Chapter 8 Flashcards
Compare and contrast the concepts of ethnicity, race, racialization, visible minorities, and racialized groups.
Ethnicity refers to classifications of self and others based on cultural characteristics like shared ancestry, language, and cultural traditions. It has objective and subjective dimensions. Race is a socially constructed category used to classify people according to physical characteristics like skin colour. Racialization is the process where racial categories are constructed as different and unequal. Visible minorities/racialized groups are those that are non-caucasian or non-white in skin colour.
Describe contemporary patterns of ethnicity in Canada.
More than 200 different ethnic origins are reported by people living in Canada. The most frequently reported ethnic origins refer to those groups that have the longest immigration histories in Canada, such as English and French. 19 % of people in Canada are visible minorities and around 4 % report an aboriginal identity.
List the 3 objectives of Canada’s immigration policy, outline the types of individuals who enter the country on the basis of each of those objectives and describe contemporary immigration patterns.
The 3 objectives of immigration policy are to reunite families, contribute to the nation’s economic development, and protect refugees. Immigrants in the ‘family class’ are sponsored by close relatives living in Canada. Economic immigrants are selected on the basis of their overall ability contribute to the Canadian economy. Refugees are persons who have been forced to flee from persecution. More than 20 % of Canada’s population today is foreign born, with immigrants increasingly coming from non-european countries and settling in large urban centres. Immigration patterns are based on a variety of “push” and “pull” factors. People in Canada report over 200 different mother tongues.
Describe the implications of ethnicity for families and for economic experiences.
Ethnicity affects multiple aspects of family life, including family structure, family interdependence, and intergenerational relationships. Youth who have immigrated, or whose parents were immigrants, are bicultural and must adapt to having both a heritage culture and a new national culture. In the economic realm, Aboriginal people have lower incomes than non-aboriginal people; however this income disparity is eliminated among those who have bachelor’s degrees. Immigrants have lower incomes than non-immigrants regardless of education. Income disparity has increased over the years even though immigrants are more likely to have a university degree than those born in Canada.
Distinguish between dominant and minority groups, and describe the forms of interactions that can take place between them.
Dominant groups and minority groups are differentiated on the basis of power. Interactions between dominant and minority groups can take the form of assimilation, segregation, or popular transfer.
Outline the 3 components of prejudice, and describe the different forms that discrimination can take.
Prejudice is an attitude that has cognitive, affective, and behavioural components. Discrimination can occur at the individual level, with behaviours ranging from offensive jokes to hate crimes. It can also occur at institutional and systemic levels, such as in relation to immigration policies.
Discuss theories of prejudice and racialization.
Social theories attribute prejudice to characteristics of individuals (ex. authoritarian personality, frustration) or to small groups interactions (ex. competitive settings). Conflict theories attribute prejudice and racialization to the structure of society. Interactionist theories draw attention to how we come to understand racialized groups, such as through media frames of ethnicity.
