Wk10: Racial, Ethnic and National Identity

Question 1

Race

Answer 1

socially constructed divisions of people based
on certain physical or biological characteristics
(e.g., skin colour)

Question 2

Ethnicity

Answer 2

more complex than race and usually
involves grouping people who share a common
cultural, linguistic or ancestral heritage (e.g.,
language, religion, geography)

Question 3

majority group

Answer 3

In Australia, people of Anglo-Celtic background are
a majority group that not only has a greater
numerical representation in society but also holds
significant power and privilege

Question 4

minority group

Answer 4

A minority group is a group that has a smaller
population in society and holds less power than the majority group (for e.g., Indigenous Peoples)

• The idea of a minority group ruling over a majority group is almost always the result of colonisation

Question 5

dominant group

Answer 5

A dominant group is the group that has the greatest power, but not necessarily the greatest numbers (for e.g., Anglo Celtic)

Question 6

The Out of Africa Theory (OAT)

Answer 6

was the most prominent until recently: where
humans evolved in Africa 100, 000 years ago and left the continent 50, 000 years
ago) in turn wiping out Neanderthals

Question 7

OAT has been contradicted:

Answer 7

fossils with modern traits have been found across the word (for e.g., Morocco and China) – thus human evolution and migration
* We didn’t wipe out Neanderthals, we (homosapiens) bred with Neanderthals and
Denisovans.
* It appears now that humans left Africa and exchanged genes with Neanderthals and
Denisovans across Europe, China and Indonesia (some would include Australia).

Question 8

Institutional racism:

Answer 8

recognises that racist beliefs can be built into social institutions (not just a product of individual actions) – for e.g., Apartheid and Boundary St
Brisbane

Question 9

Social Darwinism:

Answer 9

attempted to ground racist beliefs into scientific thinking. A hierarchy of races was produced which
placed “Europeans” at the pinnacle of
civilization and Indigenous Australians, at
one point as flora and fauna

Question 10

Eugenics:

Answer 10

a social movement which sought
to produce practice interventions to
improve the genetic composition of human
populations

Question 11

Genocide:

Answer 11

is the attempt to destroy or exterminate a people based on their race and/or ethnicity

Question 12

Ethnic cleansing:

Answer 12

refers to persecution through imprisonment, expulsion or murder of members of an ethnic minority by a majority to achieve ethnic
homogeneity in majority-controlled
territories (Bosnian Serb War)

Question 13

New racism

Answer 13

refers to the idea that those practicing racism base their arguments on notions of cultural,
rather than biological, difference

• Thus negative views of others are expressed in ways which present a denial of “old-fashioned” racism, by being grounded in seemingly
  ‘rational’ and ‘neutral’ discourses
• Two examples:
  1. Asylum Seekers
  2. September 11

Question 14

White privilege

Answer 14

Examples
1. Often curricula is developed for white, middle-class, Western peoples.
2. The disproportionate number of black deaths in
custody.
3. Unemployment rates are higher for Black
Americans.

Question 15

Conquest

Answer 15

When one group uses its superior military
strength to dominate another when it comes into contact with people who have a different culture and, often, a different physical appearance?

Question 16

Annexation

Answer 16

Is the incorporation of one territory into
another. Under this system, members of ethnic and racial groups are forced to become members of a new society (e.g, Hawaii & Australia)

Question 17

Nationalism

Answer 17

a set of consciously formulated political and militaristic beliefs that argue for the superiority or unique value of one’s own country, its people, landscape and traditions.

It is often associated with political movements
related either to struggles for self-
determination or, conversely, to imperialist
conquest

Question 18

National Identity

Answer 18

• A broad set of shared understandings within
  a nation about its people and values, and to
  common languages, symbols and practices
  that help to constitute them as a nation

Question 19

Multiculturalism

Answer 19

• Is Australia as a multicultural success story?

Most contemporary studies highlight a mixed picture of our attitudes towards the ideals of multiculturalism

Question 20

Is Nationalism on the Rise?

