1. The Social Meaning of Race & Ethnicity

2. Race
Race – a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of society consider important
Such As?
Skin Color
Hair Texture
Facial Features
Body Shape

3. Race Varies across time and place.
We consider racial differences more important than other societies do.
In the US we tend to “see” just 3 racial categories: white, black, and Asian. Other cultures are different (ex: Brazil).
The Social Construction of Race: The US Census & Others
Defined differently by different people within a society.
Ex: Colorism Among African-Americans

4. Brazil Example

5. Racial Types
Invented by scientists over 100 years ago to organize the world’s physical diversity.
Initial categories were Caucasoid, Negroid, and Mongoloid.
Misleading at best and harmful at worst.

6. Racial Hierarchy
Knowing people’s race allows us to predict almost nothing about them, but societies still consider race very important. Why?
Categories allow societies to rank people in a hierarchy.
So it is all about stratification and the justification for stratification!
Gives some people more money, power, and prestige than others and allowing some people to feel that they are naturally “better” than others.

7. Racial Hierarchy of Nazi Germany

8. Ethnicity
Ethnicity – a shared cultural heritage, which typically involves common ancestors, language, and religion
Give people a unique social identity.
Also socially constructed, only becoming important when society defines it that way.
Race (biological) & ethnicity (cultural) do go hand-in-hand sometimes.
US Society  Hundreds of Ethnicities
Is “American” an ethnicity?

9. Minorities
Minorities – any category of people, identified by physical or cultural traits, that a society subjects to disadvantage
Identity
Minorities share a distinctive identity .
Ability to blend in depends on the desire to hold on to traditions and the willingness of others to accept.
Power
Minorities are disadvantaged, receiving less schooling and lower-paying jobs.
Not everyone in any minority category is disadvantaged.
Fewer Numbers? Not as important anymore!
Over 25% of the US population are a R or E minority.
Majority minority in over ½ the 100 largest US cities and in 4 US states (Map on Next Slide).

10. Interracial Relationships
Racial and ethnic categories are becoming increasingly diluted due to the increase in interracial relationships and child-bearing.
Young people are more supportive of interracial relationships than older people.
Trends in Interracial Relationships

11. WEB DuBois Early major theorist and advocate in the realm of race.
The Color Line
Cultural structure, internalized attitudes, separation
Saw this as the most important issue of the 20th Century

12. WEB DuBois The Souls of Black Folk Key Concepts: The Veil:
Metaphor for barriers of race
You are either within or outside the veil
Double consciousness
Living in two worlds- the black world and the white world
Simultaneously outsiders and insiders (outsiders within)

13. U.S. is increasingly diverse, and this trend
is projected to continue for decades

14. Racial, Ethnic Wealth Gaps Have Grown Since Great Recession

15. College enrollment

16. Racial and Ethnic Categories in the United States, 2006 Source: U. S
Racial and Ethnic Categories in the United States, 2006 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007

20. National Map Where the Minority Majority Already Exists

21. Prejudice & Stereotypes

22. Prejudice
Prejudice – any rigid and unfounded generalization about an entire category of people
Prejudgement developed before interaction.
Difficult to change.
Positive vs. Negative
Involve social class, gender, religion, age, political orientation, and sexual orientation.
Most are based on race and/or ethnicity.
Exs: Black people are lazy. Asians are smart.
Stereotypes – an exaggerated description applied to every person in some category
Rigid beliefs that are often at odds with reality.
Typically negative, but not always.
Ex: All black men are criminals.
Stuff White People Like
There are ethnic stereotypes as well.

23. Measuring Prejudice Measuring Prejudice: The Social Distance Scale
Bogardus (1925) – developed the social distance scale to measure prejudice among students at US colleges
Asked students how closely they were willing to interact with people in 30 racial and ethnic categories.
7 Point Scale
Marriage  Barred from the Country
On Next Slide

24. Bogardus Social Distance Research

25. Measuring Prejudice: Results
Bogardus’ Results (1925):
Found that people feel much more distance from some categories of people than from others.
Most prejudiced against Latinos, African Americans, Asians, and Turks.
Most accepting of the English, Scots, and Canadians.
Parillo & Donoghue’s Results (2005):
More accepting of all minorities.
See less difference between the various minorities.
Increased prejudice against Arabs and Muslims.
Another Modern Study

26. Racism
Racism – the belief that one racial category is innately superior or inferior to another
Why is racism so widespread?
Because the claim that people are biologically inferior can be used to justify making them socially inferior.
Past: Colonization & Slavery
Present: Hate Groups
Institutional Racism – racism at work in the operation of social institutions, including the economy, schools, hospitals, the military, and the criminal justice system
Prejudice is institutional when attitudes are part of the society’s culture so that there’s a widespread pattern.
Ex: The belief inherent in the CJS that minorities are more likely to commit crimes.

