chapter 11

Question 1

minority group

Answer 1

a group of people in a given society who, because of their distinct physical or cultural characteristics, find themselves in situations of inequality compared with the dominant group within that society

Question 2

race

Answer 2

a socially constructed category rooted in the belief that there are fundamental differences among humans, associated with phenotype and ancestry

Question 3

ethnicity

Answer 3

cultural values and norms that distinguish the members of a given group from others. An ethnic group is one whose members share a distinct awareness of a common cultural identity, separating them from other groups. In virtually all societies, ethnic differences are associated with variations in power and material wealth. Where ethnic differences are also racial, such divisions are sometimes especially pronounced.

Question 4

racism

Answer 4

the attribution of characteristics of superiority or inferiority to a population sharing certain physically inherited characteristics. Racism is one specific form of prejudice, focusing on physical variations among people. Racist attitudes became entrenched during the period of western colonial expansion, but seem also to rest on mechanisms of prejudice and discrimination found in human societies today

Question 5

prejudice

Answer 5

the holding of preconceived ideas about an individual or group, ideas that are resistant to change even in the face of new information. Prejudice may be either positive or negative

Question 6

stereotyping

Answer 6

thinking in terms of fixed and inflexible categories

Question 7

scapegoats

Answer 7

individuals or groups blamed for wrongs that were not of their doing

Question 8

discrimination

Answer 8

behavior that denies to the members of a particular group resources or rewards that can be obtained by others. Discrimination must be distinguished from prejudice. Individuals who are prejudiced against others may not engage in discriminatory practices against them or vice versa

Question 9

white privilege

Answer 9

the unacknowledged and unearned assets that benefit whites in their everyday lives

Question 10

institutional racism

Answer 10

the idea that racism occurs through the respected and established institutions of society rather than through hateful actions of some bad people

Question 11

racial microaggressions

Answer 11

small slights, indignities, or acts of disrespect that are hurtful to people of color even though they are often perpetrated by well meaning whites

Question 12

scientific racism

Answer 12

the use of scientific research or data to justify or reify beliefs about the superiority or inferiority of particular racial groups, Much of the “data” used to justify such claims is flawed or biased.

Question 13

apartheid

Answer 13

the system of racial segregation established in South Africa

Question 14

assimilation

Answer 14

the acceptance of a minority population, in which the new group takes on the values and norms of the dominant culture.

Question 15

melting pot

Answer 15

the idea that ethnic differences can be combined to create new patterns of behavior drawing on diverse cultural sources

Question 16

pluralism

Answer 16

a model for ethnic relations which all ethnic groups in the United States retain their independent and separate identities yet share equally in the rights and powers of citizenship

Question 17

multiculturalism

Answer 17

a condition in which ethnic groups exist separately and share equally in economic and political life

Question 18

immigration

Answer 18

the movement of people into one country from another for the purpose of settlement

Question 19

emigration

Answer 19

the movement of people out of one country to settle in another

Question 20

diaspora

Answer 20

the dispersal of an ethnic population from an original homeland into foreign areas, often in a forced manner or under traumatic circumstances.

Question 21

affirmative action

Answer 21

policies that grant preferential treatment to groups regarded as disadvantaged or subject to discrimination

Question 22

genocide

Answer 22

the systematic, planned destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group

Question 23

ethnic cleansing

Answer 23

the creation of ethnically homogenous territories through the mass expulsion of other ethnic populations

Question 24

segregation

Answer 24

the practice of keeping racial and ethnic groups physically separate, thereby maintaining the superior position of the dominant group.