Answer 20

• National boundaries and identities are
  being broken down by global
  communications technologies such as the
  internet, transnational corporations and
  economic integration, and international
  political organisations such as the United
  Nations.
• Nationalism can also encourage exclusion
  – i.e., you only need to look toward our
  own country to see who has been
  excluded from ‘our mainstream values’

Question 21

Voluntary immigration:

Answer 21

refers to the willing movement of people from one
society to another

Question 22

Involuntary immigration:

Answer 22

refers to the forced movement of people from one
society to another

Question 23

Superordination:

Answer 23

regardless of whether immigration is voluntary or
involuntary, some predictable patterns
appear when people come into
contact with unfamiliar groups

Question 24

Migration

Answer 24

• Defined: The long-term movements of people
  over large distances.
• According to the 2016 census, 28.5% of
  Australians were born overseas and 49% had a
  parent born overseas.
• Since the 1970s, the total fertility rate has, in
  most years, been below the level where the
  population can be replaced without migration.

Question 25

Migration: push factors

Answer 25

Reasons to leave a place of origin. * Unemployment, poverty, war, politics

Question 26

Migration: pull factors

Answer 26

Reasons to migrate to a new destination. * Job opportunities, political stability, climate, chain migration.

Question 27

Chain migration:

Answer 27

when migrants from a particular area are followed by others from the same area or region due to informal ties. * This can explain clustering of ethnic groups within suburbs or regions.

Question 28

Hold factors:

Answer 28

Things that prevent moving even when people wish to. * Quotas on immigrant numbers, students still in school, inability to get a passport, needing to save money.

Question 29

Outcomes of Migration

Answer 29

With each passing generation, the arriving group becomes more like the host group regarding way of life and values. * Social experiences are key to assimilation Visibility matters * Comparing the migrant experiences of three recent refugee groups – exYugoslavs, black Africans and people from the Middle East – Colic-Peisker (2009) has shown how ex-Yugoslavs had the highest level of settlement satisfaction, in part due to their whiteness, which allowed them to break away from their refugee status more easily.

Question 30

Indigenous superordination

Answer 30

is the subordination of an immigrant group to a dominant group

Question 31

Migrant superordination

Answer 31

occurs when a more powerful group enters an area and conquers the native population

Question 32

ethnocentrism

Answer 32

thinking about or defining another culture on the basis of your own

Question 33

When minority groups face superordination, there are several ways they can “choose” to react:

Answer 33

Pluralistic minorities Assimilationist minorities Secessionist Ethnic enclaves

Question 34

Pluralistic minorities

Answer 34

some participation within dominant society while maintaining some aspects of original identity and values

Question 35

Assimilationist minorities:

Answer 35

Complete absorption into the dominant values and identity of the dominant

Question 36

Secessionist

Answer 36

Withdrawal from the dominant identities and values

Question 37

Ethnic enclaves

Answer 37

The clustering of people who share ethnicity within a geographical space. As a group, they are often economically distinct from the dominant group

Question 38

Prejudice

Answer 38

usually refers to negative attitudes about an entire category of people

Question 39

stereotypes

Answer 39

simplified perceptions people have of an entire group, usually based on false assumption Positive stereotypes can be just as damaging as negative stereotypes

Question 40

Notion of ‘double consciousness’

Answer 40

Having to hold two sets of beliefs and values due to who you are culturally and where you are culturally located.