27. Discrimination

28. Discrimination
What’s the difference between prejudice and discrimination?
Discrimination – the unequal treatment of various categories of people
Prejudice = Attitudes / Discrimination = Actions
Can be positive (+) or negative (--).
Ruling out an entire category of people is wrongful discrimination and it is illegal.
Ex: Only interviewing applicants that have “Asian-sounding” names for a job opening.
Race & Crime
Institutional Discrimination – discrimination that is built into the operation of social institutions, including the economy, schools, and the legal system
Ex: The widespread practice among police of pulling people over for DWB, “driving while black.”
Ex: News Coverage of Crime Victims

29. Vicious Cycle Prejudice & Discrimination: A Vicious Circle
Thomas Theorem at work!
Prejudice and discrimination reinforce each other.
Police Example

30. Consequences of P&D What are they? Class Standing Health Outcomes
Wealth
Wealth Gap
Types of Jobs Available
Joblessness
The link between race & class is so strong that the two are often conflated (become fused).
Health Outcomes
Childhood Asthma
Infant Mortality
Birth Rate

31. Consequences of P&D Beliefs About Self Tokenism Commodification
Racism in Toyland
Tokenism
Doctoring Diversity
Black Top Chefs
Commodification
Orientalism
Objectification of the Native via Tourism
Fetishization
Fethishization of the Black Body
Exclusion from Media & Public Life
Cast of Glee on Cover of Rolling Stone
Left Out of Politics

32. Patterns of Majority-Minority Interaction

33. Patterns of Majority-Minority Interaction
1. Genocide – the systematic killing of one category of people by another
1500s+: Colonization
1930s & 1940s: Nazis in Germany & Stalin in Russia
Late 1970s: Cambodia
Present: Hutus massacre of the Tutsis in Rwanda; Serbs murders of the Croats in E. Europe; Darfur in Sudan
2. Segregation – the physical and social separation of categories of people
Sometimes minorities self-segregate, but usually the majority segregates minorities by forcing them to the margins of society.
De Jure (by law) vs. De Facto (in fact) Segregation
Challenging segregation is difficult due to ↓ power.

34. Patterns of Majority-Minority Interaction
3. Assimilation – the process by which minorities gradually adopt cultural patterns from the dominant majority population
Melting Pot – minorities adopt the cultural patterns of the dominant majority
Ex: English as the Official Language
Varies by region.
4. Pluralism – a state in which people of all racial and ethnic categories have about the same overall social standing
Salad Bowl – cultural patterns co-exist
No minority category is subject to disadvantage.
US: All people have equal standing under the law, but tolerance for diversity is limited.
Which best represents modern US society?
We are arguably somewhere between assimilation and pluralism, but leaning more toward assimilation.

35. Race & Ethnicity in the U.S.

39. The Social Standing of US Minorities
Native Americans
Hundreds of distinct societies.
1400s: Conflict began with European explorers.
Referred to as “bringing civilization” to the New World.
Seen as the destruction of their civilizations.
Originally viewed as independent nations, but eventually squelched through military power.
1871: Declared wards of the federal government.
Goal: Assimilation – Christianity, Reservations, English
1924: Gained full citizenship.
Low social standing likely due to cultural factors as well as P&D due to their darker skin (Albon 1971).
Table 11-2, p. 318 – Continuing Disadvantage

40. The Social Standing of US Minorities
WASPs
Dominated the nation after European settlement began.
12% of our modern society, mostly from England as well as Scotland and Wales..
Found at all class levels.
Experienced less P&D than other immigrants because of their work ethic (due to Protestantism – Weber!).
Never a united group – much in-group hostility.
WASP wealth & power peaked in the 1950, but their legacy remains.
English is the dominant language.
Protestantism is the dominant religion.
Legal system has English roots.
Privileged referent – everyone else is a race or ethnicity.

41. The Social Standing of US Minorities
African Americans
1619: Beginning of slavery.
1661: First slave law in Virginia.
1776: Slavery was legal in every state.
1808: Slave trade declared illegal after over 500k arrived.
1863: Emancipation Proclamation
1868: Citizenship granted to all people.
1940s-60s: Ending legal segregation.
Sidestepped the D of I by claiming A-As weren’t people.
Despite major progress, currently A-As face continued P&D and it is reflected in their lower social standing.
Table 11-3, p. 320 – Continuing Disadvantage
Note: There are NON-African blacks in the US!

