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C H A P T E R
ETHNICITY AND RACE
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3. ETHNICITY AND RACE Ethnic Groups and Ethnicity Race and Ethnicity
The Social Construction of Race
Ethnic Tolerance and Accommodation
Roots of Ethnic Conflict 3

4. ETHNICITY AND RACE
What is social status, and how does it relate to ethnicity?
How are race and ethnicity socially constructed in various societies?
What are the positive and negative aspects of ethnicity?

5. Understanding Ourselves
Who are you?
What labels come to mind?
Situational Negotiation of Social Identity - most people have different identities in different contexts
Identities and behavior change with context
The “hats” we wear depend on the situation
Both black and Hispanic; both father and ballplayer; both daughter and teacher
Face to face encounters – others see who we are or who they perceive us to be; may expect certain behaviors based on their perception of identity; hard to be anonymous when face to face
Today, identities are not always constrained by physical attributes – can use modern technology to reveal and manipulate what we want them to think we are (i.e. “catfish)

6. ETHNIC GROUPS AND ETHNICITY
Ethnic group: a group whose members share certain beliefs, values, habits, customs, and norms because of their common background/cultural distinctions
Members may define themselves as distinct through language, religion, geography, history, ancestry, and race
Collective name, belief in common descent, sense of solidarity, association with specific territory
Ethnicity: identification with, and feeling part of, an ethnic group and exclusion from certain other groups because of this affiliation
Ethnic feelings and associated behavior vary in intensity
A change in the degree of importance attached to ethnic identity may reflect political change
Soviet rule ended and ethnic feelings rose

7. Status Shifting Situational Negotiation of Identity
Different “hats” in different situations
Ethnicity is only one basis for group identity
Cultural differences may be associated with ethnicity, class, region, or religion
People belong to many different groups/have different identities
Loyal to neighborhood, school, town, state, nation, religion, ethnic group, interest group…
Complex societies – people constantly negotiate social identities
Status: positions that people occupy in society
Ascribed status: little or no choice about occupying the status given (age, race, gender, birthplace…)
People are born members of a group and remain members
Achieved status: through choices, actions, efforts, talents, or accomplishments; may be positive or negative (salesperson, mother, felon, college student)

8. Table 15.1: Race/Ethnic Identification in the United States, 20108

9. Figure 15.1: Social Statuses9

10. STATUS SHIFTING Ascribed Status
Some statuses, particularly ascribed ones, can be mutually exclusive
Can’t be both male and female, both son and daughter, both white and black
Some statuses are contextual
Situational negotiation of social identity – adjusting one’s status/identity to different social contexts
i.e. Hispanic, Latino, and Mexican or Cuban
Labels for a person, depend on the perception by others of that person’s status, as well as that person’s own assertions of status
In many societies, ascribed status associated with position in the sociopolitical hierarchy (i.e. India and the caste system)
Minority groups have inferior power and less secure access to resources than majority groups
Minority groups are obvious features of stratification in the U.S.
Look at discrepancies in income with different ethnic groups

11. RACE AND ETHNICITY
Race: an ethnic group assumed to have biological basis; shared blood or genes
Racism: discrimination against an ethnic group that is assumed to have biological basis; based on physical features

12. RACE AND ETHNICITY Race
only cultural/social constructions of race are possible
not a biological reality or we would have scientific categories based on common genes
Socially constructed category that is arbitrary
Black, white, yellow, red, Caucasian, Negroid, Mongoloid, American Indian… – not biologically distinct species
AAA stresses that inequalities among racial groups are not consequences of biological inheritance, but are products of social, economic, educational, or political circumstances
U.S. culture does not draw very clear line between ethnicity and race
Americans often use “ethnicity” and “race” interchangeably
“Hispanic” - refers to one’s language and geography, rather than ethnicity
Better to use ethnic group than race

13. HYPODESCENT: RACE IN THE UNITED STATES
In U.S. culture, racial identity acquired at birth
Ascribed status
Is not based on biology or simple ancestry
50% from black mom and 50% from white dad – child automatically classified as black
Arbitrary classification operating under rule of descent
Rule of descent: assigns social identity on the basis of ancestry
Hypodescent: automatically places children of mixed marriages in the group of their minority parent; common in U.S.
Effects of Hypodescent:
Divides U.S. society into groups unequal in their access to wealth, power, and prestige
Population growth attributed more to minority categories
it is easier for Native Americans or Hispanics to negotiate identity than black identity, so blacks are more affected by the rule of hypodescent than others

