Transcript Chapter 12 Race and Ethnicity

Race and Ethnicity
Chapter 12
Henslin’s Sociology: A Down To Earth
Approach
How is race both a reality and a
myth?
In the sense that different groups inherit distinctive
physical traits, race is a reality.
There is, however, no agreement regarding what
constitutes a particular race, or of how many races
there are.
In the sense of one race being superior to another
and of there being pure races, race is a myth.
The idea of race is powerful, shaping basic
relationships among people.
How do race and ethnicity differ?
Race refers to inherited biological
characteristics but is arbitrarily interpreted.
Ethnicity refers to cultural characteristics.
Members of ethnic groups identify with one
another on the basis of common ancestry and
cultural heritage.
What are minority and dominant
groups?
Minority groups are people who are singled out for
unequal treatment by members of the dominant
group.
The Dominant group is the group with more power,
privilege, and social status.(May be smaller in
numbers)
Minorities originate with migration or the expansion of
political boundaries.
What heightens ethnic identity, and
what is "ethnic work"?
A group’s size, power, physical characteristics,
and amount of discrimination heighten or
reduce ethnic identity.
Ethnic work is the process of constructing an
ethnic identity.
 For people with strong ties to their culture of origin,
ethnic work involves enhancing and maintaining group
distinctions.
 For those without a firm ethnic identity, ethnic work is an
attempt to recover one’s ethnic heritage.
Are prejudice and discrimination
the same thing?
Prejudice is an attitude,
Discrimination an act.
Some people who are prejudiced do not
discriminate, while others who are not
prejudiced do.
How do individual and institutional
discrimination differ?
Individual discrimination is the negative treatment
of one person by another, while institutional
discrimination is discrimination built into social
institutions.
Institutional discrimination often occurs without the
awareness of either the perpetrator or the object of
discrimination.
*Health care after heart attacks is one example.
Theories of Prejudice
How do psychologists explain prejudice?
Psychological theories of prejudice stress
authoritarian personalities and frustration
displaced toward scapegoats.
How do sociologists explain
prejudice?
Sociological theories focus on how different social
environments increase or decrease prejudice.
Functionalists stress the benefits and costs that come
from discrimination.
Conflict theorists look at how the groups in power
exploit racial and ethnic divisions in order to hold
down wages and otherwise maintain power.
Symbolic Interactionists stress how labels create
selective perception and self-fulfilling prophecies
Global Patterns of Inter-group
Relations
What are the major patterns of minority and
dominant group relations?
Beginning with the least humane, they are
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Genocide
Population transfer
Internal colonialism
Segregation
Assimilation
Multiculturalism (pluralism).
Race and Ethnic Relations in the
United States
What are the major ethnic groups in the
United States?
From largest to smallest, the major ethnic
groups are European Americans, Latinos,
African Americans, Asian Americans, and
Native Americans
What are some issues in race-ethnic relations and
characteristics of minority groups today?
Latinos are divided by social class and country of origin.
African Americans are increasingly divided into middle and lower
classes, with two sharply contrasting worlds of experience.
On many measures, Asian Americans are better off than any
white Americans, but their well-being varies with country of
origin.
For Native Americans, the primary issues are poverty,
nationhood, and settling treaty obligations. Called the invisible
minority due to the rural nature of their distribution across the
country.
The overarching issue for minorities is overcoming
discrimination.
Looking Toward the Future
What main issues dominate race-ethnic
relations?
The main issues are immigration, affirmative
action, and how to develop a true multicultural
society.
The answers we explore will affect our future as
a society…