Ethnicity and Race

Ethnic groups and ethnicity Ethnic groups –Members share certain beliefs, values, customs, and norms because of their common background Ethnicity – identification with, and feeling part of, an ethnic group and exclusion from certain other groups because of this affiliation

Ethnic groups and ethnicity –Status – the various positions that people in society –Shifting identities Adapting to situations

Race –Race – an ethnic group assumed to have a biological basis –Racism – discrimination against a “racial” group –Like ethnicity, race is a cultural category rather than a biological reality

Social Race (C. Wagley) – groups assumed to have a biological basis but actually defined in a culturally arbitrary, rather than scientific, manner Cultural construction of “race” in the United States

The Social Construction of Race Race - Typically refers to appearances such as skin color, hair type, skin hue, eye color, stature, body size, nose, eyes, and head shape

Race & Science The widely held belief that that there are biological differences between racial groups is simply incorrect

Origins of Racial Groups Agreement among reputable historians and archaeologists is that the color of primitive humans was Black.

Biracial and Multiracial Identities Racial purity is myth –Monoracial – both parents from same racial group –Biracial – both parents from different racial group –Multiracial – having parents with multiple racial heritages

Ethnic groups, nations, and nationalities –Nations/nation-states Autonomous, centrally organized political entities Most are not ethnically homogeneous –Nationalities – ethnic groups that once had, or wish to have or regain, autonomous political status (their own country)

Demography Increasing number of persons who are biracial and multiracial 2.6% or 7.3 million people in U.S. report more than one race Nearly two thirds of all people who reported more than one race lived in just 10 states The cities of Los Angeles and New York had the largest two or more races populations

Ethnic tolerance and accommodation - Assimilation A minority group adopts the patterns and norms of a dominant host culture to such an extent that it no longer exists as a separate cultural unit

Ethnic tolerance and accommodation - Plural society Interethnic contact does not inevitably lead to assimilation Plural society Ethnic boundaries

One-Drop Rule One-drop rule emerged in the South during Slavery –Anyone with 1/16 th Black ancestry was denied a White identity One-drop rule is still alive, but is not as pervasive as it used to be Hypodescent – process wherein biracial people were assigned to the social status with less social status

Multiculturalism and ethnic identity –Multiculturalism – the view of cultural diversity in a country as something good and desirable

Roots of ethnic conflict –Prejudice –Stereotypes –Discrimination De facto discrimination – practiced but not legally sanctioned De jure discrimination – part of law

Aftermaths of oppression –Genocide –Ethnocide –Forced assimilation –Ethnic expulsion –Colonialism –Cultural colonialism