Think Like a Sociologist Chapter Three PDF

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Think Like a Sociologist- Chapter Three

1. How do Sociologists define race and ethnicity according to the video? Sociologists use the concept of race to describe how people think of and treat groups of people, as people very commonly classify each other according to race (for example, as black or as Asian). Most sociologists believe that race is not real in the sense that there are no distinctive genetic or physical characteristics that truly distinguish one group of people from another; instead, different groups share overlapping characteristics. The belief that there are different races can lead to racism, which potentially leads to inequality among different groups of people. 2. What are Sociologists much more interested in when it comes to race & ethnicity than just the biology of it? Sociologists define race as a concept that is used to signify different types of human bodies. While there is no biological basis for racial classification, sociologists recognize a long history of attempts to organize groups of people based on similar skin color and physical appearance. The absence of any biological foundation makes race challenging to define and classify, and as such, sociologists view racial categories and the significance of race in society as unstable, always shifting, and intimately connected to other social forces and structures. 3. How do societies differ in how they determine race & ethnicity? In the beginning, societies tended to equate physical characteristics, such as hair and eye color, with psychological and moral qualities, usually assigning the highest qualities to their own people and lower qualities to the "other", either lower classes or outsiders to their society. As many thinkers throughout early history did, that factors such as geography and climate played a significant role in the physical appearance of different peoples. Today, these early thoughts are still quite prominent; however, now race is now known as a social construct as ethnicity is based on characteristics. 4. Is race a social concept? More than 100 years ago, American sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois was concerned that race was being used as a biological explanation for what he understood to be social and cultural differences between different populations of people. He spoke out against the idea of "white" and "black" as discrete groups, claiming that these distinctions ignored the scope of human diversity. Today, the mainstream belief among scientists is that race is a social construct without biological meaning. And yet, you might still open a study on genetics in a major scientific journal and find categories like "white" and "black" being used as biological variables.

5. What is ethnicity according to the video? Ethnicity describes cultural groups whose bond is forged through social interaction and shared ideas of culture, including language, customs and institutions. 6. What are some of the negative effects of racial stereotyping? Prejudice is a prejudgment based on inadequate knowledge. Prejudice often relies on stereotypes. Prejudice played a key role in supporting slavery. Beliefs about the inferiority of blacks, notions that blacks experienced less pain and fewer emotions, and racist ideas about the behavior of blacks were all used as justifications to support slavery. Likewise, ideas that indigenous and first peoples were lazy or regressive were used to take their land, kill them, and kidnap their children. Fears that Japanese-Americans would be loyal to Japan instead of their home nation led to their imprisonment in concentration camps. It can become both physically and mentally hurtful.

7. What is discrimination according to the video? Discrimination means treating a person unfairly because of who they are or because they possess certain characteristics. If you have been treated differently from other people only because of who you are or because you possess certain characteristics, you may have been discriminated against. 8. What is the primary basis for racism? (Hint: Think about the people who benefit from being racist) It is important to point out the difference between the terms prejudice and racism, as they are not interchangeable concepts. While all racists are prejudiced, not all prejudices are racist. Prejudice is a human phenomenon involving cognitive structures we all learn early in life. Racism, on the other hand, is prejudice against a group of people based on perceived differences, sometimes taken to the extreme. Not all individuals who discriminate against others based on differences are motivated by hatred. There are a couple different factors that contribute to why people are racist.  Attitudes of extreme hatred are usually based in fear. They come from primitive survival mechanisms—our instinct to avoid danger—to fear anything that appears to be different, which leads to fear of the other.  Ironically, some members of extremist hate groups are motivated by the need for love and belonging—a basic survival need.  Projection is one of our natural defense mechanisms, and it allows us to avoid facing our own shortcomings by transferring—or projecting—them onto others. 9. How is racism explained through a functionalist theorist perspective? Classical functionalist theory did not develop specific analyses of race and ethnicity; it viewed them as constituent elements of society that contributed to its relatively smooth functioning. Functionalism emphasizes social unity and equilibrium and has been criticized for being unable to account for social conflict and systematic inequalities such

as race, gender, and class. Since structural functionalism generally stresses the unifying role of culture, it is ill-equipped to understand divisive forces like discrimination. Given this emphasis on equilibrium and harmony, the functionalist perspective easily allows for specific macro-analyses of more contentious power imbalances, such as race-related issues. It also allows for the micro-analyses that much of modern sociology is oriented around, such as identity formation and the socially constructed nature of race. It is less well-adapted to understanding individual discrimination because it ignores the inequalities that cause tension and conflict. 10. How is racism explained through a conflict theorist perspective? The classical conflict perspective pioneered by Karl Marx saw all forms of inequality subsumed under class conflict. For Marx, issues related to race and ethnicity are secondary to class struggle. Other early conflict theorists saw racial and ethnic conflict as more central. Sociologist Ludwig Gumplowicz, in Grundriss der Soziologie (Outlines of Sociology, 1884), described how civilization has been shaped by conflict between cultures and ethnic groups, theorizing that large complex human societies evolved from war and conquest. W. E. B. Du Bois theorized that the intersectional paradigms of race, class, and nation might explain certain aspects of Black political economy....