Race & Racialization Flashcards
Minority
Any definable category of people who are socially disadvantaged
What are two components of minority?
1) The group lacks social power
2) Distinct from the majority
Majority
A definable category of people who are socially advantaged
- The dominant group
What is the dominant group in the Canadian society?
White males of European descent
What makes a group a minority?
1) It’s lack of power… not the number of individuals in a given group
2) They are definable… recognizably different from the majority
What is the South African system of apartheid?
Where the numerically inferior white population dominated the numerically superior blacks
Stigmatization is based on ________
perceived attributes
What are some examples of defining characteristics?
Language, skin color, religious beliefs
The cumulative effect of visible difference, language, and religion, heightens these individuals exclusion… and increases their chances of experiencing ______ and ________
Prejudice and Discrimination
Historically Race was defined as ?
A group of people that were physically and genetically distinguished from other groups
- Skin color, hair texture, facial features
Are different races actually genetically different?
Research suggests that a person’s race accounts for a tiny 0.24% of their genetic makeup
- It is possible that people with different skin colors share more genetic material, then people with the same skin color.
Which are two ways race affects people?
1) Though the invisible privileges that whiteness carries
2) The blatant or subtle discrimination that minorities face regularly
Define the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy with minority groups
If the minority groups are perceived as different, over time they may feel different… and assume the attributes that others credit them
Racialization
The process of attributing complex characteristics (intelligence, athletic) to racial categories
Example of Racialization
Racialization occurs when people infer that black athletes are better then white ones
Internalized racism
When members of a racial group assume the attributes associated with that racial classification and internalize them as part of their identities
Why do sociologists prefer not to use the term race? (3)
1) It is socially constructed
2) Lack of evidence that genetic differences exist
3) The term has colonial and ethnocentric biases
What word should we use instead of race? Why?
Minority group or racialized population
- To accentuate the importance of a group’s socially constructed status and lack of social power and de-emphasized biology
Things to know about ‘race’ (6)
1) Race is a modern idea
2) Race has no genetic basis
3) Skin color is really only skin deep
4) Most variation is within, not between, ‘races’
5) Race justified social inequalities as natural
6) Race isnt biological, but rascism is still real
Ethnicity
Fluid concept that includes ones minority or majority status; ancestry, language, and often religious affiliation
- Ex. defining yourself with your family’s Greek heritage = helps to define your self-concept
Ethnic group
A collection of people who identify with each other and share a common culture, art forms, language, traditions, beliefs
Sociologists suggest that like race, one’s ethnic identity is _____ and _______
Socially constructed and significant in defining one’s perception of self
What are 3 ways of thinking about Ethnicity?
1) Cultural toolkit (Ann Swidler)
2) Ethnic options (Mary Waters)
3) Master status (Mary Waters)
What do each of these mean?
1) Cultural toolkit (Ann Swidler)
People dont just live within a culture but use elements of that culture to inform their behavior and decision-making
What do each of these mean?
2) Ethnic options (Mary Waters)
Ethnic identity is something that is flexible, symbolic and voluntary, not a definitive aspect
What do each of these mean?
3) Master status (Mary Waters)
The trait that overpowers any other traits that might contradict it
Prejudice
A prejudgment - Negative attitude or assessment about what a person or group is like before you actually meet them
What are 3 types of prejudices?
1) Ecological fallacy
2) Exception fallacy
3) Stereotype
Ecological Fallacy
When people draw conclusions about individual attributes from data gathered from an entire group
- All Chinese are good at math
Exception Fallacy
When people draw conclusions about an entire group based on observations of individuals
- If you know 1 black smart person, you can’t say all black people are just as smart
Stereotype
A stable and sweeping generalization about a category of people
Racism (a type of prejudice)
An ideology that justifies treating people differently because of their racial category
OR an ideology that maintains that one ‘race’ is inherently superior to another.
Democratic Racism
A system that advocates equality but in fact perpetuates minority differentiation and oppression
Discrimination
Occurs when a person’s actions deny or grant advantages to members of a particular group
What are the 3 levels of discrimination?
1) Individual discrimination
2) Direct institutional discrimination
3) Indirect institutional discrimination
Individual discrimination
Example?
Occurs when an individual advantages or disadvantages another because of that person’s group membership
EX. Not renting your home to someone from India because their cooking stinks
Direct institutional discrimination
Example?
Occurs when an institution employs policies or practices that are discriminatory against a person or group
EX. Canada’s residential school system, Putting up a sign that says no black workers wanted
Indirect institutional discrimination
Example?
When individuals are treated differently based on unlawful criterion (physical disability, cultural origin, age, gender, religion), even though these actions were never intended to be discriminatory
EX. Policies/ programs that appear neutral but have an effect when put into practice
How did the movie Crash reflect racism?
- The maids are women from a minority group
- An accent shows they are part of a minority which changes the type of service that person receives
According to Merton’s Typology:
What is the relationship between prejudice and discrimination?
A person can be both, only one but not the other, or neither
Scapegoat Theory
The assertion that prejudice discrimination originate in the frustrations of people who want to blame someone else for their problems
Victims rarely have anything to do with the situation at hand
Authoritarian personality theory
Asserts that extreme prejudice is a personality trait of people who strongly believe in following cultural norms, values, and traditions
Frankfurt school
A group of German social philosophers dedicated to understanding the role of culture and mass communication in the Nazi regime
What did the Frankfurt school become famous for?
