Sociology Chapter 10 PDF

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Race and Ethnicity A. Ethnicity 1. Ethnic group - social category of people who share a common culture, a common language or dialect, a common nationality, common religion and common norms, practices, customs, and history 2. Ethnic identity - definition the group has of itself as sharing a common cultural bond, arises from unique social and historical experiences a) Ethnic unity comes voluntarily or it is involuntarily imposed B. Defining Race 1. Race - group treated as distinct in society based on certain characteristics, some of which are biological, that have been assigned of attributed social importance a) It is not biological characteristics that define racial groups, but how groups have been treated and labeled historically and socially 2. How groups are defined racially is a social process 3. Social categories used to divide group into races are not fixed, and vary from society to society and at different times in the history of society a) One drop rule 4. Racialization - process whereby some social category, such as social class or nationality, takes on what society perceives to be racial characteristics a) Mixed race defy biological categories that are typically used to define race 5. Significance of Defining Race a) Biological differences are somewhat arbitrary b) Different groups use different criteria to define racial groups c) Also matters who defines racial groups; government, society, group itself d) Race is maintained by the most powerful group in society e) Racial formation - process by which a group comes to be defined as a race f) Out-group homogeneity effect - all members of any out group are perceived to be similar or even identical to each other, and differences among them are perceived to be minor of nonexistent C. Minority and Dominant Groups 1. Minority group - distinct group in society that shares common group characteristics and is forced to occupy low status in society because of prejudice and discrimination a) Possesses characteristics that are popularly regarded as different from those of the dominant group b) Suffers from prejudice or discrimination by the dominant group c) Membership in the group is frequently ascribed rather than achieved, although either form of status can be the basis for being identified as a minority d) Members of a minority groups feel a strong sense of group solidarity. There is a “conscience of kind” or “we” feeling. this bond grows from common cultural heritage and the shared experience of being a recipient of prejudice and discrimination 2. Dominant group - group that assigns a racial or ethnic group to subordinate status in society II. Racial Stereotypes A. Stereotypes and Salience 1. Stereotype - oversimplified set of beliefs about members of a social group or social stratum a) Racial-ethnic stereotypes b) No group in US history has escaped process of categorization and stereotyping

2. Salience principle - states that we categorize people on the basis of what appears initially prominent and obvious about them B. The Interplay among Race, Gender, and Class Stereotypes 1. Gender stereotypes - based on gender a) More likely to be negative about women than men b) Many are cultural stereotypes (conveyed and supported by cultural media and family) 2. Social class stereotypes - based on assumptions about social class status a) These stereotypes are used as presumed explanations of why those perceived are “lower” in their social class 3. Stereotype interchangeability - stereotypes, especially negative ones, are interchangeable from one social class to another, racial or ethnic group to another, or from a social class to a gender III. Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism A. Prejudice 1. Evaluation of a social group and the individuals within it, based on conceptions about the social group that are held despite facts that disprove them, beliefs involve both prejudgement and misjudgment 2. Negative judgement against someone not in one’s own group is often accompanied by a positive prejudice in favor of someone who is in one’s own group 3. Prejudice based on race or ethnicity is called racial or ethnic prejudice 4. Ethnocentrism - belief that one’s own group is superior to all other groups 5. Prejudice and Socialization a) The more ethnically or racially prejudiced the parent, the more ethnically or racially prejudice the child will be b) Media also plays large role B. Discrimination 1. Overt negative and unequal treatment of members of some social group or stratum solely because of their membership in that group or stratum a) Racial-ethnic discrimination - unequal treatment of a person based on race or ethnicity 2. Residential segregation - spatial separation of racial and ethnic groups into different residential areas 3. Digital racial divide - different percentages of access to the internet based on race C. Racism 1. Perception and treatment of a racial or ethnic group, or member of a group, as intellectually, socially, and culturally inferior to one’s own group 2. Old-fashioned racism - obvious, overt racism such as physical assaults 3. Aversive racism - avoiding interaction in a subtle, covert, non-obvious way 4. Laissez-faire racism a) Subtle but persistent negative stereotyping of minorities, especially in the media b) Tendency to blame blacks themselves for the gap between blacks and whites in socioeconomic standing, occupational achievement, and educational achievement c) Clear resistance to meaningful policy efforts designed to ameliorate oppressive social conditions and practices in the US 5. Color-blind racism - individual effected by this type of racism prefers to ignore legitimate racial-ethnic, cultural, and other differences and insists that the race problem in the US will go away only if race is ignored all together

