1. Society, Seventh Edition
Race and Ethnicity
Society, Seventh Edition

2. Society, Seventh Edition
Definitions
Race – a socially constructed category composed of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important
Racial types
Caucasian: light skin, fine hair
Negroid: darker skin, coarse hair
Mongoloid: brown skin, distinctive eyes
Ethnicity – a shared cultural heritage
Common ancestors
Common language
Common religion
Society, Seventh Edition

3. Society, Seventh Edition
Minority Group
Any category of people, distinguished by physical or cultural difference, that a society sets apart and subordinates
General characteristics
Distinct identity”
Race, sex, sexual orientation, the poor
Subordination
Often saddled with lower status
Stereotypes, stigma, and labeling
Group size not always a factor
Women in America outnumber men
Blacks in South Africa outnumber whites
Society, Seventh Edition

4. National Map 11-1 (p. 275) Where the Minority-Majority Already Exists
Society, Seventh Edition

5. Society, Seventh Edition
Prejudice
Prejudice – rigid and irrational generalization about an entire category of people
Stereotyping – an exaggerated description of an entire category of people
Racism – the belief that one racial category is innately superior or inferior to another
Institutional prejudice & discrimination – bias inherent in the operation of society’s institutions
Society, Seventh Edition

6. Society, Seventh Edition
Theories Of Prejudice
Scapegoat theory
Disadvantaged people who unfairly blame minorities for their own problems
Authoritarian personality theory
Ridged moralists with little education who see things in “black & white”
Culture theory
Everyone has some prejudice because it is embedded in culture
Conflict theory
Self-justification for the rich and powerful in America
Minorities may cultivate climate of race consciousness in order to win greater power and privileges
Society, Seventh Edition

7. Society, Seventh Edition
Discrimination
Treating various categories of people unequally
Can occur with prejudice
Robert K. Merton’s 4 combinations
Active Bigot – prejudiced, discriminator
Timid Bigot – prejudiced, non-discriminator
Fair-weather liberal – non-prejudiced, discriminator
All-weather liberal – non-prejudiced, non-discriminator
Society, Seventh Edition

8. Society, Seventh Edition
The Vicious Cycle
Prejudice and discrimination begin as ethnocentric attitudes
As a result, groups can be placed in a situation where they are socially disadvantaged and labeled
A group’s situation, over time, is thus explained as a result of innate inferiority rather than looking at the social structure of reasons; The cycle then repeats itself
Society, Seventh Edition

9. Figure 11-1 (p. 280) Prejudice and Discrimination: The Vicious Circle
Society, Seventh Edition

10. Patterns of Interaction
Pluralism – a state in which racial and ethnic minorities ate distinct but have social parity
Assimilation – the process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominant category
Miscegenation – biological reproduction by partners of different racial categories
Segregation – the physical and social separation of categories of people
De jure and de facto segregation
Genocide –the systematic killing of one category of people by another
Society, Seventh Edition

11. Racial & Ethnicity in the U.S.
Native Americans
White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP’s)
African Americans
Asian Americans
Chinese
Japanese
Korean
Filipinos
Hispanic Americans
Mexican
Puerto Ricans
Cuban Americans
White Ethnic Americans
Society, Seventh Edition

12. Society, Seventh Edition
How To Improve
Enhance educational process
Multicultural education
Learn to appreciate diversity
Increase meaningful social contact
Desire to change
Honest, self-critique of lifestyle
Plan for increasing social contact
Society, Seventh Edition