14. Hypodescent: Race in the U.S.
Example: President Obama (Kenyan father, white American mother)
Example: Louisiana case of Susie Guillory Phillips
In some states, anyone known to have ANY black ancestor, can be classified as member of black race
Light skinned woman, Caucasian features, straight black hair
Raised white; as adult, found out she was part black from birth certificate
Challenged Louisiana 1/32 law, but lost
Rare case because race is usually ascribed at birth and does not change; hers was on her birth certificate but she was raised based on her physical features, not ancestry
Race is ARBITRARY category
Rule of Hypodescent affects Blacks, Asians, Native Americans, and Hispanics differently
it is easier to negotiate Native American, Asian, or Hispanic identity than Black identity
rule of ascription isn’t as strong nor is assumption of biological differences
Racism still exists!
Child of an ethnic group may not identify as a part of that ethnic group; child not raised as part of ethnic group may reclaim identity later in life

15. RACE IN THE CENSUS
U.S. Census Bureau gathering data by race since 1790
Rule of Hypodescent – results in population growth being attributed to minorities
1980 – 2010
Number of respondents tripled for people choosing “some other race”
Suggests an imprecision in and dissatisfaction with the existing categories
Interracial marriages and multiracial children are increasing
Children identify with more than one ethnicity
Troubling that important characteristic, like identity, is dictated by arbitrary rule of hypodescent

16. RACE IN THE CENSUS
Canadian census asks about “visible minorities” rather than race
“Persons, other than Aboriginal peoples (aka First Nations in Canada), who are non-Caucasian in race or nonwhite in color”
South Asian and Chinese are largest visible minority; not racial categories
Minorities represent a smaller percentage of the total population than in the U.S.
In both the U.S. and Canada, the visible minority population is increasing steadily due to migration and rapid population growth

17. Figure 15.2: Reproduction of Questions on Race and Hispanic Origin from Census 201017

18. NOT US: RACE IN JAPAN
Japan commonly viewed as homogeneous (same/similar in nature) in race, ethnicity, language, and culture
However, about 10% of population are minorities
Intrinsic racism: belief that perceived racial difference is sufficient reason to value one person less than another
Majority Japanese are seen as “pure” and believed to “share the same blood”
Similar to hypodescent but less precise
Children of mixed marriages may not get same “racial” label as minority parent, but are still stigmatized for non-Japanese ancestry

19. NOT US: RACE IN JAPAN
Most Japanese define themselves by their opposition to others—anyone not us
Not us should stay away
Assimilation discouraged: taboos on interracial marriage, residential segregation, work that keeps minorities in their place
Certain ethnic groups seen as having biological basis
Burakumin perceived as standing apart from the majority of Japanese – their blood makes them not us
Low status social class
Genetically and physically indistinguishable from the dominant population, but they are treated as a different race
Segregated neighborhoods
Treated poorly (by teachers, children…)
Like blacks in the U.S., Japan’s burakumin are stratified: class structured, with differences in wealth, prestige, and power

20. PHENOTYPE AND FLUIDITY: RACE IN BRAZIL
Brazil: racial identity is more flexible, more of an achieved status
Although Brazil has history of slavery like U.S., no hypodescent rule ever developed in Brazil to ensure that whites and blacks remained separate
Attuned to slight phenotypic (physical) differences; over 500 racial categories
Construction of race is more flexible; may change as a result of achieved status, developmental biological changes, and other factors
Phenotype and racial category may change due to environmental factors like tanning or effects of humidity on hair
Phenotype – an organism’s evident traits: physical biology, anatomy, skin color, hair form, facial features, eye color
Race may change due to manner of dress, language, location (rural versus urban), and even attitude (i.e. adopting urban behavior)

21. Phenotype and Fluidity: Race in Brazil
Multiplicity and overlapping of race labels allow one to be considered as of more than one race
In U.S., researcher is white
In Brazil, researcher may be white, light, blond, light skinned redhead, light mulatto, mulatto; informant called himself dark, black, dark brunet
Flexibility makes racial discrimination less likely; not blind to evident physical contrasts
Brazil’s system of racial classification is changing/becoming less fluid in the context of international identity politics, rights movements, and access to strategic resources
History:
U.S. colonists were men, women, and families; Brazil they were mainly men
Brazilian men married indigenous women; recognized mixed offspring as their heirs
Plantation owners often freed their children with slave mothers (not classed with slaves; not rule of hypodescent)

