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US Race Relations > Exam 1 > Flashcards

Exam 1 Flashcards

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U.S. Geography flashcards
1
Q

What is sociology?

A

systematic study of patterns, trends and behaviors in human society within a social context

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2
Q

Why is there potential discomfort when studying race?

A

It is potentially uncomfortable studying race because race is associated with strong feelings and beliefs. Also we pretend to make race “invisible” to avoid discussing the bigger picture. Potential discomfort in sociological approach: beliefs are questioned and critiqued

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3
Q

Why is it necessary and important to study race from a sociological perspective?

A

It forces a person to push pas their beliefs and look through a new lense. All human behavior occurs in a social context and therefore race must be studied through patterns and trends in human behavior in a sociological sense

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4
Q

What does it mean to say we live in a fishbowl?

A

society functions like a fish in a water bowl, it is the occupation of a sociologist to remove oneself from water, and learn about multiple different perspectives in multiple different social contexts

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5
Q

the elements of social structure

A

institution
social groups
statuses
roles

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6
Q

institution

A

an established and enduring pattern of social relationships (family, religion, politics, economics, education)

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7
Q

social groups

A

two or more people who have a common identity, interact and form a social relationships

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8
Q

primary social groups

A

intimate and informal interaction (family and friends)

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9
Q

secondary social groups

A

task oriented and impersonal formal interaction (coworkers, co-members of a group)

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10
Q

Statuses

A

a position a person occupies within a social group (mother, father, son, daughter, manager, employee)

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11
Q

ascribed statuses

A

what society assigns to an individual based on factors over which the individual has no control over

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12
Q

achieved statuses

A

assigned based on characteristic or behavior which the individual posseses some control over (graduate spouse president)

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13
Q

Roles

A

rights, obligations and expectations that go along with status (how to behave within a role as a daughter vs an employee)

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14
Q

The elements of culture

A 
folkways
laws
mores
sanctions
symbols 
socialization
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15
Q

folkways

A

custpms and manners of society

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16
Q

laws

A

formal norms backed by authority (don’t drink and drive)

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17
Q

mores

A

norms with a moral bias (dating before marriage)

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18
Q

sanctions

A

consequences of conforming to or violating norms

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19
Q

symbols

A

any language, gesture, or object whose meaning is commonly understood by the members of a society/ group/ organization

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20
Q

socialization

A

the process when a person internalizes the symbols of society and learns to function as a member of that society

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21
Q

what is the biological understanding of race and why is it problematic?

A

race can be biologically defined as a group of people who share a set of distinct characteristics–usually physical ones– and are said to share a common bloodline.

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22
Q

what does it mean to say that race is a myth?

A

a. more meaningful to us on a social level than a
b. biological level.
all humans are 99% genetically identical
c. social contstruct that changes over time and across a different context

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23
Q

Sociological defintion of race

A

imposed, hierarchical, exclusive and unequal

socially defined as a group of people who are percieved to share a set of distinct traits physical primarily that are deemed socially significant

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24
Q

sociolgical defintion of ethnicity

A

more voluntary, self defined non hierarchical , fluid, cultural and not so closely linked with power differences

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25
Q

symbolic ethnicity

A

individualistic in nature and without real social cost for the individual
– individuals can choose to express this identity

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26
Q

racial formation

A

race operates as a central axis for social relations which determines social economical and political institutions and practices

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27
Q

what historical and spatial evidence do we have to support the argument that race/ethnicity is socially constructed?

A

race wasn’t even established to define people until the 1600’s and from there it was used to deem a person’s worth and put people into categories of different heirarchical statuses and is ever changing as society changes

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28
Q

what is racialization ?

A

Racialization is the formation of a new identity in which new ideological boundaries of differnces are drawn around a formally unnoticed group

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29
Q

How long has the practice of slavery existed int the world

A

antiquity
Early 1600s
1619

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30
Q

antiquity of the practice of slavery

A

the practice of enslaving people began in the ancient civilization

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31
Q

Early 1600’s of slavery

A

the concept of race (in terms of classifying humans into distinct groups) did not exist prior to the first English settlements in the Americas

32
Q

How was slavery in the New Word unique from all previous forms of slavery?

