29% of white births, and 17% of Asian births