Race and Ethnicity Sociology Ch. 14. Definitions Race–A socially constructed category composed of...
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Transcript of Race and Ethnicity Sociology Ch. 14. Definitions Race–A socially constructed category composed of...
DefinitionsRace–A socially constructed
category composed of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important
Sociologists consider racial terms misleading at best and harmful at worst. No society contains biologically
“pure” people.
DefinitionsEthnicity–a shared cultural heritage
The United States is a multiethnic society Like race, ethnicity is socially constructed
Remember: Race is constructed from biological traits and ethnicity is constructed from cultural traits.
For most people, ethnicity is more complex than race.
MinorityAny 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 US outnumber men. Blacks in South Africa outnumber whites.
National Map 14.1 Where the Minority Majority Already ExistsBy 2004, minorities had become a majority in four states–Hawaii, California, New Mexico, and Texas–and the District of Columbia. At the other extreme, Vermont and Maine have the lowest share of racial and ethnic minorities (about 4% each). Why are states with high minority populations located in the South and Southwest?
PrejudicePrejudice–A rigid and unfair
generalization about an entire category of people.
Stereotype–An exaggerated description applied to every person in some category
Measuring PrejudiceThe Social Distance Scale1. Student opinion shows a trend
toward greater social acceptance.2. People see less difference
between various minorities.3. The terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, might have reduced social acceptance of Arabs and Muslims.
Figure 14.1 Bogardus Social Distance Research (Detail on next slide)The social distance scale is a good way to measure prejudice. Part (a) illustrates the complete social distance scale, from least social distance at the far left to greatest social distance at the far right. Part (b) shows the mean (average) social distance score received by each category of people in 2001. Part (c) presents the overall mean score (the average of the scores received by all racial and ethnic categories) in specific years. These scores have fallen from 2.14 in 1925 to 1.44 in 2001, showing that students express less social distance toward minorities today than they did in the past. Part (d) shows the range of averages, the difference between the highest and lowest scores in given years (in 2001, for instance, it was 0.87, the difference between the high score of 1.94 for Arabs and the low score of 1.07 for Americans). This figure has also become smaller since 1925, indicating that today’s students tend to see fewer differences between various categories of people. Source: Parrillo & Donoghue (2005).
RacismThe belief that one racial category is innately superior or inferior to another
• Racism has been widespread throughout US history where ideas about racial inferiority supported slavery.
• Overt racism in the US has decreased, but remains a serious social problem.
Theories of Prejudice Scapegoat theory
Disadvantaged people who unfairly blame minorities for their own problems
Authoritarian personality theory
Rigid moralists who see things in “black & white”
Culture theory Everyone has some prejudice because it’s
embedded in culture.
Theories of PrejudiceConflict theory
Self-justification for the rich and powerful in the United States
Minorities might cultivate climate of race consciousness in order to win greater power and privileges.
DiscriminationUnequal treatment of various categories of people
Institutional prejudice and discrimination–Bias built into the operation of society’s institutions
Carmichael and Hamilton: People are slow to condemn or even recognize institutional prejudice and discrimination because it often involves respected public officials and long-established practices.
The Vicious Circle1. Prejudice and discrimination
begin as ethnocentric attitudes.2. As a result, groups can be placed
in a situation where they are socially disadvantaged and labeled.
3. 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
Figure 14.2 Prejudice and Discrimination: The Vicious CirclePrejudice and discrimination can form a vicious circle, perpetuating themselves.
Patterns of Interaction Pluralism–A state in which people of
all races and ethnicities are distinct but have equal social standing
Assimilation–The process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominant culture
Miscegenation–Biological reproduction by partners of different racial categories
Patterns of InteractionSegregation–The physical and
social separation of categories of people
Genocide–The systematic killing of one category of people by another
National Map 14.2 Land Controlled by Native Americans, 1790 to TodayIn 1790, Native Americans controlled three-fourths of the land (blue-shaded areas) that eventually became the United States. Today, Native Americans control 314 reservations, scattered across the United States, that account for just 2% of the country’s land area. How would you characterize these locations?
Race and Ethnicity in the US Native Americans White Anglo-Saxon Protestants African Americans Asian Americans
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipinos Hispanic Americans
Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans
Arab Americans White Ethnic Americans
National Map 14.3 The Concentration of Hispanics or Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Arab Americans, by County, 2000In 2000, people of Hispanic or Latino descent represented 12.5 % of the US population, compared with 12.3% African Americans, 3.6% Asian Americans, and 0.4% Arab Americans. These maps show the geographic distribution of these categories of people in 2000. Comparing them, we see that the southern half of the US is home to far more minorities than the northern half. But do they all concentrate in the same areas? What patterns do the maps reveal?
Race and Ethnicity:Looking Ahead The US will remain a land of
immigrants. Most immigrants arrived in a wave that
peaked about 1910. Another wave of immigration began
after World War II and swelled as the government relaxed immigration laws in the 1960s.
Today, about 1.5 million people come to the United States each year