Race, Ethnicity and Cosmopolitanism Flashcards
Define Prejudice
Negative attitudes about an entire group of people
Define Stereotypes
Simplified perceptions of a group of people usually based on false assumptions (can be both positive or negative, but equally harmful)
Define Discrimination
Differential treatment of people (can be positive or negative)
What is the primary difference between prejudice and discrimination?
Prejudice is an attitude and discrimination is an action based on that attitude
Define Scapegoating
Unfair blaming of another group for societal problems, for example unemployment, poverty, etc.
Define Segregation
Enforced separation different groups within communities (e.g. apartheid)
What is race as defined by Lentin?
‘Race is not singular. Rather, it weaves together ideas from biology, culture, nationalism and religion to make inferences about whole populations. It is first and foremost a technique for the management of human difference that has been used by states, governments and institutions, such as the police, education, healthcare and welfare, to organise and demarcate between people.’ (Lentin 2018)
What is Racism as defined by Lentin?
‘Neither our schooling nor our media equip us to understand what race and racism are. We have only been told that racism is wrong. And when people feel accused of wrongdoing, they go into denial mode. But this is unproductive. We need to move away from a moral understanding of racism, which sees it as a problem of “bad” individuals, and towards a systemic one, which grounds our understanding in the history of European colonialism’ (Lentin 2018)
How is race related to social constructivism?
Race is social construct, not a genetic makeup
Greater genetic variation between individuals than between ‘races’
Blurry boundaries and different notions of ‘race’ in different contexts
-Concepts such as nationality, religion and ethnicity
often blending into ‘race’
-Historical and cultural context important
‘Scientific Racism’ coincides with European colonial expansion in the 19th century with Migration as invasion, conquest, domination.
What is civilization and the ‘white man’s burden’ and by who was this coined?
White man’s burden was coined by Kipling and related to the white man needing to civilise other races.
“Take up the White Man’s burden- Send forth the best ye breed Go bind your sons to exile To serve your captives’ need; To wait in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild- Your new-caught, sullen peoples Half-devil and half-child.” (R. Kipling 1899)
What is commodified racism?
This is when mundane action such as using soap is symbolized as civilizing (whitening in the dove ads) and used in terms of the white man’s burden.
Who coined white supremacy and what it consists of?
Mills (2003) coined the term explaining that it’s a socio-political system that historically created and perpetuates white privilege.
Economic: racial exploitation
-> accumulation of “white” wealth (settlement) from “red” soil (genocide) by “black” labour (slavery)
Political: forging of different social groups of “whites” into one ruling class
Cultural: systematic ‘bleaching’ of all elements of civilisation
Epistemological: “white normativity” with whiteness as the supreme ideal
Metaphysical: separation of superior whites and inferior non-whites
Somatic: Racial embodiment and alienation of non-white bodies
What is institutional racism?
Notion of ‘race’ as a biological concept largely discredited after WWII but never completely dismissed
‘Race’ as a social construct continues to impact the life chances of individuals in all social spheres
Increasing importance of understanding racism as ‘institutional’ rather than ‘intentional’
structure vs. agency
Practices and structures of marginalisation and exclusion
-Racism is built into social institutions and state
bureaucracy
-Individuals do not need to hold racist beliefs or
prejudices to benefit from a ‘racial premium’
‘wages of whiteness’ (Roediger 1990) are critical whiteness studies
What is the difference between race and ethnicity?
Race commonly divides people on the bases of essentialised traits:
Categorization imposed by others
Often (but not always) visible or physical characteristics, such as skin colour
Study of implications for life opportunities of individuals not ‘race science’!
Ethnicity characterizes groups by shared cultural, linguistic or ancestral heritage:
Often self-identification, belonging to a community with shared traditions
Less visible but significant markers of identity
Not constant but ever changing subject to social, economic and political forces
Multiplicity of sources for identities (gender, class, sexuality, etc.)
Racial labels often result in disadvantages and stereotyping
What are some historical causes of indigenous disadvantage and what are some of these on going disadvantages?
500000 to 750000 individuals before 1788 living in culturally diverse communities
European colonization: assumption of impending extinction of the ‘Aboriginal race’
Protectionism and later policies of cultural and biological assimilation lead to forced removal of indigenous children from their families -> ‘Stolen Generations’
Ongoing disadvantage: Employment and income, Education, Housing
