Ch11: racialization Flashcards
visible minorities
defined as “persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour”
what are the three largest visible minority
South Asians (25%), Chinese (21.1%), and Blacks (15.1%)
settler society
a society historically based on colonization through foreign settlement and displacement of Aboriginal inhabitants, so immigration is the major influence on the population diversity (multicultural)
race
- refers to superficial physical differences that a particular society considers significant
- provides a source of identity
ethnicity
describes shared culture (the practices, values, and beliefs of a group)
minority group
describes groups that are subordinate, or lacking power in society regardless of skin colour or country of origin
racialization
the social construction of race
contemporary conceptions of race
- based on socioeconomic assumptions, illuminate how far removed modern race understanding is from biological qualities
- reflect the way that names for racial categories change
Louis Wirth’s definition of a minority group
any group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they receive unequal treatment, regarding themselves as objects of collective discrimination
subordinate
used interchangeable with the term minority
dominant
often substituted for the group that’s in the majority
dominant group
the group that holds the most power in a given society
subordinate group
those who lack power compared to the dominant group (could be larger groups but still lack power)
five characteristics of a minority group defined by Charles Hagley and Marvin Harris
- unequal treatment and less power over their lives
- distinguishing physical or cultural traits like skin colour or language
- involuntary membership in the group
- awareness of subordination
- high rate of in-group marriage
scapegoat theory
initiated from John Dollard’s frustration-aggression theory, poses that the dominant group will displace their unfocused aggression onto a subordinate group
racial intermarriage
prior to 20th century, it was extremely rare and illegal in many places
the Indian Act
- Thompson
- enacted in 1876
- effectively worked on racial level to restrict the marriage between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people (Aboriginals may lose their status, claim to land title and state provisions)
-eliminate First Nations culture in favour of assimilation into Euro-Canadian society.
the Métis
only exception to support fur trade between races in Canada
Red River Rebellion (1869) and Northwest Rebellion (1885)
Métis culture under the provisional government of Louis Riel led to violent suppression of the Métis. they were swindled out of their land through a corrupt script system and displaced by a massive influx of Anglo-Saxon immigrants
stereotypes
- oversimplified ideas about groups of people
- could be based on race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, etc
prejudice
- biased thought based on flawed assumptions about a group of people
- not based on experience, it is a prejudgment originating outside of actual experience
discrimination
- prejudiced action against a group of people
- could be based on age, religion, health, etc
- promote a group’s status (white privilege)
racism
a type of prejudice that involves set beliefs about a specific racial group
cyclical nature of stereotypes
rarely produce new stereotypes, they are recycled from subordinate groups that have assimilated into society and reused to describe the new subordinate groups
laws to address discriminative social problems
race-based discrimination and anti-discrimination
Émile Durkheim’s stand on racism
called it a social fact, meaning that it does require the action of individuals to continue
racial steering
when real estate agents direct prospective homeowners toward or away from certain
neighbourhoods based on their race
unprejudiced non-discriminators
open-minded, tolerant, and accepting individuals
unprejudiced discriminators
those who unthinkingly, practice discriminative actions (sexism in workplace for not considering females for certain positions typically held by men)
prejudiced non-discriminators
those who hold racist beliefs but don’t act on them, such as a racist store owner who serves minority customers
prejudiced discriminators
those who actively make disparaging remarks about others or who perpetuate hate crimes
white privilege
refers to the fact that dominant groups often accept their experiences as the normative (superior) experience
institutional racism/discrimination
when a societal system has developed with an embedded disenfranchisement of a group
institutional racism
- refers to the way in which racial distinctions are used to organize the policy and practice of state, judicial, economic, and educational institutions
- define what people can and cannot do based on racial characteristics
inequality
outcome of patterns of differential treatment based on racial or ethnic categorizations of people
residential school system
- 19th century
- aim to educate and assimilate Aboriginal children into European culture
- from 1883 to 1996, over 150,000 children were forcibly separated from their home
- received substandard education and subjected to neglect, disease, and abuse
- taught to be ashamed of their cultural heritage
- hard time fitting in both society (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal)
institutional racism produce
income inequality for visible minorities
functionalism’s view on race and ethnicity
- race and ethnic inequality must have served an important function in order to exist for so long
- racism and discrimination do contribute positively, but only to dominant group (denying privileges to people they view as inferior to them)
- positive functions of ethnic and racial membership
- close ties of racial or ethnic groups could provide cultural familiarity and emotional support for individuals who might otherwise feel alienated or discriminated against by the dominant society
critical sociology’s view on race and ethnicity
- focus on addressing the issues that arise when race and ethnicity become the basis of social inequality (emancipatory project)