A

slaves now had no human or legal rights, slave status now permanent and inherited, slaves now forbidden to learn to read and write laws applied to all African Americans

33
Q

When did the concept of race emerge and why?

A

slaves now had no human or legal rights, , slave status now permanent and inherited, slaves now forbidden to learn to read or write, laws applied to all Africans and only African. This new form of slavery in America is what laid the groundwork for a new idea of human difference (race)

34
Q

What were the Slave Codes and why are they important? Why were they put into place?

A

Slave codes were laws that clearly spelled out the differences between African slaves and European indentured servants. Slaves now had no human or legal rights, slave status now permanent and inherited, slaves now forbidden to learn to read or write, laws applied to all Africas and only Africans. This new form of slavery in America is what laid the groundwork for anew idea of human difference (race).

35
Q

When was the first scientific classification system for race proposed and by whom? why was this was important for our understanding of race and racial difference?

A

Early 1700’s European taxonomies – Carl Linneus produced first classification system for humans in 1735. ****

36
Q

What is scientific racism ?

A

18th and 19th century’s numbers of western european scientists and thnkers researched and attempted to explain racial difference. However they were explaining and justifying their beliefs in racial superiority

37
Q

Social Darwinism

A

some groups or races evolved faster and are a better fit for survival rather than other races

38
Q

What fundamental contradiction did the writers of the US constituion have to grapple with

A

liberating between freedom of man while they all have slaves on their own

39
Q

What is birthright citizenship?

A

a legal right to citizenship for all children born in a country’s territory, regardless of parentage.

40
Q

when did whites get birthright citizenshp? when did everyone else get it?

A

1790 for whites and 1868 to all people

41
Q

What is intelligence testing

A

more attempts to verify european superiority as well as distinctions among Europeans

42
Q

What is eugenics

A

gene lines that are passed from generation to generation- traits can be traced through bloodlines and bred into population or out of them

43
Q

How has whiteness in the United States changed over time? What does Cornel West mean when he says: “Without the presence of black people in America, European-Americans would not be ‘white’—they would be Irish, Italians, Poles, Welsh, and otherwise engaged in class, ethnic, and gender struggles over resources and identity”?

A

Without blackness there would be no whiteness. Defining race particularly Black created meaning behind race which created inequality.

44
Q

Miscegenation

A

interracial breeding and mixed families

45
Q

What is the color line?

A

W. E. B. Dubois race relations in the US

  1. shapes our lives social interactions and society as a whole
    - –draws a line between groups
46
Q

What is a minority group in terms of race/ ethnicity?

A

Minority: category of people who lack power, privilege and prestige in social political and/ or economic spheres

  • singled out for unequal treatment
  • -hold a shared sense of identity
  • –must always be understand in realtions to others in the social structure
47
Q

The four forms that minority-majority group relations can take and be able to identify examples of each in terms of race/ ethnicity

A

assimilation
pluralism
conflict
segregation

48
Q

assimilation

A

occurs when formerly distinct groups merge and become integrated as one

49
Q

pluralism

A

in context of race and ehtnicity, refers to the presence and engaged coexistence of numerous distinct groups in one society with not one group being a majority

50
Q

confict

A

relations when an antagonistic group within a society live integrated the same neighborhod jobs and schools

51
Q

segregation

A

legal or social practice of separating people on the basis of their race or ethnicity.

52
Q

The four ways that groups respond to oppression

A

withdrawl
passing
acceptance
resistance

53
Q

withdrawl

A

minority groups migrates away from oppressive conditions

54
Q

passing

A

members of minority group attempt to fully assimilate themselves in the majority group

55
Q

acceptance

A

when the minority groups “accept” oppressed status while hiding the true feelings of resentment

56
Q

resistance

A

when members of a minority group refuse to accept their opprosed status through collective resitance

57
Q

Racism

A

systematic privileging of one racial group over other racial groups

  • not one person discriminating but a whole population operating in a social structure
  • -makes it impossible for a person NOT to discriminate
58
Q

Prejudice

A

refer to negative thoughts and feelinga bout an ethnic or racial group (internal evaluation)

59
Q

discrimination

A

harmful or negative acts against people deemed inferior on the basis of their racial category

60
Q

What is melanin?

