Test 2: Race + Ethnicity Flashcards
Race and Ethnicity in Canada Today
-Canada is diverse + complex composed of racially + ethnically different groups
-widely renowned for cultural democracy + harmonious ethnic diversity
-Significant gains have been made in the past 50 years for ‘visible’ + ‘non-visible’ minority groups
However, racism is an important part of Canada’s history and part of its current circumstances
Multiculturalism/Vertical Mosaic
John Porter: significant degree of ethnic stratification in Canada
- Vertical mosaic: ethnic groups vertically arranged according to income, power, + prestige
- Dissimilarity (occupational differentiation how men + women spread along ethnicity) & Inequality (stratfication, overrepresented in positions of power+prestige)
- Lautard and Guppy compared 1971 and 2006 figures: concluded that ethnic stratification was less pronounced in 2006 than in 1971
Multiculturalism/Vertical Mosaic
Between 1931-2006 decline in significance of ethnicity occurred for both occupational differentiation + stratification
Occupational differentiation: reduction of ethnic division of labor of 30% for men, and 45% for women over 70 years
Occupational stratification: reduction of 50% for men and 45% for women over 50 years
Race: Does it exists?
biological arguments: research in genetics=racial categorization based on phenotypical differences (skin color) don’t correlate with genotypical differences
geneticists find race to be “inadequate + harmful way to think about human biological differences” (Goodman 2000)
Social construction of Race
•Race: social construct used to distinguish people by physical markers(skin colour, hair texture/eye shape) usually with profound effects on their lives
•allows forms of social inequality to be created + perpetuated. how people treat one another because of it + power
-variation across time + space, depends on context
Race matters
Racialization: social + political processes by which racial groups are socially constructed based on perceived physical differences
Eugenics movement: founded on social philosophy dedicated to improving human heredity through selective breeding for ‘desirable characteristics’
-Hitler, Canadian example: Alberta Sexual Sterilization Act (1928) 4725 sterilizations approved between 1929 and 1972
Ethnicity
collection of ppl distinguished primarily on basis of cultural/nationality characteristics
-can provide a sense of identity + belonging, although not everyone identifies with any one specific ethnic group, some >1
Ethnic groups often share
1) Unique cultural traits, such as language, clothing, holidays, or religious practices;
2) A sense of community
3) Ascribed membership from birth
4) Territoriality or the tendency to occupy or iden=fy with a dis=nct geographic area
Census (2006)
political tool, useful when generates data that help to shape public policy for the benefit of citizens
- can also serve more subversive/racist – political agendas
- allow a fair degree of choice. US asks all respondents to identify their ‘race’, the Canadian form ask respondents to identify their ‘ethnic/cultural origins’, as well as those of their ancestors
Visible Minority
over 16% of pop visible minorities
Canadian Employment Equity Act: defines visible minority as ‘persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, non-Caucasian in race or non-white in color”.
96% of members of Canada’s visible minority live in big cities (population rate 68%)
43% of Toronto and 42% of Vancouver’s
RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS: Labels, Identity, and Symbolic Interaction
•development of racial + ethnic labels + identities typically a process of negotiation:
- Members of a group may have racial/ethnic identity, but outsiders may impose new label on them
- Group members then reject, accept, or modify label
- Negotiation between outsiders and insiders eventually results in crystallization of new, more/less stable ethnic identity
- If social context changes again, negotiation process begins anew, never ending unless no change in social situation
Ethnic and Racial Labels: Imposition versus Choice
•race and ethnicity are socially constructed doesn't mean that everyone can always choose their racial or ethnic identity freely •wide variations over time in degree to which ppl can exercise such freedom of choice •diff. categories of people are more or less free to choose -if higher class label u=less freedom
Majority and Minority Groups
-A majority (or dominant) group is one that is advantaged + has superior resources and rights in a society A minority (or subordinate) group is one whose members are disadvantaged + subjected to unequal treatment by the dominant group Visible minority refers to an official government category of nonwhite, non-Caucasian individuals
Racism
-set of ideas that implies the superiority of one social group over another on the basis of physical or cultural characteristics
Overt Racism: May take the form of public statements about the ‘inferiority’ of members of a racial or ethnic group (X, get out.), less common
Polite Racism: Is an attempt to disguise a dislike of others through behaviour that outwardly is non prejuducial (Sorry, the job is taken)
Racism
Subliminal Racism: form of subconscious racism that occurs when there is a conflict of values (I’m not racist, but…), dont see themselves as racist
Institutionalized Racism: Is made up of the rules, procedures, and practices which may directly/indirectly promote, sustain, or entrench differential advantage or privilege for dominant members (We treat everyone the same here), more latent
Employment Equity Legislation (1986)
visible minorities higher levels of education on average than other Canadians + very high labor-force participation rates, continue to be concentrated in low-status, low-paying jobs
-should be doing better
Employment Equity Legislation
Strategies: Modified admissions tests + requirements
Enhanced recruitment of certain target groups
Establishment of hiring quotas for particular minority groups
Specialized training/employment programs for specific target groups
programs have had the most significant effect on women and Aboriginal peoples, while people with disabilities have made the fewest gains.
Prejudice
negative atittude based on preconceived notions about members of selected groups
Measuring Prejudice: Social distance studies, refers to the extent to which people are willing to interact and establish relationships with members of racial and ethnic groups other than their own
-ppl may not believe themselves as racist
Stereotypes
Overgeneralizations about the appearance, behaviour, or other characteristics of members of particular groups
Discrimination
involves actions/practices of dominant groups members that have a harmful impact on members of a subordinate group
-actions vary in severity from the use of derogatory labels to violence against individuals and groups
De jure
legal discrimination encoded into laws
De facto
informal discrimination entrenched in social customs and institutions. More subtle, less visible to public scrutiny + more difficult to eradicate
Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples
Aboriginal itself refers to the ‘first’/indigenous occupants
- extremely diverse group with varying access to resources, development levels, and social health
- Native, First Nations/Aboriginal refer to over 600 bands across the country with approximately 50 aboriginal languages.
- most disadvantaged
Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples
history includes genocide, forced migration + forced assimilation (process by which members of subordinate racial or ethnic groups become absorbed into the dominant culture)
Indian Act of 1876 which included prohibitions against owning land, voting, and purchasing and consuming alcohol. provisions prevented Aboriginal people from leaving reserves without permission
Canada’s Aboriginal Children
placed in residential boarding schools to facilitate their assimilation into the dominant culture
were not allowed to speak their language or engage in any of their traditional practices
Due to government and schools believing Christian beliefs, values, and practices to be superior
Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples
income, employment, housing, nutrition, and health, most disadvantaged group
In 2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered a formal apology acknowledging that the policy of forced assimilation “was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country” and that the treatment of children in residential schools “is a sad chapter in our history”
Self-government, Aboriginal rights, and land claims are the primary issues still being fought for
The Future of Race and Ethnicity
in Canada
Objective: Promote Unity Through Diversity
Multiculturalism programs provide funding for education, consultative support, heritage language training, race relations training, ethnic policing + justice, and ethnic celebrations
critique of multiculturalism: No agreed upon definition, pressure towards conformity & exaggerates differences
Key is balance is elusive and requires active engagement