For using critical social theory to explore the role of culture and mass communication in the social reproduction of domination and oppression
What is the f-test?
Adorno’s assessment tool to determine a person’s personality and likelihood of holding prejudicial attitudes
How does the Culture Theory theorize Prejudice and Discrimination?
- The assertion that some prejudice is healthy(unifies) and part of all cultures
- Culture is prejudice
- Social distance: Bogardus’ concept of the relative distance people feel between themselves and other racial groups
How does the Culture of poverty Theory theorize Prejudice and Discrimination?
Ethnic and racial groups share a common culture which is inferior, and makes them unable to succeed
How does the Functionalist Theory theorize Prejudice and Discrimination?
- Prejudice draws your own group closer together
- Ethnic solidarity increases social cohesion
- The dominant group comes together to confront the common enemy (a race)
According to functionalists, what is the cost of discrimination?
- Economically it does not make sense (not hiring certain races)
- It runs the risk of increasing social problems such as poverty and crime
Social distance
Bogardus’ concept of the relative distance people feel between themselves and other racial groups
Culture Theory
Culture of prejudice
A value system that promotes prejudice, discrimination, and oppression
Culture Theory
How does the Conflict Theory theorize Prejudice and Discrimination?
- They are logical outcomes of the competition for limited resources
- Dominant group benefits from differentiation, exclusion, and institutional racism
- race is used to explain and legitimize class based inequalities
What are the 3 approaches of the Conflict Theory towards race?
1) Dual labour market theory
2) Marxist exploitation theory
3) Critical race theory
Dual labour market theory
Moderns societies have two distinct labour markets
1) The primary= healthy salary + benefits
2) The secondary = hourly wages, temporary, no benefits
Marxist exploitation theory
Powerful economic elite promotes, and benefits from, prejudice and discrimination
Critical race theory
An interdisciplinary approach used to investigate the intersections of race, class, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality to explain prejudice and discrimination
What do Conflict Theorist argue about discrimination and prejudice?
That without restructuring modern class systems and global capitalism, substantive changes to the minority is unlikely
How does the Symbolic Interactionist Theory theorize Prejudice and Discrimination?
- Prejudice is learned and can be unlearned
- Racial Socialization
- Selective perception: people only see things that reinforce their preconceived perceptions
According to the Symbolic Interactionist Theorists, how can we reduce prejudices?
With the contact hypothesis which is the proposal that prejudiced attitudes can decline with inter-group contact of equal status
How does the Multiracial Feminist Theory theorize Prejudice and Discrimination?
An approach that investigates race, class, and gender, and gives voice to women of color who may feel alienated from traditional white feminism
How does the Post-colonial Theory theorize Prejudice and Discrimination?
An approach that examines the ways in which the colonial past has shaped the social, political, and economic experiences of a colonized country
View bullet points for different theories
P.124-126
What are the five categories of minority relations?
1) Genocide
2) Expulsion or Population transfer
3) Segregation and separatism
4) Assimilation
5) Cultural pluralism or multiculturalism
Genocide
EX?
The intentional extermination of all members of a minority group
EX. Holocaust
Expulsion or Population transfer
EX?
Force a minority to leave the country or confines them to a particular location
- Goal to remove the minority group from society
EX. Aboriginal people onto reserves
Segregation and separatism
EX?
1) Formal physical or social separation of dominant and minority groups
2) Voluntary structural and cultural isolation by minority groups from the dominant group
Ex. Vancouver’s Chinatown, French in Quebec
Assimilation
Minority group sheds its differences and assumes the traits of the dominant group
- Minority lose their ethnic identity; language, culture, etc.
Cultural pluralism or multiculturalism
Minority groups retain their cultural identities and the larger society promotes cultural, ethnic and racial diversity
- While still having a sense of belonging as a Canadian
Melting pot
The blending of new immigrants’ traditions and cultural identity into the dominant American culture
* Willingly!!*
Which country was the first to adopt multiculturalism?
Canada was the first in the world
What do some complain in regards to multiculturalism?
That it tends to freeze cultures in a fixed state and does not allow them to evolve.
What are two components to the history of immigration?
1) Economically driven = let them immigrate to Canada to build rail tracks
2) Exclusionary = At some point the Chinese couldn’t come to Canada
When did we allow the most immigrants for consecutive years?
Now more then ever before
What are the five reasons Canada allows lots of immigration?
1) Supply workers for Canadian economy
2) Population Growth
3) We are able to manage immigration
4) Popular support for ‘managed immigration’
5) Humanitarian image (positive)
How do you become a Canadian resident?
Determined by a point system (67=pass)
1) language known
2) Education
3) Work experience
4) Age
5) Arranged employment
6) ‘Adaptability’
Where do most immigrants settle …?
Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal
Ontario, Bc or Quebec
Aboriginal History & Issues?
History = Residential schools (assimilation)
Issues = inadequate housing, education, employment, and self governance
- 3.8% of Canadian population
Chinese History & Issues?
History = 'head tax'of $500 in 1903; then Chinese Immigration Act which prevent chinese immigrants from 1923-1947 Issues = protested and called July 1st Humiliation Day
