soci 201 race and ethnicity Flashcards
when does stereotyping occur
it occurs when oversimplified images of social categories are exaggerate
what is racism
it is the combination of prejudice and discrimination
what is prejudice and discrimination
prejudice is having unfavourable, rigid, and generalized BELIEFS applied to all members of a group
discrimination is PRACTICES that deny equal access to societal rewards
what is L.outlaws theory
Lucius Outlaw - “Toward a Critical Theory
of Race”
1.need to examine the “career” of the term “race”.
2. unclear if derived from an Arabic, Latin or a German source.
3. First use in English by William Dunbar in 1508 in a poem.
4.initially used to denote a class of persons or things. In the 19th and 20th centuries, however, it came to signify groups that were distinguished biologically.
***we know that the term “race” did not begin
with science, but actually predates
science
what were the findings of darwin and mendel
darwin stated that genetucs determines wether a species can survive or not in environmental changes
mendel’s research shows that bioligical traits are not package deals but a ‘shuffled deck of cards’ (not clones of parents)
what is race
it is not a meaningful bioligical category but rather a biological and social CONSTRUCT
-bioligical traits interpreted by others
how is race an achieved AND ascribed status
- racial classifications are arbitrary
- genetic differences between groups are small
- genetic differences are behaviourally insignificant
what is the THOMAS THEOREM
W.I. THOMAS (SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST)
“if people define situations are real, they are real in their consequences”
-the belief in race gives rise to interpersonal racism
what are the 3 categories of racism and their types in it
INTERPERSONAL (hate, polite, sublminal)- among people
INSTITUTIONAL (systemic, systematic)-in gov’n institutions
CULTURAL (everyday, ideological)
definition/example of interpersonal racism(s)
hate: utterly showing anger and hateful actions towards a racial group (KKK)
polite: not necessarily hateful words but stereotypes that generalize and overexaggerate characteristics of one group
subliminal: when an individuals throughts do not align with their actions. believe they are not a racist yet personal statements are contradictory
definition/example of institutional racism(s)
systemic: regulations already in place in order to exclude certain people (specific body figure or height to be a police officer)
systematic: CREATING intentional racism to exclude certain groups of individuals (chinese head tax to prevent immigration and favour european immigrants) INTENTIONAL AND EXPLICIT
definition/example of cultural racism(s)
everyday: words used in everyday language with racist origin and is sometimes not even known (blackmailed, blackballed)
ideological: streams of racist thought that exist and pop up ‘here and there’ and resurface in places (turban in RCMP uniform)
what are the solutions and ‘correct’ order of prejudice/discrimination
a) prejudice–> discrimination INCORRECT solution being education of prejudices
b) discrimination–> prejudice CORRECT (R. Merton) solution being the sanctioning of unwanted behaviour
why do racial crimes occur- biological and problem?
-suggests that ethnic grouping is natural and in our genes therefore, discrimination, prejudice, and ethnocentrism, are inevitable behaviors and these features of society will continue as our nature cannot be eradicated
-problems are that a) people will often hurt members of their own racial/ethnic groups
b)people of different groups will often come together in anti-racist campaigns
race and eugenics
-career of “race” lived on in the Eugenics campaign in
Nazi Germany, but also in Canada.
-In the 1920/30 Canadian doctors were concerned about the impact of
immigrants upon the Canadian population
-suspected physical and mental defects were spreading from immigrants as they reproduced with anglo-saxons
-In Alberta and BC, sterilization campaigns took
place in which visible minorities were targeted.
-Sterilization required parental consent and was a barrier for doctors
-1937, the consent provision was removed
-in the final years of the Act, First Nations people and Metis accounted for 25% of the sterilized even though they represented only 2.5% of the total population.
-Act was removed in 1971 but fear of being flooded by genetic defects continued
what was the studies of Rushton?
according to rushton, there are 3 races:
-Negroids, Caucasoids, and Mongoloids
-said the latter have lower crime rates and are more intelligent where as negroids are biologically crime ridden and have less intelligence
-his research is flawed because he uses the concept of race and treats it as unproblematic
-also doesnt take into account differences in the measures of crime in diff nations
racial crimes-psychological
frustration with personal life leading to agression
-hilter blaming jews
racial crimes-normative explanation
prejudice and discrimination are passed down from generation to generation
prejudice and discrimination are socialized into children
what is the normative theory
-originates in functionalism
-proposes that people are exposed to group norms and prejudice is the result of group socialization
-therefore, those exposed to prejudice, will show discriminatory behaviour
how can prejudice and discrimination be described
-a persons definition of situations
-reference group norms
normative theory- R.Merton
-questioned why people failed to think/act racistly when exposed to it AND why some behave in such fashion when group norms dictate fairness
-argued that discrimination occurs BEFORE prejudice or sterotypes occur
-some ppl consumed with success norms but cannot attain success therefore resort to blaming others
-discrimination THEN sterotyping/prejudice in order to rationalize their actions
-Merton was a FUNCTIONALIST
what is the vertical mosaic
-text by John Porter (vertical mosaic created by state policies)
-believed there are charcter groups and enterance groups
-charter groups colonized countries and set rules for other to follow if to enter canada
-ehtnic groups layered vertically and charter groups at top with entrance groups below them
satzewich
-conflict theorist
-the struggle to accumulate wealth in capitalist societies is the result of prejudice and discrimination
-immigrants blamed fro poor econmic situation experienced by members of proletariat