A

the pigment that gives the skin its color. Melanin protects the skin from UV rays associated with melanoma.

61
Q

What factors determine melanin production?

Marvin Harris “How Our Skins Got Their Color”

A

Populations living nearest to the equator have darker skin to protect them form the harsh effects of the sun. Melanin is the main factor influencing skin color and while people of different ehtnicities have similar numbers of melanocytes, the vast array of skin tones are due to the amound of this pigment that is produced by these cells. Low levels of melanin production can create a pale yellow skin color, whereas large amounts create very black skin

62
Q

What’s Harris’s argument for why we see different skin colors around the world ?

Marvin Harris “How Our Skins Got Their Color”

A

skin variation can be observed around the world due to the human body’s ability to adapt physically to changes in exposure to solar radiation

63
Q

What factors led to the enslavement of blacks in North America? Why did racism emerge at this particular time in history?

A

Colonization of North America lazy rich white people didn’t want to work their own land, brought over Africans to do it for them. Racism emerged because it gave colonizers legitmacy in their enslavement of the Africans – identified Africans (all africans) as slaves

64
Q

Why does Zinn believe that the question of whether racism is natural is so critcal to answer? What does it mean for society if racism is not natural?

A

If racism was natural people couldn’t do anything about it. it couldn’t be changed, gives people an exucuse to be racist. If racism isn’t natural then it’s a social construct and we can change it.

65
Q

Does Zinn conclude that racism is natural or not? How does he come to this conclusion?

A

He decides that racism is not natural. He does this because race is completely a social and historical construct.

66
Q

How do racial ideologies, racial identities and racialization all demonstrate racial formation?

A

Ideologies: rules to racially classify people
identities: fixed notions of race
Racialization: racial identity attached to a group

67
Q

Historically how did the concepts of race and ethnicity develop?

A
  • socially constructed bases on biology

- ethnic groups were defined as a race

68
Q

Why were the sociologists Simson and Yinger unable to find or develop a single true definition or meaning of race?

A

it describes “otherness” and different race groups are different everywhere

69
Q

What are the differences between mystical, biological and administrative definitions of race

A

Mystical race : rooted in folklore; defined by actions of gods, spirits and other mystical beings
biological: eugenics and ethnology FAILED; they tried to prove differences with skull size and earwax fingerprints
Administrative: used in jobs government and scholarships

70
Q

Know the general history of how the US census has reated race and how it has changed over time

A 
interviewed (interviewers were biased )
mark one (there wasn't always one for everyone)
could pick more than one race (currently)
71
Q

What is involved in Bonilla-Silva’s concept of racialized social systems? How is heirarchy involved in these racialized social systems? how are institutions and social structure involved in these racialized social systems?

A

Societies where economic, political and ideological levels are structure by race are racial categories. Hierarchy is important because it determiens who gets what; resources and power.

72
Q

What does bonilla silva mean when he states “I contend that after a society becomes racialized, racialization develops a life of its own”

A

Society makes race and race shapes society

–the society’s system shapes race

73
Q

How do Omi and WInant define race? How does this definition support a social constructionist perspective of race?

A

Race as a concept related to relations within social, economic and political practices. Basically race shapes a society in every sector and instituion and in turn social relations and institiutions shape race

74
Q

what are phenotypes?

A

observable characteristics or traits

75
Q

In what ways is race a matter of both social structure and cultural representation, according to the authors? In what ways is race political?

A

social: based on social relations and history embedded in society (varies over time, US has black and white color line)
cultural: show’s society’s racieal perceptions (share langauge, family structure, religion, institutions)
political: allows systematic exclusion and exploitation

76
Q

Why do the authors argue that racism has changed over time?

A

census has changed and expanded racial categories

US Race Relations (3 decks)

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