chapter 3 - midterm 2

Question 1

the roots of the ‘othering’ process

Answer 1

• evolutionary theorists provide an understanding of the roots of the ‘othering’ process defining ’others’ as a threat; as danger
• groups were small and nomadic

Question 2

in group vs. out group

Answer 2

• an ingroup is group with which we identify
• outgroups are those other than our own; we don’t identify with members of outgroups
• in groups were wherry of out groups

Question 3

the brain and in-group or outgroup

Answer 3

1. fMRI
2. fusiform gyrus
3. amygdala

Question 4

fusiform gyrus - in group & outgroup

Answer 4

• lights up when we see picture of someone of our ingroup
• in group would elicit an area of the brain to light up the fusiform gyrus

Question 5

amygdala - in-group & outgroup

Answer 5

• ’lights up’ when subjects shown pictures of unfamiliar faces
• recognizes threats
• emotion centre of the brain
• outgroup would elicit a response of the amygdala

Question 6

social categorization

Answer 6

• the classification of persons into groups on the basis of common attributes
• age, race and gender categorizations are most powerful/prominent
• the brain socially categorizes things
• social categorizations are adaptive, safe time and effort

Question 7

limitations of social categorization

Answer 7

• overestimate differences between groups
• underestimate differences within groups
• outgroup homogeneity effect-’they’re all the same’
• grey area with social categorization

Question 8

emile durkheim - sociological theorizing of race and ethnicity

Answer 8

• durkheim tried to explain what made pre-modern societies so cohesive
• believed “collective consciousness” was the primary source of identity formation
• thought religion glued people together

Question 9

collective consciousness

Answer 9

• common faith or set of social norms by which a society and its members abide
• common assumption about how the world works
• belief that everything a tribe does is for the community

Question 10

political economic theories of sociological theorizing of race & ethnicity

Answer 10

1. marxist approaches
2. “race problems begin as labour problems
3. split labour market theory

Question 11

marxist approaches to theorizing race & ethnicity

Answer 11

• study the role that race/ethnicity has played in maintaining class boundaries
• specifically focused on race/ethnicity as divisions within the working class
• critical marxists inspired perspective

Question 12

“race problems as beginning as labour problems” - race & ethnicity

Answer 12

• 1907 Vancouver Labour Riot
• upset due to wanting to populate Europe with the europeans but they couldn’t get them to stay due to no jobs
• competition for jobs with the Chinese because were well-liked by employers for working long hours
• opium act was a racist law enacted to regulate the Chinese community in Vancouver at the time

Question 13

split labour market theory

Answer 13

• labour + culture
• produces a three-way conflict between business and the two labor groups, with business seeking to displace higher paid by cheaper labour

Question 14

critical race theory

Answer 14

• cocuses on racial inequalities in the distribution of social goods, in the economy, within the state, and within civil society
• criticizes liberal notions of objectivity, meritocracy, neutrality, and colour-blindness
• emerged in the 1970s in the US when anti-racist lawyers started questioning the legal system and the way it treated black defendants and inmates and was rooted in the work of W.E.B Du Bois

Question 15

democratic racism

Answer 15

• concept developed by Henry and Tator (2005)
• argues that it is the current state of racism in Canada today
• by insisting that Canada is committed to justice, equality and fairness, we can then discriminate against minorities
• e.g., by insisting “we don’t see colour” serves to deny the profound impact that colour has on everyday lives

Question 16

robin diangelo & white fragility

Answer 16

• there is racial inequality in Canada: white Canadians benefit
• never experiencing the burden of race;
• freedom of movement
• white solidarity

Question 17

understanding systematic structural racism

Answer 17

“systematic racism is the racism that’s left over after you get rid of the racists”

Question 18

orientalism

Answer 18

• the lens through which the West views the East; a framework used to understand the strange and unfamiliar; “the Orient’s nature”
• tool the west use to keep the East subordinated and control how people think about the East
• hegemony

Question 19

why does orientalism occur

Answer 19

• those subordinated or negatively impacted by hegemony do not challenge/fight the image
• need US support
• lack of voice

Question 20

institutional analyses of racial inequality in canada

Answer 20

• programs such as the CPP, canadian human rights act, employment equity act, the charter, etc were developed based on beliefs/concerns of dominant European-descended Canadians
• programs not developed to directly address the economic dimensions of racial inequality b/c policy-makers not diverse
• social problems are viewed through immigration status or language differences not through race

Question 21

symbolic interactionism - race & ethnicity - W.E.B. Dubois

Answer 21

• “double-Consciousness”
• ’two-ness’ experience of African-Americans
• seeing oneself AND seeing oneself through the eyes of others
• the eyes of others are critical; constant evaluation of your self, actions, behaviours, what you’re wearing or saying
• the ‘others’ have bee oppressive