- Modern Canada can be described as a product of internal colonialism
internal colonialism
refers to the process of uneven regional development by which a dominant group establishes its control over existing populations within a country
Canada as a product of external colonialism
first colonized by French then the English, it has adopted colonial techniques internally as it became an independent nation state
intersection theory
developed by Patricia Hill Collins (feminist sociologist), suggesting we cannot separate the effects of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other attributes (layers of disadvantage intersect to create experience of race)
symbolic interactionism’s view on race and ethnicity
- race and ethnicity provide strong symbols as sources of identity
- propose that the symbols of race, not race itself, are what lead to racism
Herbert Blumer
- famed interactionist who suggested that racial prejudice is formed through interactions between members of the dominant group, without these interactions, individuals in the dominant group would not hold racist views
- interactions contribute to an abstract picture of the subordinate group
culture of prejudice
refers to the idea that prejudice is embedded in our culture
strategy for the management of diversity
refers to the systematic methods used to resolve conflicts, or potential conflicts, between groups that arise based on perceived differences
Richard Day
- describes the template for the problem of diversity was laid down as early as the works of the ancient Greeks Herodotus, Plato, and Aristotle
- division of human individuals into groupable types
multiculturalism
- the most tolerant form of intergroup relations, in which cultural distinctions are made between groups, but the groups are regarded to have equal standing in society
- the recognition of the cultural and racial diversity of Canada and of the equality of Canadians of all origins
- mutual respect, creating a polyethnic environment
genocide
- the deliberate annihilation of a targeted, usually subordinate group, the most toxic intergroup relationship (Hitler Nazi, Aboriginal)
- still practiced today (Sundanese government, treaty signed in 2011)
expulsion
- refers to a dominant group forcing a subordinate group to leave a certain area or country
- a factor in genocide
- occurred historically with an ethnic or racial basis
- Great Expulsion in Nova Scotia in 1755, Japanese Canadian enemy alienated in 1941 in WW2
segregation
refers to the physical separation of two groups, particularly in residence, but also in workplace and social functions
de jure segregation
segregation that is enforced by law
de facto segregation
- segregation that occurs without laws but because of other factors
- cannot be abolished by any court mandate
“Jim Crow” law
law that required segregated facilities for blacks and whites, occurred in the US many years after the Civil War
slavery in Canada
- ended in 1834
- 60,000 blacks subjected to discrimination and differential treatment
- legislation in Ontario and Nova Scotia created racially segregated schools (de facto segregation practiced in local institutions)
- segregating laws were passed in BC, SK, and ON preventing Asian-owned restaurants and laundries from hiring white people
development of Chinatown and Japantowns in Canada
19th and 20th centuries
segregation indices
used to measure racial segregation of difference races in different areas
assimilation
- describes the process by which a minority individual or group gives up its own identity by taking on the characteristics of the dominant culture
- policy for absorbing immigrants
- assimilated groups may keep only symbolic gestures
cultural mosaic model
rather than maintaining the subordinate group’s own cultural characteristics, they give up their own traditions to conform to the new environment (cultural differences are erased)
metaphor of the mosaic in Canada
suggests that in a multicultural society each ethnic or racial group preserves its unique cultural traits while together contributing to national unity (each is important)
multicultural policy in Canada
- first country to adopt an official multicultural policy
- 1971, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau implemented a policy of official bilingualism and a policy of multiculturalism
- designed to assist the different cultural groups to preserve their heritage, overcome cultural barriers, and exchange with other cultural groups to contribute to national unity
- Constitution in 1982 and the Multiculturalism Act of 1988
group-specific rights
rights conferred on individuals by virtue of their membership in a group-
Kymlicka’s three ways principle of how multicultural group-specific rights can be conceived
- as self-government rights
- as polyethnic rights
- as special representation rights
self-government rights
culturally distinct nations within a society attain some degree of political autonomy and self-determination to ensure their survival and development as unique peoples
polyethnic rights
culturally distinct groups are able to express their particular cultural beliefs and practices without being discriminated against
special representation rights
where the systematic underrepresentation of minorities in the political process is addressed by some form of proportional representation
outcome and problem of multicultural policy in Canada
- positive outcome is that the Canadian population remains remarkably accepting of diversity, most accepting of all OECD countries in 2011
- brings up problem of ethical relativism
ethical relativism
the idea that all cultures and all cultural practices have equal value
hybridity
the process by which different racial and ethnic groups combine to create new or emergent cultural forms of life
differences between multicultural mosaic and hybridity
multicultural mosaic - each culture preserves its unique traditions assimilate into the majority group
- hybrid combination results in a new culture entirely
exogamy
Refers to marriage outside of the group (community, tribe, etc)
miscegenation
The blending of different racialized groups through sexual relations, procreation, marriage, or cohabitation.
