Human Geo 7.1 Questions

Question 1

Why is ethnicity important to geographers?

Answer 1

In the face of globalization trends in culture & economy, ethnicity stands as the strongest bulwark for the preservation of local diversity. However, no ethnicity is attempting/aspiring to achieve global dominance. Even if globalization engulfs language, religion, and other cultural elements, regions of distinct cultural identity will remain.

Question 2

What is an example of the complexity of designating ethnicity, race, and nationality? (Meghan Markle)

Answer 2

Meghan Markle (the Duchess of Sussex), was born in the US but became UK citizen after marrying Prince Harry & passing a test. Ethnicity: Caucasian & African American. Race: half black (mother, descended from Africans enslaved in Georgia) and half white (father, from Europe, living in Mexico).

Question 3

How is the significance of ethnic diversity controversial in the US (3 questions)?

Answer 3

1. To what extent does discrimination persist against minority ethnicities, especially Hispanics & blacks?
2. Should preferences be given to the minorities to correct past patterns of discrimination?
3. To what extent should ethnicities’ distinct cultural identity be encouraged/preserved?

Question 4

Why do contemporary geographers reject the biological basis of classifying humans into a handful of races?

Answer 4

Because these features aren’t rooted in specific places. Features of race like skin color, hair type and color, blood traits, shape of body, head, and facial features are no longer scientifically classifiable.

Question 5

Why is any prejudged classification on race is meaningless?

Answer 5

Because biological features are so highly variable among ppl in a race. Perhaps hundreds of years ago, early humans lived in such isolation that they were genetically distinct. The degree of isolation needed to keep features distinct is impossible, so the attempt to classify people according to race is thought of as a social construction (an accepted idea/meaning).

Question 6

What is an example of the complexities of race, ethnicity, and racism? (Trevor Noah)

Answer 6

He is the host of a talk show, and his mother was South African nationality, black race, & Xhosa ethnicity. His father was of Swiss nationality, white race, and Swiss German ethnicity. When they met, it was illegal in South Africa, so he was “a crime” under South Africa’s laws then in effect; his mother was jailed & fined, his father moved back to Switzerland, he was raised by African relatives , & his nationality is South African though he lives in the US.

Question 7

Since 1997, the Census is required to classify people in the US into what following races (5)? (extra: they were permitted to select more than 1 in 1997)

Answer 7

A person having origins in any of the original ppl of…
1. White: Europe, Middle East, or North Africa
2. Black/Afr. American: Black racial groups of Africa
3. American Indian/Alaskan Native: North & South America and maintain tribal affiliation/attachment
4. Asian: Far East, Southeast Asia, India subcontinent (ex. Cambodia, Korea, Vietnam, China, Pakistan, etc.)
5. Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

Question 8

Why do Hispanics face special challenges in completing the census?

Answer 8

Because the census considers Hispanic to be an ethnicity, Hispanics also get to identify with any race they wish. In 2010, 53% of Hispanics picked white, 37% percent some other race, 6% more than one box, and 4% one of the 13 other categories.

Question 9

Why do African Americans face a distinctive challenge in responding to the census?

Answer 9

It’s an ethnicity, but the 2010 census grouped Black, African Am., or Negro as a race. Some blacks are from Africa, but some trace their heritage to regions other than Africa. “African American” means a group with extensive cultural tradition, but “Black” just means dark skin. SO.. black is substituted for the latter in daily language bc many Americans make judgements by observing skin color.

Question 10

Describe the history/evolution of asking about race on the US census (since the first one, in 1790):

Answer 10

The first 3 censuses only had 3 races: Free whites, other free ppl, slaves. The next 3 censuses kept them 3 but changed “other free” to “free colored.” In the 20th, “mulatto” was included (mix of black & another race). American Indians were added in the mid-19th, Chinese/Japanese in the late 19th, other Asian “races” in early 20th, and “races” from Central and South America in the mid-20th. The 1960 Census was the 1st to permit you (instead of the census taker) to pick your own race. 1980 was the first to classify some Americans as Hispanic.

Question 11

When did the US government adopt the term Hispanic?

Answer 11

In 1973, because it was considered an inoffensive label that could be applied to all from Spanish-speaking countries while avoiding the gender-specific “Latino,” used interchangeably with Hispanic.
-33% of them preffered “Hispanic,” 15% “Latino”, and 50% didn’t care. Only 20% of them actually used either terms to identify themselves, and instead used a more specific ethnicity or national origin.

Question 12

How can the origins of Hispanic Americans be divided? What are Mexican Americans called?

Answer 12

-2/3 from Mexico (relating to immigration patterns).
-2nd largest group: Puerto Rico.
-1/4 from CAribbean Islands.
-Some come from people in the Mexican territory that was controlled by Spain before it became part of the US in 1848 (Mexican-American War).
-Mexican Americans are sometimes called Chicanos, which was offensive, but in the 1950s Mexican youths in LA called themselves Chicanos with pride.

Question 13

Where are Hispanics clustered?

