Chapter 11 Race and Ethnicity

The Social Meaning of Race and Ethnicity Race – a socially constructed category composed of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important.

The Social Meaning of Race and Ethnicity Ethnicity – a shared cultural heritage. Race involves highlighting biological traits. Ethnicity involves highlighting cultural traits.

Minorities A minority – any category of people, distinguished by physical or cultural difference, that a society sets apart. Characteristics: They share a distinctive identity. Subordination.

Prejudice & Stereotypes Prejudice – a rigid and irrational generalization about an entire category of people.

Prejudice & Stereotypes Prejudgments that are positive or negative. They lead us to characterize all members of an entire group, most of whom we’ve never met.

Prejudice & Stereotypes Stereotypes – an exaggerated description applied to every person in some category. Both the majority group and minorities hold stereotypical beliefs.

Measuring Prejudice Social Distance Scale Emory Bogardus Social Distance Scale Student opinions show a trend toward greater acceptance People see less difference among various minorities 9-11 attacks may have reduced social acceptance of Arabs & Muslims

Measuring Prejudice

Racism Racism – the belief that one racial category is innately superior or inferior to another. Racial difference in mental abilities result from environment rather than biology.

Theories of Prejudice Scapegoat Theory – prejudice springs from frustration among people who are themselves disadvantaged. A scapegoat – a person with little power whom people unfairly blame for their own troubles.

Theories of Prejudice Authoritarian Personality Theory – extreme prejudice is a personality trait in certain individuals These personalities are common among those with little education and broken homes.

Theories of Prejudice Culture Theory – extreme prejudice may be embedded in culture. Bogardus believed everyone in the United States expresses some bigotry because we live in a culture of prejudice.

Theories of Prejudice Conflict Theory – powerful people use prejudice to justify oppressing others. Steele contends that minorities themselves cultivate a climate of race consciousness in order to win greater power.

Discrimination Discrimination – treating various categories of people unequally. Institutional prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice and discrimination often occur together.

Discrimination Robert Merton Prejudice and discrimination may combine in four waysa) a) Active bigotry (Southern Racist) b) Timid bigotry (Nebraska Racist) c) Fair-weather liberalism (people who are not prejudice, but will discriminate when they feel pressured to do so.) d) All-weather liberalism (doesn’t discriminate)

Prejudice: The Vicious Circle Discrimination Prejudice: The Vicious Circle Prejudice and discrimination can form a vicious circle, perpetuating themselves. Figure 11.2 (p. 310)

Sociological Theories Structural Functionalism - Prejudice is functional in that it creates in-group solidarity and out-group antagonism. Social Conflict theory - focuses on competition and the ability of some group to exploit others. Symbolic interactionism-examines how perception and labels produce prejudice. Dr. John Musalia, Western Kentucky U.

Majority and Minority: Patterns of Interaction Pluralism – a state in which racial and ethnic minorities are distinct but have social parity. Assimilation – the process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominant category.

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 U. S Native Americans When the Europeans arrived in the fifteenth century, the Native Americans numbered in the millions. By 1900, they numbered a mere 250,000.

Race and Ethnicity in the U. S Native Americans Christopher Columbus first called them “Indians” because he thought he landed in India. Not until 1924 were Native Americans entitled to citizenship.

White Anglo-Saxon Protestants Race and Ethnicity in the U. S White Anglo-Saxon Protestants WASPs were not the first to inhabit the U. S., but they came to dominate this nation. Historically, WASP immigrants were highly skilled and motivated to achieve the Protestant work ethic.

White Anglo-Saxon Protestants Race and Ethnicity in the U. S White Anglo-Saxon Protestants WASPs were never one single group. English remains the dominant language today, and Protestantism is the majority religion.

Race and Ethnicity in the U. S African Americans Most accounts mark the beginning of black history in the United States as 1619. A Dutch trading ship brought twenty Africans to Jamestown, Virginia.

Race and Ethnicity in the U. S African Americans Slavery was the foundation of the southern colonies’ plantation system. In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery.

Race and Ethnicity in the U. S “An American Dilemma” A democratic society’s denial of basic rights and freedoms to an entire category of people To resolve this, white people defined African Americans as innately inferior and undeserving of equality. Gunnar Myrdal

Race and Ethnicity in the U. S Asian Americans Enormous cultural diversity characterizes this category of people. In 2000, the total number of Asian Americans exceeded 10 million.

Race and Ethnicity in the U. S Asian Americans The largest category of Asian Americans is people of Chinese ancestry. More than one-third of Asian Americans live in California.

Hispanic Americans/Latinos Race and Ethnicity in the U. S Hispanic Americans/Latinos In 2000, Hispanic Americans numbered more than 35 million. Few people in this category describe themselves as “Hispanic” or “Latino.”

Hispanic Americans/Latinos Race and Ethnicity in the U. S Hispanic Americans/Latinos Hispanics are really a cluster of distinct populations, each of which identifies with a particular ancestral nation. Most of the Hispanic population lives in the Southwest.

Race and Ethnicity in the U. S Arab Americans “Arab” (an ethnic category) is not the same as “Muslim” (a follower of Islam). Arab cultures differ from society to society Share Arabic alphabet and language Arab Americans population is 1.2 million

Race and Ethnicity: Looking Ahead. The United States has been and will remain a land of immigrants. Immigration has generated striking cultural diversity. Many new arrivals face much the same prejudice as those who came before them.