Question 41

scapegoat

Answer 41

Often, we don’t have the ability to attack the real source of our frustration, so we scapegoat (unfairly accuse) another group as the source of our problem

Question 42

Sources of prejudice

Answer 42

Research supports the notion that you are more likely to be prejudiced if you have less education and are of lower intelligence (supports the idea prejudice is learnt and can be unlearned) * Structural issues such as the mix of racial and ethnic groups, as well as income inequality and differences in economic opportunity, may assist in the perpetuation of extreme forms of racism

Question 43

Indigenous AU: British colonists declared the land terra nullius

Answer 43

unowned wasteland that could legitimately be colonised

Question 44

Aboriginal Resistance Example 1

Answer 44

Domains were preserved where Aboriginal people resided, distant from missionaries aiming to integrate them into labour and compliance

Question 45

Aboriginal Resistance Example 2

Answer 45

The development of fringe camps Members saw themselves as a mob with flexible grouping whose members come and go over time and may belong to different linguistic and tribal groups. * Collective identity * Social support * A place to relaxand live in a style of one’s own

Question 46

Aboriginal Resistance Example 3

Answer 46

Contemporary planning focuses on altering laws, policies, and societal perceptions to ensure not just the survival but the flourishing of Aboriginal peoples

Question 47

Fourth World Peoples

Answer 47

Defined: * The people in question are an indigenous group rather than a migrant group. * The people have been subsumed into a modern nation-state and have had their sovereignty and territory appropriated against their will during a period of colonial expansion. * The people are economically and politically marginalised * The indigenous culture is stigmatised by the dominant culture. There is a struggle for social justice and for a right to self- determination and control over traditional lands and resources. * The Fourth World people constitute a tiny minority of the population of Australia which contributes to political powerlessness in our democratic society.

Question 48

Change: Complete or Incomplete?

Answer 48

* In May 1967, a referendum endorsed changes to the Constitution that gave Aboriginal people citizenship and the right to vote in what was their own land. * Equal rights and racial discrimination became illegal. * There is still inequality due to poor policy and individual prejudice. Where though? * Employment * Housing * Education * Criminal justice * Health * Essentially everywhere and anywhere

Question 49

Functionalism

Answer 49

Racism has intended and unintended consequences. For example, pastoralists in Australia dispossessed Aboriginal People from their lands, and their cheap labour functioned to develop agriculture in remote areas * Culture holds society together through shared values and norms and there must be a balanced relationship between the community, the market and the government

Question 50

Conflict Theory:

Answer 50

Racism is the result of power conflicts among different group. The group with the more power oppresses the weakest groups, a result of which can cause racism to occur. Racism can arise from competition over limited resources

Question 51

Symbolic Interactionism:

Answer 51

By changing what is acceptable in society we change reality. For example, racial slurs that were acceptable 100 yrs ago are highly discouraged today. Acceptable terms lead to what is said and thought in society

Question 52

Functionalism and the Function of Racism

Answer 52

Solidarity: Racism creates an "us vs. them" mentality and a group’s mechanical solidarity. Hierarchy: Racism maintains hierarchy. People are considered lesser and thus less deserving of resources. Social Control: Races seen as ‘superior’ hold control within a hierarchy. Defining Deviance & Acceptable: Races or ethnicities are seen as having negative traits and behaviours that serve as markers of deviance. Thus, maintaining a boundary of acceptable behaviour. Challenging the Status Quo: Those who challenge racism, may be initially be deviant, but if this group grows large, it becomes the normal to challenge racism.

Question 53

Conflict Theory: Keeping & Seeking Power

Answer 53

Dehumanise and Exploitation: It is much easier to exploit and dominate those you dehumanise and see as lesser. A Tool of Division: If the lower classes are divided amongst themselves, they are distracted from unifying and challenging those with greater Resistance: Just as it is useful to dehumanise your opponent when oppressing, it is also useful to dehumanise when resisting oppression. Institutional Racism: Conflict theory also highlights how racism isn't just an individual act of discrimination but is embedded in the institutions of society. These institutions, controlled by the dominant group, perpetuate racial inequalities and maintain the status quo.

Question 54

Symbolic Interactionism

Answer 54

Socialisation: We learn racial differences, labels and stereotypes through socialization and our interactions are shaped by them (of course, we try to resist them too). Construction of Racial Identity: We see ourselves through a racial identity, which influences how we interact with others and across different settings. Interactions with Media: We interact with media and those interactions inform our perceptions and interactions. Performance of Race: Just as we perform gender, according to internalised societal expectations. We also perform race