22. ETHNIC TOLERANCE AND ACCOMMODATION
Ethnic diversity may be associated with positive group interaction or with conflict

23. ASSIMILATION
Assimilation: when a minority adopts the patterns and norms of the host/dominant culture
Group moves to a place where another culture dominates
Incorporates the dominant culture to the point where it no longer exists as a separate cultural unit
May be forced or (seemingly) chosen
Example: Brazil
Many migrations in 19th century from Germany, Italy, Japan, Middle East, and Eastern Europe
Immigrants assimilated into Brazilian culture
During WWII, Brazil forced assimilation by banning instruction in any other language than Portugese, especially German
U.S. had forced assimilation policies toward Native Americans
Removal of children, Mission schools, languages forbidden, laws against ceremonies, dismantling of tribes, allotment of communal lands

24. THE PLURAL SOCIETY Plural society:
Assimilation isn’t inevitable and there can be ethnic harmony without it
Challenged idea that interaction always leads to assimilation
Society with economically interdependent ethnic groups
Ethnic groups do not assimilate but remain distinct in stable coexistence
Barth:
Studied three ethnic groups in Pakistan
Defines plural society as combining ethnic contrasts, ecological specialization (use of different environmental resources), and the economic interdependence of those groups
Ethnic boundaries are most stable and enduring when groups occupy different ecological niches
They make their living in different ways so they don’t compete; ideally, they depend on each other’s activities
Shifted focus from specific cultural practices and values to relationships between ethnic groups

25. MULTICULTURALISM AND ETHNIC IDENTITY
Multiculturalism: view of cultural diversity as valuable and worth maintaining in its own right
Opposite of assimilation model
Seeks ways for people to understand and interact with a respect for their differences and contributions (rather than sameness)
In U.S., many are bilingual, eat American and ethnic foods, celebrate both national and ethnic/religious holidays; ethnic neighborhoods and restaurants

26. Changing Demographics
Multiculturalism
Of growing importance in U.S. and Canada
Growing away from assimilationist model to multiculturalism
Due to large scale migration and rapid population growth
With increased migration, ethnic identity has become more important (i.e. used to form self-help or activist organizations)
Due to globalization, much of the world is experiencing an “ethnic revival”
Rather than “melting pot”, we are ethnic “salads”

27. Figure 15.4: Ethnic Composition of the United States27

28. ROOTS OF ETHNIC CONFLICT
Ethnicity can be experienced in peaceful multiculturalism or in discrimination or confrontation
Perception of cultural differences can have disastrous effects on social interaction
Prejudice and Discrimination:
Prejudice: the devaluing of a group because of its assumed behavior, values, capabilities, or attributes
Stereotypes: fixed ideas about what the members of a group are like
Prejudiced people assume members of the group will act as they are “supposed to act” and interpret a wide range of individual behaviors as evidence of this stereotype. They use this behavior to confirm their stereotype and low opinion of the group

29. ROOTS OF ETHNIC CONFLICT
Discrimination: policies and practices that harm a group and its members
De facto: practiced but not legally sanctioned
Police and racial profiling
De jure: part of the law
segregation

30. AFTERMATHS OF OPPRESSION
Fueling ethnic conflict are forms of discrimination such as genocide, ethnocide, forced assimilation, and cultural colonialism
Genocide: deliberate elimination of a group; Germany
Ethnocide: destruction of cultures of certain ethnic groups
Forced assimilation: dominant group forces an ethnic group to adopt the dominant culture; many countries have penalized or banned the language and customs of other ethnic groups
Example: anti-Basque campaign that was waged in Spain; banned Basque books, journals, newspapers, signs, sermons, tombstones, and language
Ethnic expulsion – aims at removing groups who are culturally different from a country
A policy of expulsion may create refugees – people who have been forced or have chosen to flee a country or left to escape persecution or war
Contributes to the formation of diasporas
Cultural Colonialism: internal domination by one group and its culture or ideology over others; dominant culture makes itself official culture

31. RECAP 15.1: Types of Ethnic Interaction31