Answer 13

Southwest. They exceed 1/3 of the population of AZ, NM, and TX, and 1/4 of CA (which is home to 1/3 of all Hispanics in the US). TX is home to 1/5 of all of them, and Florida/NY home to 1/6 each.

Question 14

How do Asian Americans identify their ethnicity? Where are they clustered?

Answer 14

19% of them use Asian American as their ethnicity; 62% use their country of origin (of themselves or their ancestors). Largest numbers are from China, India, Philippines. They are clustered in the West (making up more than 40% of Hawaii population). 1/2 of all of them live in California, where they comprise 12% of the population.

Question 15

Why is it difficult to pinpoint precisely the ethnic origins of African Americans?

Answer 15

Their ancestors arrived around 300 years ago from places in Africa that weren’t yet organized into countries, and records weren’t kept of the ethnic origin of African Americans arriving as slaves. DNA testing now helps to narrow the ethnic heritage of African Americans, and most of them come from 3 areas in West Africa.

Question 16

Where are African Americans clustered?

Answer 16

In the Southeast, where they make up 1/4 of the population in AL, GA, MD, SC, and Louisiana. And, more than 1/3 of Mississippi’s population. Concentrations are even higher in certain counties. In contrast, 9 states in upper New England and the West have less than 1% African Americans

Question 17

How are the descendants of people living in North America before the Europeans classified? Where are they clustered?

Answer 17

They are grouped into 3 principal ethnic identities:
Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian. Most Native Americans, however, don’t specify a group. They are clustered in the southwest/north-central US & Alaska, and exceed 10% of AK, OK, NM, & SD populations. Indigenous people occupied much of the land 1000’s of years before the first Europeans arrived, and forced migration during the 19th played a major role in their current distribution.

Question 18

How are Indigenous peoples grouped in Canada (where they make up 4% of the population)?

Answer 18

1. First Nations: A term for indigenous peoples other than Inuit or Métis, who first settled tens of thousands of years ago in Canada.
2. Inuit: Settled in Northern Canada 4,000 years ago.
3. Métis: Descendants of indigenous peoples who married Europeans starting 400 years ago.

Question 19

What is the makeup of Brazil’s ethnicities?

Answer 19

70% have European ancestry, 20% African, and 10% Indigenous. However, through generations of marriages and births, most Brazilians have a mix of ethnicities. So, instead of ethnicity, Brazil’s census classifies people according to skin color.

Question 20

How did the census ask Brazilians to identify themselves?

Answer 20

As one 1 of 5 races: white, brown, black, yellow, & indigenous. White/brown together account for more than 90% of Brazil’s population. However, Brazilians don’t care for the census choices and self-identify themselves with not included races. Many also identified with 2 races that both translate into “black,” and few considered themselves “brown.” Today, more self-identify as black/brown.

Question 21

At a national scale, what are the clusters of various races in different regions of Brazil?

Answer 21

1. South: Brancos (white). Brazil’s 4 southernmost states are 70% branco, & the south was a destination for Portuguese immigrants in colonial times AND from other Europe countries after independence.
2. North: Indigenous (pardo). Primarily Amazon rainforest. Relatively few Europeans.
3. Northeast: Pardos (brown). And many Pretos (black) migrating from Africa to be enslaved; and 1/2 of them are clustered along east coast.
4. West-Central: Pardo & Branco. Was sparsely inhabited until Brasilia was constructed in 1960. Brazilians of all races have migrated to work there.

Question 22

What is an example of local-scale racial diversity in Brazil?

Answer 22

In São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, has Brancos clustered in the center of the city, and pardos in the outer areas. The racial divide is reflected in housing: Brancos cluster in modern high-rises, but pardos live in poor-wuality housing. Brazil’s racial divide has been a source of both pride and tension.

Question 23

How have the areas that ethnicities occupy in US cities changed over time?

Answer 23

In the early 20th, Midwest cities like Chicago, Cleveland, & Detroit attracted ethnic groups from S & E Europe to work in the steel & automotive industries. In 1910, 3/4 of Detroit’s residents were immigrants, & they clustered in neighborhoods.
-Until the mid-20th, US cities still had EEs established by Europeans, but by the late 20th, most of them had moved out to suburbs, forming ethnoburbs.

Question 24

What are some examples of how the clustering of ethnicities is especially pronounced at the neighborhood scale?

Answer 24

Goutte d’Or, Paris: 1/3 belong to ethnicities who have emigrated from former African colonies of France.
In the UK, London has a few ethnic enclaves: 1/3 of its people were born outside the UK (17% in Asia, 7% in Africa, 6% in Caribbean). They have formed enclaves, like Bangladesh/Africans in the east, Caribbeans in the north/south, and Arabs in the west.

Question 25

What are examples of urban enclaves in the US?

Answer 25

African Americans and Hispanics are highly clustered in urban enclaves. Around 90% of these ethnicities live in metropolitan areas, compared to around 75% for all Americans. Chicago, for example, consists of roughly equal numbers of whites, African Americans, and Hispanics. Whites cluster on the North Side, African Americans on the South and West sides, and Hispanics on the Northwest and Southwest sides.