Race and Ethnicity Flashcards
Define Race
A socially constructed category of people who share physical characteristics that distinguish them from other groups
It is always on display
Define Ethnicity
A shared cultural heritage or characteristics with a common language, religion, nationality, history, etc.
Can be displayed or hidden
Define Genocide
The (attempted) annihilation of a people because of their presumed race or ethnicity
ex. The Holocaust, Rwanda Genocide
Define Minority Group
People who are singled out for unequal treatment and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination
Define Dominant Group
The group with the most power, greatest privileges, and high social status
Define Racism
Prejudice and discrimination based on race
Set of beliefs about the superiority of one racial/ethnic group
Used to justify inequality, rooted in genetic assumptions and white supremacy, and combined with structural and systemic power
Define Prejudice
An attitude or prejudging usually in a negative way, a thought process
An idea about the characteristics of a group, applied to all members of that group, unlikely to change, can be positive but is typically negative
Define Discrimination
Unfair treatment directed against an individual or a group, an action
Motivated by prejudice, based on many characteristics (age, sex, weight, skin color, sexual orientation, disability, etc.)
Define Individual Discrimination
Discrimination carried out by one person against another
Define Institutional Discrimination
Discrimination carried out systematically by social institutions that affect all members of a group that come into contact with it
Ex. Home mortgages, health care, employment
Define White Privilege
White people, relative to those in minority categories, enjoy social advantages
Ex. Invisible Knapsack
Define Contact Theory
When people from different racial-ethnic backgrounds, who are of equal status, interact frequently, prejudice and negative stereotypes decrease, and racial-ethnic relations improve.
Psychological Perspectives on Prejudice
Frustration and Scapegoats
- People are unable to strike out at the real source
The Authoritarian Personality
- Rank high on conformity, intolerance, insecurity, and submissiveness
Functionalism Perspective
Prejudice is functional because it creates social cohesion
Conflict Theory Perspective
Split Labor Force - Unionizing, if you don’t want the job, someone else will
Reserve Labor Force - Seasonal, hiring for temporary position and fired afterwards
Symbolic Interactionism Perspective
Labels - Derogatory words
Stereotypes
Order from Inhumanity/Rejection to Humanity/Acceptance
- Genocide
- Population Transfer - dominant group expels minority group
- Internal Colonialism - dominant group exploits minority group
- Segregation - dominant group uses social institutions to maintain minimal contact w/minority groups
- Assimilation - dominant group absorbs minority group
- Multiculturalism - dominant group encouraged racial and ethnic variation (eventually there is no dominant group)
