Race & Ethnicity Flashcards
What is Race?
Race is:
- social concept, primarily in the form of racism
- mental product of social practices called racialization
What is Racialization?
Racialization:
construction of certain groups of people as different and biologically superior/inferior based on:
- intellect
- morality
- values
- innate worth
What is Visible Minority (in Canada)?
Visible minority in Canada is defined as people other than ‘aboriginal peoples’ who are non-caucasian in race or non-white in colour
Master Narrative
Master narrative:
the story a nation tells itself to celebrate its past and present
- racism is often downplayed in the master narrative (ex. colonialism)
- Evolves over time through school books, history writing, museums, popular culture etc.
Often glosses over unpleasant events that complicate the national self-identity
Who coined the term “Subjugated Knowledge” what is it from?
Micheal Foucault called events buried in the master narrative ““Subjugated/Buried Knowledge”
Racism (sociological lens)
racism is not a set of damaging words and ideals we use to hurt others for no reason, rather, it is an institutionalized system of social control
The Chinese Myth
The Chinese Myth = black africans were seen as overcooked/burnt, perfect cooking was considered to be golden brown Chinese (aka pale europeans)
What is the one-drop rule?
One-drop rule = the belief that one drop of black blood makes a person black
Application of the rule was intended to keep white population “pure” and lumped anyone with black blood into one category
Why were historical efforts to explain race biased?
Ethnocentrism
- Evaluation & Judgment of other groups by one’s own standards & values
Social Darwinism
Notion that some groups or races have evolved more than others and thus were better fit to survive and even rule other races
At what point were people forced to select only one race, even if they described themselves as biracial?
Prior to the year 2000
Settler Colonialism
Settler Colonialism
- a distinct type of colonialism that functions through replacement of indigenous population with an invasive settler society
Terra Nullius
perception that lands in long-term use by indigenous people are empty/unused
Dehumanization
a perception that members of a group are somehow different in humanity, and hence not owed the universal human rights that arise from our common humanity
Closed Contract
Closed Contract
- visas of the mexican workers are tied to one particular employer with very few rights that Canadian workers have
Ethnicity
Ethnicity refers to membership in a cultural group that has roots in a particular place in the world
- most people identify with one race but many have many ethnicities
Essentialism/Primordialism
Essentialism
- presents a static view of ethnic culture
- culture does not change without the influence of outside forces
ex. colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism
- the economic and political exploitation of a country or people by another
Postcolonialism
Postcolonialism
- framework that analyzes the destructive impact colonialism has on both the colonizer and the colonized
Indirect Rule
Indirect Rule
- governance policy in which european nation uses members of a ethnic group as intermediaries in ruling african territory
Epiphenomenal
Epiphenomenal
describes a secondary effect that arises from a separate phenomenon
suggests that any ethnic conflict is just a byproduct of struggle between economic classes
Instrumentalism
Instrumentalism
- focuses on emerging ethnicity rather than long-established ethnic characteristics
- opposite to essentialism, compatible with epiphenomenal
Ethnic Entrepreneurs
Ethnic Entrepreneurs
- Elite members who mobilize ethnicity for personal gain
Social Constructivism
Social Constructivism
- a view that ethnicity is artificial, constructed by individuals to serve some agenda
- ethnicity is constructed by the elite
- neglects role of historical processes in formation of ethnic identities
