Ethnicity and Racialization (Ch. 6) Flashcards
race
socially constructed category of people who share PHYSICAL characteristics that members of society consider important
racialization
singling out people based on real or imagined physical characteristics, then treating them unequally (used as a verb to signal an ongoing action)
ethnicity
shared cultural heritage
minority
- category of people, distinguished by physical or cultural traits, that is set apart and subordinated by society (ie. women, people of colour) - not always less numerically (ie. over 1/2 world’s pop. is women, yet still considered “minority” because they have less power)
dominant group
the group in power (ie. white people)
subordinate groups
groups without power
visible minorities
non-white people other than aborginals
social meanings of race
- ranks people in hierarchy - negative (believed innate) characteristics assigned to subordinate racial groups (biological determinist theory) - positive characteristis assigned to dominant group - ethnicity and race central in power relations - no genetic difference btwn different races, but there is social significance
racism
- strucutred form of antagonism and denial of equal treatment against members of subordinate racial groups - hurts victim’s life chances
prejudice
negative ATTITUDE toward someone based on their group membership
discrimination
negative ACTION toward someone based on group membership -> denial of equal treatment
oppression
prejudice + discrimination + power
poverty and race
in Canada, twice as many minorities live in poverty than non-minorities
power elites and expansion of capitalism
colonization -> science/eugenics -> multiculturalism/point system -> globalization/migrant labour
colonialism in general
- expansion of European economies (capitalism) - used biological determinist arguments -> “white man’s burden” -> civilizing the “savages” - colonialism -> wealth for Europeans -> basis for capitalism
colonialism in Canada
- used violence, forced immigration, etc. on aboriginals - loss of land (forced onto reserves) and culture (forced into residential schools) - Indian Act: criminalized culture (potlach), couldn’t own property/vote, “status” Indians
immigration legacies
- black slaves, chinese labour (head tax), Japanese internment camps, Southeast Asian (“Hindu invasion”), anti-semitism -> segregation, no voting rights, no property rights, occupational restrictions
“us vs. them”
- social dichotomy where “us” = white people, “them” = everyone else - without this idea, racism wouldn’t exist
islamophobia
- prejudice and discrimination against/hatred of Islam and Muslim people (almost 1/2 Canadians have unfavourable views -> niqab controversy) - contributes to “us vs. them”
xenophobia
- intense irrational fear/dislike of people from other countries - anti-immigrant sentiment
whiteness and citizenship
- Europeans desired, Asians, Africans, etc. not desired - Points system established in 60’s to select immigrants on “objective” criteria -> education, job skills, work experience, knowledge of English/French… hidden inequality as your social location determines these things
liberal explanation for racism
- assimilation: racism is result of certain groups clinging to traditional values - racism = cultural problem, focus on psychological characteristics of oppressed - biological determinist argument -> assumes race is a concrete born concept and blames victims
change thoerist perspective on racism
- how does racism benefit capitalism? - underpayment of racialized groups keeps wages down - racialized groups are part of reserve army/underemployed - pit workers against each other due to race (ie. Chinese foreign workers) - islamophobia maintains military industrial complex due to fear factor
