Racism and Culture of Race Race is a social construct Racial and ethnic differences should add to our human life instead of creating conflicts! Copyright © 2007

2 Definition of Culture Culture is a sum of knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and other capability needed by man as a member of a society We define our race based on the culture we have been accustomed to How do we define culture in our “Iranian way of understanding the world?” What is our race?

3 Formation of Culture Anthropologies do not believe culture is an innate biological equipment of humans = we get born into a culture, not necessary we do acquire that cultural traits Our culture is the knowledge about how race, age, gender, sex, ethnicity, and color define our being in the world Culture is rather an external, acquired, and transmissible to others

4 Our Iranian Culture What does it mean that we have “2500” years of history/ culture? How understanding of race has impacted that history? How have we taken responsibility to transmit that sum of knowledge, morals, believes, arts, and customs?

5 Definition of Racism Say no to racisim Racism means attitudes, practices and other factors that disadvantage people because of their race, color or ethnicity. Racism can be directed against any race, color or ethnicity. Examples of racism: graffiti, intimidation or physical violence Racial and ethnic slurs, comments, & "jokes" discrimination in hiring and apartment rentals, or policies that disadvantage members of certain races, whether intentionally or not. Discrimination of women, ethnical groups, people belonging to various religions,…. Racism: three main levels: individual, institutional and cultural

6 Social Psychology Study of how our thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are impacted by others How we get along with other races or ethnical groups? Human being is born to create culture and to acquire knowledge about what is expected of him /her

7 Transmitting of cultures Mother/ Father to child Family to family Family to group /community Family to the world Groups to groups By story telling, books, objective history, shared knowledge…. By story telling, books, objective history, shared knowledge….

8 Ethnicity and culture No connection to the human biological variations or race Ethnicity = clusters of people with similar cultural traits that make them a group different than other groups Similar language, accent, common geographic place of origin, religion, sense of history, values, and beliefs about how life should be like for that specific group From: Smedley, A., & Smedley, B.D. (2005). Race as Biology is Fiction, Racism as a Social Problem is Read. American Psychologists. Vol 60.

9 Ethnicity not a fixed notion We move into another countries Learn language Learn ethnical traditions We become participants in that ethnicity Ethnocentrism = belief in the superiority of one culture and inferiority of other cultures, leading to conflicts

10 Various type of Racism Individual racism: individual attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviours. Racial prejudice: belittling and jealousy are examples of racist attitudes. Examples of racist beliefs are racial stereotypes, the belief that some races are better than others and even the belief that people can be classified according to race in the first place. Violence, name-calling and discrimination in hiring are examples of racist behaviour. Institutional or systemic racism takes the form of the practices, customs, rules and standards of organizations, including governments, that unnecessarily disadvantage people because of their race, color or ethnicity. They do not always involve differences in treatment. Educational requirements that are not related to actual job duties are an example. Cultural racism are the cultural values and standards that disadvantage people because of their race, color or ethnicity. Examples are cultural expectations as to the race of a company president and the cultural standard for what a beautiful, trustworthy or competent person looks like.

11 Stereotyping Stereotype: is packing everyone under one identity! Forming a fixed picture of a group of people usually based on false or incomplete information. Making comments, generalizing, making other “less than”!

12 Prejudice & Discrimination Prejudice literally means "prejudgment." A prejudice is a preconceived negative opinion or attitude about a group of people. Discrimination is anything that has the effect, intentional or not, of limiting the opportunities of certain individuals or groups because of personal characteristics such as race or color. How about discriminating women because of their gender?

13 Diversity individual level; uniqueness, genes, non-shared experiences group level; similarities & differences; race, gender, social class.... universal level; common life experiences as human beings, birth, death, biological and physical similarities, self-awareness

14 Respect for Diversity Human being have differences in terms of: race & ethnicity, nationality, religion, social class, sexual orientation, age, physical- mental-cognitive ability and difference, sex, language, beliefs- values-customs. How much do we respect those different than us?

15 What racism does? 1- Naming;, a rejection of other's ability to impose an identity. 2-aggregating; lumping together under one name or label; Latino or Hispanic; Asian; 3-dichotomization; only two categories; everyone fits into one; they are in position to one another; race; white and non-whites, the one drop rule in the us, male or female 4-stigmatization; the "other" becomes stigmatized. One group seen as “normal”, and other people as the “other” 5-oppresion; systematic subjugation of a disempowered social group by a group with access to social power. Social power + prejudice= oppression.

16 Racial Jokes Our jokes are racialized We tend to harm other ethnical groups Being funny has limitation Racial jokes dehumanize women, children, ethnical groups, certain occupation, disabled, weaker, and people with dialect Most painful jokes: Jokes about child molestation acts! Jokes about women!

17 What can we do?! We need to decide : Stop saying: Racial slurs, racial & sexist “jokes”,discriminatory comments… Raise awareness Educate children Talk to your family & other people Create a language & culture of peace!