1. CHAPTER 12: RACE AND ETHNICITY
SOCI 100: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
Fall 2012
Deniz Yükseker

2. CHAPTER OUTLINE What is ethnicity, what is race?
What is racialization?
What are prejudice and discrimination?
How does sociology explain prejudice and discrimination?

3. Ethnicity
Ethnicity: shared cultural heritage Cultural heritage may include language, religion, common historic background, common ancestry, common customs and traditions  distinct social identity of a group Ethnicity is NOT a biological category. It is related to culture.  One person can possibly belong to more than one ethnic group. Or, a person can somewhat modify her ethnicity over her life course.

4. the myth of racial superiority
What is race?
A group whose inherited physical characteristics distinguish it from other groups
The reality of race
Myths about race:
the myth of pure races
the myth of a fixed number of races
the myth of racial superiority

5. THE MYTH OF RACE
“Biological” differences between racial groups are superficial. All human beings belong to a single biological species: the human race Many genetic characteristics are shared by people belonging to different racial groups

6. THE MYTH OF RACE
READ: 7/19/skin-tone-and-the-arbitrariness-of- race/

7. THE REALITY OF RACE
If so, where does the term race come from, and why has it been so persistent? The term race came into use between the late 18th and mid-19th centuries. Its gaining predominance as a concept coincided with European expansion to Asia, Africa and the Americas.

8. THE REALITY OF RACE
Even though race is not a scientific category, race is still important in contemporary society. Racialization: the process of ranking people on the basis of their presumed race. Racialization creates a system of inequality and social exclusion Examples: US society during slavery and segregation, South African apartheid, Nazi Germany

9. How does racialization work
How does racialization work? Marriage rules, definition of races, inheritance rules, segregation in education, employment, housing, etc.

10. Racial and ethnic minorities
An ethnic or racial minority is a category of people distinguished by physical or cultural traits, and who are often socially disadvantaged.
They share a distinctive identity
they are likely to be subordinated by the mainstream society (e.g. less income, lower education, discrimination, etc.)

11. What are the officially recognized minorities in Turkey
What are the officially recognized minorities in Turkey? Are there other minorities?

12. Prejudice, discrimination, racism
Prejudice: a rigid and irrational generalization about an entire category of people, with little regard for the facts. Prejudice is an attitude. It can be positive or negative. There may be prejudices about ethnic and racial groups, people of a certain social class, people of certain sexual orientations, women, the elderly, etc.

13. Stereotypes
A stereotype is a prejudicial, exaggerated description of some category of people. Stereotypes are exaggerated images of a group of people fostered by hate and fear (towards out-groups), or love and loyalty (towards members of the in-group)

14. Discrimination
Any action that involves treating various categories of people unequally. Discrimination is about behavior. It can be positive or negative. Discrimination is often related to power relations. Institutional discrimination

15. Racism Racism is a powerful and destructive form of prejudice.
Racism is the belief that one racial category is superior or inferior to another one.
Institutional racism: collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate an professional service to people because of their culture, color or ethnic origin. It includes discrimination, prejudice and racist stereotyping.

16. THEORIES OF PREJUDICE
Scapegoat theory: prejudice stems from frustration A scapegoat: a person or category of people whom others unfairly blame for their own troubles. Note: in the textbook, disregard the authoritarian personality theory

17. theorIES of prejudICE
Functionalism: prejudice and discrimination might be «functional» for the rulers to «unite» a nation Prejudice against the «Other» might be functional for strengthening in-groups

18. theorIES of PReJUDICE
Conflict theory: Powerful groups (often ruling groups) in a society use prejudice to economically exploit an ethnic or racial group Why? How?