a) White privilege - whites define themselves as politically and racially tolerant as they proclaim adherence to a belief system that does not see or judge individuals by the color of their skin 6. Institutional racism - negative treatment and oppression of one racial or ethnic group by society’s existing institutions based on presumed inferiority of the oppressed group a) Racial profiling b) Racism is a characteristic of the institutions and not necessarily the individuals within the institutions , this is why it can exist without prejudice being the cause IV. Theories of Prejudice and Racism A. Psychological Theories of Prejudice 1. Scapegoat theory - members of the dominant group in the US have harbored various frustrations in their desire to achieve social and economic status, they vent their anger in the form of aggression directed towards some substitutes, often members of minority groups 2. Authoritarian personality - tendency to rigidly categorize other people, as well as inclinations to submit to authority, strictly conform, be very tolerant of ambiguity, and inclined to superstition, they are more likely to stereotype based on convenient and oversimplified versions B. Sociological Theories of Prejudice and Racism 1. Functionalist theory a) Believes minorities must assimilate into society b) Assimilation - process by which a minority becomes socially, economically, and culturally absorbed within the dominant society c) Pluralism - maintenance and persistence of one’s culture, language, mannerisms, etc… d) The Racial Order has social stability when diverse racial and ethnic groups are assimilated into society e) Minority groups are assimilated into dominant culture as they adopt cultural practices and beliefs of the dominant group f) Social change is a slow and gradual process as groups adapt to the social system 2. Symbolic interaction theory a) The racial order is based on social construction that assigns groups of people to diverse racial and ethnic categories b) Minority groups form identity as the result of sociohistorical change c) Social change is dependent on the different forms of social interaction that characterize intergroup relations d) Interaction and contact between groups will reduce prejudice if 3 conditions are met (1) Contact must be between individuals of equal status, must interact on equal ground (2) Contact between equals must be sustained; short-term contact will do nothing (3) Social norms favoring equality must be agreed upon by the participants 3. Conflict theory a) The Racial order is intricately intertwined with class stratification of racial and ethnic groups b) Minority groups have late chances that result form the opportunities formed by the intersection of class, race and gender

c) Social change is the result of organized social movements and other forms of resistance to oppression d) Argue that class inequality must be reduced to lessen racial and ethnic conflict e) Intersection perspective - both class and race have separate effects as well as combined effects of racism, classism, and sexism in the oppression of people V. Diverse Groups, Diverse Histories A. Native Americans B. African Americans 1. Slavery evolved as form of caste system C. Latinos 1. Mexican Americans 2. Puerto Ricans 3. Cubans D. Asian Americans 1. Chinese 2. Japanese 3. Koreans 4. Vietnamese E. Middle Easterners F. White Ethnic Groups 1. Anti-semitism - hatred of jewish people VI. Attaining Racial and Ethnic Equality A. The White Immigrants Made It: Why Can’t They? 1. Assimilationists believe that to overcome adversity and oppression, minorities need only to assimilate to the dominant culture as much as possible a) Fails to consider the time certain groups take to assimilate b) Histories of different groups are very different and have lasting consequences c) White entered America when the economy was growing rapidly and labor was in high demand d) Assimilation is more difficult for people of color because skin color is a salient characteristic B. Segregation and the Urban Underclass 1. Segregation - spatial and social separation of racial and ethnic groups 2. Urban underclass - live at bottom of socioeconomic ladder in urban areas 3. Hypersegregation - extreme pattern of segregation 4. Matrix of domination - no single factors determines one location in society C. The Civil Rights Movement D. A Radical Response: Black Power...