Social Problem Macionis 4th edition PDF

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Summary of J. Macionis book about Social Problems (4th edition). A general notes about few chapters. Chapter 3...

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CHAPTER 3 Race and Ethnicity • RACE is a socially constructed category based on physical traits that members of a society define as important. • ETHNICITY is a shared cultural heritage. • Both race and ethnicity are important dimensions of inequality in the United States. MINORITIES are categories of people that • share a distinctive identity (which may be racial or ethnic) • suffer disadvantages (such as poor schooling and low-paying jobs) The great racial and ethnic diversity of the United States is a product of IMMIGRATION from other countries. • The “Great Immigration” (1865–1914) brought 25 million people in search of economic opportunity. • Nativists, fearing that high immigration would endanger this country’s mostly English culture, pressured for a quota system, which Congress enacted in the 1920s. • Congress ended the quota system in 1965, resulting in another large wave of immigration. • Today, the issue of illegal immigration is a hotly debated topic. race (p. 56) a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that a society defines as important ethnicity (p. 58) a shared cultural heritage, which typically involves common ancestors, language, and religion minority (p. 59) any category of people, identified by physical or cultural traits, that a society subjects to disadvantages Patterns of majority-minority interaction GENOCIDE is the deliberate killing of a category of people. European colonization of the Americas resulted in the deaths of thousands of native people. pp. 60–61

SEGREGATION is the physical and social separation of some category of a population. De jure racial segregation existed in the U.S. until the 1960s. De facto segregation continues today. pp. 61–62 ASSIMILATION is a process (a “melting pot”) by which minorities adopt styles of dress, the language, cultural values, and even the religion of the dominant majority. p. 63 PLURALISM is a state in which racial and ethnic categories, though distinct, have equal social standing. In the U.S., all people have equal standing by law; however, social tolerance for diversity is limited. p. 63 The social standing of us minorities Native Americans suffered greatly at the hands of Europeans over the course of five hundred years. Even today, Native Americans have relatively low social standing. pp. 63–64 African Americans came to the United States as cargo transported by slave traders. Despite substantial gains, African Americans are still, on average, disadvantaged. pp. 65–66

Asian Americans have lived in the United States for more than a century. Although their social standing is average or above average today, they still suffer from prejudice and discrimination. pp. 66–67 Hispanic Americans or Latinos are a diverse people sharing a cultural heritage. Some categories, such as Puerto Ricans, have low social standing; others, such as Cuban Americans, are better off. pp. 68–69 Arab Americans have ancestors in various nations. Like other categories of minorities, they are subject to both prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice PREJUDICE consists of rigid prejudgments about some category of people. • A STEREOTYPE is an exaggerated and unfair description. • The study of prejudice using the social distance scale shows a trend toward greater tolerance on the part of U.S. college students. • RACISM is the assertion that people of one race are innately superior to people of another. Racism has been used throughout human history to justify the social inferiority of some category of people. • Researchers have linked prejudice to individual traits (authoritarian personality theory) and to social structure (scapegoat theory) and patterns of belief (culture theory). pp. 70–75 prejudice (p. 70) any rigid and unfounded generalization about an entire category of people stereotype (p. 72) an exaggerated description applied to every person in some category racism (p. 72) the assertion that people of one race are less worthy than or even biologically inferior to others institutional racism (p. 73) racism at work in the operation of social institutions, including the economy, schools, hospitals, the military, and the criminal justice system multiculturalism (p. 74) educational programs designed to recognize cultural diversity in the United States and to promote respect for all cultural traditions Eurocentrism (p. 75) the practice of using European (particularly English) cultural standards to judge everyone

Discrimination DISCRIMINATION consists of actions that treat various categories of a population differently. • Example: An employer refuses to consider job applications from people with Arabicsounding names. the unequal treatment of various categories of people • INSTITUTIONAL DISCRIMINATION is bias built into the operation of the economy, legal system, or other social institution. • Example: U.S. law prior to 1954 required black and white children to attend separate schools. discrimination that is built into the operation of social institutions, including the economy, schools, and the legal system Prejudice is a matter of attitudes; discrimination is a matter of actions. (p. 75) Prejudice and discrimination reinforce each other and form a vicious circle that harms minorities. (p. 76) AFFIRMATIVE ACTION policies allow employers and universities to consider factors such as race in hiring and admissions decisions.

• Liberals favor affirmative action in order to increase minority representation in settings from which minorities have been excluded in the past, but conservatives criticize such policies as reverse discrimination. policies intended to improve the social standing of minorities subject to past prejudice and discrimination Theoretical Analysis: Understanding Racial and Ethnic Inequality

a.

Structural-Functional Analysis: The Importance of Culture: The STRUCTURALFUNCTIONAL APPROACH explains racial and ethnic inequality in terms of cultural values. • The ”culture of poverty” theory developed by Oscar Lewis claims that minorities develop a fatalistic cultural outlook that leads to a sense of hopelessness and low self-esteem

b. Symbolic-Interaction Analysis: The Personal Meaning of Race: The SYMBOLIC-INTERACTION APPROACH highlights how race often operates as a master status in everyday interaction. • W. E. B. DuBois claimed that U.S. society makes whites the standard by which others should be measured and in so doing devalues any person of color

c. Social-Conflict Analysis: The Structure of Inequality: The SOCIAL-CONFLICT APPROACH highlights how racial and ethnic inequality is built into the structure of society. • Marxist theory argues that elites encourage racial and ethnic divisions as a strategy to weaken the working class. • More recently, multicultural theory notes ways in which much U.S. culture is biased against minorities. Politics, Race, and Ethnicity: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions

a.

The Radical Left: Fundamental Changes Are Needed :

• RADICALS ON THE LEFT claim that capitalism is the root cause of racial and ethnic inequality. • Radicals on the left call for basic change to all U.S. social institutions, including the capitalist economic system and the political system, so that they operate in the interests of all categories of people.

b. Liberals: Society and Government Matter: • LIBERALS point to social structure, including institutional prejudice and discrimination, as the cause of racial and ethnic inequality.

• Liberals endorse government reforms to promote equality, including enforcement of antidiscrimination laws and affirmative action

c. Conservatives: Culture and Effort Matter: • CONSERVATIVES point to cultural patterns, such as the importance given to education, as a cause of racial and ethnic inequality. • Conservatives claim that individuals should be responsible for their social standing; they oppose government policies that treat categories of people differently....