42. The Social Standing of US Minorities
Asian Americans
Over 4% of the US Population and 33% of All Immigrants
Very diverse group from a variety of different Asian countries.
Suffered immense P&D in the mid-20th century.
1882: Chinese Exclusion Act – ended the flow of new immigrants from China (followed by similar provisions for other Asian immigrants) 1920: Some states banned interracial marriage.
WW2: Executive Order 9066 – forced the relocation of all Japanese-Americans to military camps
1988: Symbolic compensation of $20k given to all surviving inmates.
Often described as the model minority due to emphasis on education.
Many have assimilated, particularly those of high SES.
But many also remain segregated.
But anti-Asian prejudice remains strong.
Table 11-4, p. 322 – Less Disadvantage than Other Minorities

43. The Social Standing of US Minorities
Hispanic Americans/Latinos
2006: 44M Hispanics, 14.8% of the US Population
There are many Latino cultures.
Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans – all came for different reasons
Typically economically motivated.
Map 11-3, p. 324 – Southwest Concentration
Table 11-5, p. 325 – Below Average Social Standing

44. The Social Standing of US Minorities
Arab Americans
1.2M Arab Americans, 1% of the US Population
Increasing in size.
Arab cultures are also diverse.
“Arab” is an ethnic category, while “Muslim” refers to a follower of Islam.
Most Arabs are Muslim; Most Muslims are NOT Arabs.
Diverse in terms of social class.
Table 11-6, p. 327 – High Poverty Rate
Rising hostility toward Arab-Americans since 9/11.
Arabs often downplay their ethnicity to avoid P&D.

45. The Social Standing of US Minorities
White Ethnic Americans
Non-WASPs with ancestors from Ireland, Poland, Germany, Italy, or other European countries.
White Ethnics – recognizes the ethnic heritage and social disadvantages of many white people
Over 50% of the US population.
Due to high rates of immigration from Europe in the 19th c.
Have historically experienced P&D.
Some formed supportive residential enclaves.
Gained a foothold in specific trades.
Diverse in terms of their social standing.
Ethnic heritage is often a source of pride now.

46. Theoretical Analysis

47. Theories of P&D
Authoritarian Personality Theory (Adorno 1950) - prejudice is strong in people with an authoritarian personality
Feel a lot of hostility and conform to conventional norms.
See the world as right vs. wrong and us vs. them.
Can be caused by cold and demanding parents and limited schooling, leading to little tolerance for others.
Scapegoat Theory – prejudice develops among people who are frustrated at their lack of control over their lives and blame someone safe rather than the real cause
Cultural Theory – prejudice is built into our culture
Conflict Theory – prejudice is used as a tool by powerful people to justify privileges for themselves and to oppress others
Which do you most agree with? Why?

48. Theoretical Analysis S-F Analysis: The Importance of Culture
Different cultural orientations can lead to unequal social standing.
Culture of Poverty
Lewis (1966) – “Fatalism”
Poor  Low Self-Esteem  Sense of Hopelessness  Don’t Take Advantage of Opportunities
Fordham & Ogbu (1992) - Oppositional Culture
Discourages achievement by labeling it as “acting white.”
Critical Review
Culture is central and important.
Blames the victim.
If disadvantaged people lack optimism and confidence, it is more the result than the cause of low social standing.

49. Theoretical Analysis S-I Analysis: The Personal Meaning of Race
WEB DuBois (late 19th c.) – every time black and white people meet, race hangs in the air, defining each in the eyes of the other
A-As live with a “double consciousness,” a sense of always looking at oneself through the eyes of others.
Avatar & “The Veil”
US society makes whites the standard by which all people are measured.
Race is a master status, a trait that defines and devalues.
Critical Review
Race and ethnicity are a key building block of the reality we experience in everyday life.
Race involves more than personal understandings.
Important Structure
Dimension of Social Stratification

50. Theoretical Analysis S-C Analysis: The Structure of Inequality
The unequal standing of minorities reflects the organization of society itself.
Class, race, and ethnicity operate together as important dimensions of social inequality.
Importance of Class (Marx)
Roots of social inequality lie in economy.
Criticized capitalism for concentrating wealth in the hands of a small elite.
Capitalists play up racial and ethnic differences to keep the working class divided.
Critical Review
Downplays what people have in common.
Removes people’s responsibility for their own lives.
Ignores the significant strides we have made in dealing with social diversity.

51. Discussion Questions What is the difference between race & ethnicity?
Why do we consider ethnicity, and particularly race, such a defining characteristic?
What are some ways in which race & ethnicity are (or have been) socially constructed?
Why should we study the sociology of race?
What can we do to fight prejudice & discrimination?
What are the various theoretical views of race?

52. Conclusion Race and ethnicity are socially constructed!
Primarily as a tool to justify stratification.
Categorizing people based on race and ethnicity is frowned upon in our society.
But R&E inequality persist & minorities experience P&D.
Exists in the actions of individuals.
And in the operation of society itself.
Sociologists have tried to explain racial and ethnic stratification in a variety of ways.
Racial and ethnic inequality will remain an important issue for years to come, particularly as immigration to the US continues.
Any questions?

53. Social Construction Wrap-Up
Ultimately many factors about individuals are socially constructed:
Sex
Gender
Race
Ethnicity