Soc 100 - Race Flashcards
Race vs Ethnicity. Described by both?
Race usually defined above all by ‘biological’ features, e.g. similarity of skin colour, which can be inherited.�
Ethnicity: is broader, more cultural.
-People may be described by both racial & ethnic categorisations: one may be ethnically German and racially ‘Caucasian.’
Scientific Racism
Term describes series of theories from mid-19th century till 1945 that claimed to provide a ‘scientific’ basis in biology that ‘proved’ superiority of a particular racial group.
How does Comte Arthur de Gobineau’s Essay on the Inequality of Human Races �try to explain human history?
in terms of supposed innate characteristics of different groups.
Before 19th century, concept of biological race unknown.
The Bell Curve
Book published in 1994 by Herrnstein and Murray; argued that lower scores on standardised IQ tests by African-Americans than Caucasians in the US indicates genetic and racial basis for intelligence.
Why Bell Curve rejected?
Systematic study by American Psychological Association: no evidence supporting link between intelligence and race.
No differences in intelligence between races measured at early age: differences only appear later, suggesting social influence.
Study only compares within US, not in global perspective: may be explained by socioeconomic position, not race.
85% of human genetic diversity can be found within ‘races’ �E.G.?
there may be more genetic difference between two random Cambodians than between a Cambodian and a Norwegian.
Social construction of race
Description of the way societies develop ideas of biological ‘race.’
Points to shifting definitions of races, and impossibility of drawing exact boundaries.
Under slavery in the US, ‘one-drop rule’ defined people as ‘black’ if …
…they had even one non-white ancestor. Today, Obama is the ‘first black President’ – with a white mother.
Visible Minority
Minority group in society whose differences from mainstream are immediately obvious, and often stigmatised – e.g. different skin colour is visible; homosexuality is not.
Passing
changing names to obscure racial origins, if no other visible differences (see Lecture 3).
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Racialization
Unnecessary use of ‘racial’ characteristics to distinguish people.
Attempt to impose ‘racial’ interpretations on an issue with no basis in it.
Why Racism: St Fu
Ethnic identity provides sense of community and boosts solidarity.
Exclusion and prejudice may help stratify society in way that ensures all jobs get filled.
Why Racism: Crit
Dominant ‘races ‘try to exclude others from share of social wealth
Marxists suggest racism may be result of strategies by bourgeoisie to split proletariat.
Why Racism: Symbolic Interactionists
Racial differences become self-fulfilling prophecy as people act on prejudices they are exposed to.
People may be ‘socialised’ into what it means to be in group.
Why Racism: Structural Theory
Structures can be identified at all levels of society that automatically stream people into specific paths, e.g. schools pushing women & visible minorities to lower jobs.
Institutional Racism
Systems, rules, practices with disproportionate effect on specific ethnic groups.
May or may not be deliberately targeted at these groups; may be insensitive to differences.
Modern Examples of Racialised Practices
Racial profiling: police will stop and search non-white citizens far more than whites; seen in airport security, for example.
Rules on speaking English or on accepted dress may affect minorities disproportionately (e.g. banning headscarves).
Prejudice vs Discrimination
Prejudice: Negative beliefs
Discrimination: The actual act
Are Emily & Greg more employable than Lakisha & Jamal?� Outcomes?
Bertrand & Mullainathan� (2003) sent identical CVs to a number of randomly-selected job adverts, different only in names at the top.
CVs with ‘white’ names received 50% more callbacks than with ‘black’ names: prejudice & discrimination linked.
Social Distance.
Way of measuring how far people are willing to mix with members of other groups, and how far particular groups are excluded from majority of society.
Who developed a Social Distance scale? How work? Who is most excluded? What kind of communities like to exclude outsiders?
Emory S. Bogardus developed seven-step scale of distance, and asked people if they would be willing to have member of another group in this position. Scale from (1) Close relative by marriage to (7) total exclusion from your country.
If accepted at level 1, usually accepted at all levels below.
E.g. “Would you be willing to have an Englishman marry your daughter? Live in the same street? Work in same trade?”
Higher scores = greater social distance = greater exclusion.
-Small, isolated communities particularly likely to want to exclude outsiders and increase social distance; large urban areas show greater tolerance and smallest distance score.
�-Romany/Gypsies subject to particular levels of intolerance; they are excluded almost everywhere, with universal prejudice.
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What recommendations came out of Karl Gunnar Myrdal’s report, American Dilemma: The Negro Problem & Modern Democracy (1938) ?
Myrdal highlights how white majority applied double standards:
Despite doctrine of equality in US constitution, African-Americans treated as less-than-equal even after end of slavery Continued assumption of African-American inferiority; some defenders of slavery argued slaves “not ready for freedom.”
Myrdal suggests only serious government intervention could overcome racist attitudes: need to improve minority access to education, housing, job security, with federal government backing.
Even today, African-Americans first to suffer in crisis.
Myrdal insisted on activist sociology: impossibility of impartiality, so we should recognise bias and work towards valuable goals.
What makes people unaware of the problem of race?
absence of obstacles.
White people rarely made conscious of race because they never run up prejudice from others.
‘White’ is thus treated as ‘normal’ – because it’s never subject of questioning, its privilege is hidden to those who enjoy it.
�-think of wheelchair analogy