racial profiling
The selection of individuals for greater surveillance, policing, or treatment on the basis of racialized
characteristic
Aboriginal Canadians
- aboriginal cultures prior to European settlement are referred to as pre-contact or pre-Columbian (Christopher Columbus in 1492)
- Columbus named the Aboriginals the Indians, which persisted for centuries despite it being a geographical misnomer
- history with Europeans in Canada since the 16th century are divided into four stages
first stage of history of Aboriginals with Europeans
the relationship was largely mutually beneficial and profitable as the Europeans relied on Aboriginal groups for knowledge, food, and supplies, whereas the Aboriginals traded for European technologies
second stage of history of Aboriginals with Europeans
Aboriginal people were increasingly drawn into the European-centred economy, coming to rely on fur trading for their livelihood rather than their own indigenous economic activity. This resulted in diminishing autonomy and increasing subjugation economically, militarily, politically, and religiously
third stage of history of Aboriginals with Europeans
the reserve system was established, clearing the way for full-scale European colonization, resource exploitation, agriculture, and settlement. A key element of this issue is the Aboriginal view of land and land ownership. Most First Nations cultures considered the Earth a living entity whose resources they were stewards of
fourth stage of history of Aboriginals with Europeans
developed after World War II, when Aboriginal Canadians began to mobilize politically to challenge the conditions of oppression and forced assimilation they had been subjected to. In this stage, Aboriginal people developed political organizations and turned to the courts to fight for treaty rights and self- government
impactful provisions of the Indian Act
- The prohibition against owning, acquiring, or “pre-empting” land
- The dismantling of traditional institutions of Aboriginal government and the banning of ceremonial practices
- The imposition of the band council system, which was foreign to Aboriginal tradition and powerless to make meaningful decisions without approval of the Department of Indian Affairs
- Denial of the power to allocate funds and resources
- The prohibition against hiring lawyers or seeking legal redress in pursuing land claims
- The denial of the right to vote municipally (until 1948), provincially (until 1949), and federally (until 1960) (Mathias & Yabsley, 1991)
current status of Aboriginal Canadian
- the eradication of Aboriginals culture continued until the 1960s
- Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered an apology on behalf of Canadian government in 2008
- repatriation of the Constitution in 1982, the government reversed and the status of Aboriginals were recognized
- the 1996 Nisga’s Treaty is the first modern treaty in BC (rights to self-government and authority over lands and resources)
the Quebecois
- the Constitution Act of 1867 protected the linguistic, religious, and educational of the French and English in Quebec and Ontario, and the rest of the country
- permanent French settlements were established in Port Royal (Nova Scotia) in 1605, and Quebec City in 1608
- the Quebec Act of 1774 granted religious and linguistic rights to the French
- the Constitution Act of 1791 divided the province of Canada into Upper and Lower Canada, each with power of self-government (two charter groups, French and English)
- Official Languages Act of 1969
Quebecois
the descendants of the original settlers from France, developed a unique identity, which became the basis of nationalist and sovereignties aspirations during the Quiet Revolution of 1960s
conquest
The forcible subjugation of territory and people by military action
Charter of French language
passed in 1977 in Quebec to protect the French language, defines French as the official language of Quebec, limits the use of English in commercial signs, and restricts who may enroll in English schools
Black Canadians
- many have roots in the Caribbean rather than African slaves from the US
- first black Canadians were slaves brought by the French in 17th century
- 1834, slavery was banned
- in 19th century, strongly held prejudices and informal practices of segregation lead to pervasive discrimination against the Blacks
- in 20th century, most Black Canadians were employed in low-pay service jobs or as unskilled labour
Victoria Pioneer Rifle Company
1859, fight in the “Pig War” dispute with US over the San Juan Islands
Asian Canadian
- first Asian immigrant were Chinese mid 19th century
- paid one third of what others earn but asked to do the most difficult tasks
- subjected to particularly harsh racism in BC and rest of Canadda in 19th and 20th centuries
- not suitable for Canadian citizenship according to orientalist stereotypes
- “head taxes” in an attempt to restrict Chinese immigration led to riot in Vancouver in 1907
model minority stereotype
applied to a minority group that is seen as reaching significant educational, professional, and socioeconomic levels without challenging the existing establishment
The Government of Canada defines “visible minorities” as:
non-white settlers
The idea that all Asian Americans are naturally good, law-abiding, productive citizens/immigrants is an example of what?
model minority stereotype
What is in line with 21st century sociological perspectives on ‘race’?
‘Race’ is a socially constructed category.
You’ve learned that we are we beginning to move toward using the term “racialized population” instead of “race.” We are doing this because “racialized population” better emphasizes how race is:
a social construction
