Midterm #2: Q22-42 Flashcards
What is race?
A social distinction between people based on physical or biological characteristics
What is socialization?
What is racism? Identify and explain its elements.
It’s an organized system operating at every level of society held together by the sophisticated ideology on racial supremacy
What is ethnicity?
This refers to the differences between people based on culture, language, and religion, and other similar differences
What is essentialism?
The idea that sees race as fixed and universal natural human categories
Provide arguments in support that race is socially constructed
-Lacks a biological basis - based on modern genetics, it’s shown that human genetic variation doesn’t really align neatly w/ racial categories; there’s no single gene that defines race and not everyone in a racial group has the same biological features
-Racial categories have changed overtime - In diff historical periods, racial classification have shifted based on political, economic, and social needs (ex/ the ‘one-drop rule’ in the U.S. classifies anyone w/ some African ancestry as “black”, and it diff from other racial classification systems in other countries, which shows it’s not fixed)
-Race is defined diff across diff cultures - for ex/ in Brazil, racial identity is more based on physical appearance than ancestry
-Race is used to maintain social hierarchies - it’s been used to justify colonialism, slavery, and segregation, making hierarchies that privilege certain groups over others
What is a symbolic ethnicity? provide examples
A process of social identity in which a person’s ethnic identity is solely associated w/ iconic elements of the culture; these symbolic identifications are basically leisure time activities, rooted in nuclear family traditions reinforced by the voluntary enjoyable aspects of being ethnic
(ex/ Ppl that identify as Irish on occasions like Saint-Patrick’s Day on family holidays, or for vacations, but don’t incorporate into their everyday lives)
Why does it matter how we construct census categories? What consequences do these census findings have/may have?
Because it’s an important thing that collects demographic data about individuals in an area, so it matters that there’s enough representative categories in order to have accurate statistical data on racial groups
What is white privilege?
Unearned advantages and benefits applying to only individuals under the racial category of ‘white’; this of course stems from the white supremacy agenda that governed a lot of societal structures, intuitions, ideologies in the past and some still carry to present day
What is prejudice?
A negative attitude toward someone just because of their membership in a certain group
What is discrimination?
Positive or negative of someone just because of their belonging to a certain group
What is multiculturalism?
It’s a belief that provides a political framework for the promotion of cultural differences as a important part of society
What is colonialism?
Process in which a country in a high position of power takes control over another country seen as inferior in order to gain social and economic advantages; countries w/ power were controlled by white ppl while inferior countries controlled consisted of ppl or color
Explain multiculturalism as the master narrative in Canada. What does this narrative do?
Multiculturalism as the master narrative in Canada means it’s the dominant framework that describes how Canada defines its identity, values, and policies; it promotes the idea of Canada being an inclusive place where all cultures and ethnicities can live together w/ harmony but also maintain their culture and tradition
-This narrative shapes this country’s identity, which distinguishes it from other countries w/ diff values (ex/ U.S. as a ‘melting pot’)
-It also helps create a sense of belonging for immigrants
-influences gov’t policies (Canadian Multicultural Act (1988))
How has a culture of moral panic contributed to the scapegoating of immigrants?
The culture of moral panic is the belief/fear that some evil person or thing threatens the well-being of a community or society, so especially w/ all the possible racism, stereotypes, and discrimination that immigrants tend to face, ppl who are native to a certain place and have that view point about immigrants would be more likely to unfairly blame them for many issues
Explain scientific racism with examples
Using scientific methods and ideas to justify the idea that racial order exists in nature
ex/ By studying practice of taxonomy, believing the racial category of ‘black’ has ppl who all have frizzled hair, flat noses, tumid lips, dark brown skin, etc
Explain structural racism with examples
A form a racism that is deeply embedded into social structures so much that it has shaped the practices and beliefs that condone and perpetuate the unfair treatment of people of color
ex/ The data that shows that black and Indigenous ppl have more run-ins w/ the police than any other race; this stems from the racist belief that black and Indigenous ppl are criminals and are dangerous and need to be controlled
Explain institutional racism with examples
policies and procedures that are embedded and organized into societal institutions in a way that reduces access to resources for racialized groups
ex/ Schools in Black and Latino neighborhoods in the U.S. tend to receive less funding than White neighborhood schools; this is probably due to the belief embedded that they are less than or criminals, so therefore they deserve less consideration and funding
What are some examples of Indigenous people’s experiences of structural and institutional racism in Canada? Historically and currently
What are some examples of Asian experiences in Canada in relation to racism, historically and currently?
- When Chinese immigrants came and settled on Canada’s west coast in 19th century for work, they were often viewed by the European settlers with suspicion and disgust
- about 22,000 of Japanese-Canadian were internment camps and had their property taken away during WWII
-In 2020 during covid, a lot of Asian-Americans and Canadians were blamed for creating and spreading the virus
How do the police state and criminal system contribute to racism?
Because racial minorities tend to be the prime target of hate crimes involving violence and hate crimes in general; they also tend to be criminalized and incarcerated more
How do you understand whiteness as property
Why are hate crimes hard to prosecute?
What does the concept of “ambient racism” refer to?
