Chapter 1: Concepts of Ethnicity and Race Flashcards
Why is the author concerned with the idea of “apologies” in relation to historical mistreatment of marginalized groups?
Apologizing can make it seem like the historical action was a “mistake” instead of the product of social and political structures. If we write them off as a mistake, we don’t take the time to understand why and how they happened.
Define Eurocentric. How does it relate to early sociological thought on ethnicity?
Eurocentric: the assumption that European society was the benchmark by which all societies could be measured in terms of development and advancement.
Eurocentrism guided a great deal of early sociological thought and theory surrounding ethnicity.
What is the collective conscience?
Developed by Emile Durkheim
The idea that pre-modern societies were cohesive because they were based on sameness and the conformity of individual consciousness to the collective. This led to group formation and the idea of “us” being different from “them”
How did Weber (1978) define ethnicity?
Ethnicity is determined by common decent, tribe, culture (language and symbols), religion, and nationality.
What is monopolistic closure?
The processes and practices, often institutionalized, whereby members of the in-group have access to the scarce valuable resources via the exclusion of the out-group.
Define Culture.
Culture is a set of dynamic social processes and practices. It is a collective response of socially constituted individuals to their their ever-changing external conditions
What is Assimilation?
Assimilation is the process by which members of ethnic groups are incorporated into the dominant culture of a society and experience inculturation.
What is the difference between collective ethnic identity and individual ethnic identity?
Collective ethnic identity refers to the existence of a certain consensus within the group about what defines it and differentiates it from other groups.
Individual ethnic identity is the relationship between the individual and their own ethnic collectivity
What is the difference between diachronic dimensions of ethnicity and synchronic dimensions of ethnicity?
Diachronic dimensions of ethnicity include ancestry, homeland, and culture associated with the ethnic group.
Synchronic dimensions involve how the individual and their culture is defined, evaluated, and treated by others.
Diachronic and synchronic dimensions interact in the formation of ethnic identity.
What is institutional completeness?
Institutional completeness is the extent to which an ethnic group in a particular place and time forms organizations by and for its members. The presence of these institutions generates social life for the community and helps the ethnic identity live on in future generations.
What is non-territorial autonomy?
This is a strategy to mitigate ethnic tensions by providing groups with cultural or institutional autonomy in a way that does not threaten the integrity of the state.
What does it mean to call race an “ascriptive characteristic”?
Ascriptive characteristics are physical and genetic characteristics. Historically race has been defined to refer to physical or genetic differences
Why does the author choose to use quotes around the term “race”
To identify it as a problematic term. Because of the ill-founded historical connotations around the term race (biological differences), the author dislikes the term and thinks it is important to understand that race is really a social construct.
What are the principles of the doctrine of racial typology?
1: there are distinct and permanent types of homo sapiens
2: the pyhiscal appearance and beahviour of the individual is an expression of a discrete biological type that is permanent
3: cultural variation is determined by differences in biological type
4: biological variation is the origin of conflict between individuals and nations
5: races are differently endowed such that some are inherently inferior to others
What was the results of the human genome project as cited by the author? What are the conflicting interpretations about these findings
Result: humans share 99.9% of the same genetic makeup regardless of race. the 0.1% accounts for differences in skin colour, head shape, and predispositions towards certain diseases.
Some use this result to reinforce the idea that race is a social construct, we share 99.9% of the same genetic makeup.
Some use this result to reinforce the idea that there are biological differences between races. 0.1% difference is still a difference, even if it isn’t large.
