Exploring Race and Ethnicity

1. Chapter 1 Exploring Race and Ethnicity

2. Subordinate Groups Minority Groups�subordinate group whose members have much less control or power over their own lives than do the members of the dominant group Racial Group�a group that is socially set apart because of obvious physical differences

3. Subordinate Groups Ethnic group� a group set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns Religious Groups--? Gender Groups--? (intersection theory) What groups are currently MOST subordinate in U.S. society? Why?

4. What is Race?? Biological Race�the mistaken notion of a genetically isolated human group IQ tests. Are they racially biased? If so, why do we continue to employ them? Race is a socially constructed concept�there is no notion of race without a group of people to interpret what race means.

5. Why Race at all? Racial Formation�A sociohistorical process by which racial categories are created, inhibited, transformed, and destroyed Racism�a doctrine that one race is superior to others

6. What are your experiences with race?? To what extent is it true�We now live in a Post-racial age? What is your worst moment of racial subordination? Was it due to one person�s ignorance or the dysfunction of an institution or entire segment of society? How can sociology help?

7. Sociology The systematic study of social behavior and human groups Stratification�A structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and power in a society Class�People who share similar levels of wealth Intersection Theory??

8. Functionalist Perspective A sociological approach emphasizing how parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability Racist Ideologies: Provide moral justification for maintaining a society that routinely deprives a group of its rights or privileges Discourage subordinate groups from attempting to question their low status Racist myths encourage support for the existing order (blame the poor, blame the immigrants) Racist myths relieve the dominant group of the responsibility to address the problems of the subordinate group Dysfunction�An element of society that may disrupt a social system or decrease its stability

9. Conflict Perspective A sociological approach that assumes that the social structure is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups Blaming the Victim-the assumption that structural position of the poor or minorities is due to their own shortcomings Labeling Theory�The effect of society�s label of someone is key in understanding their future actions Labeling someone as a criminal or deviant, etc becomes a Self Fulfilling Prophecy that makes it more likely the person will become criminal or deviant.

10. The Creation of Subordinate Group Status Migration�People of immigrate to a new country usually find themselves a minority in the new country Globalization�worldwide integration of financial markets, government policies, etc. There is more free exchange of ideas, etc. What are the downsides of globalization?? Colonialism�A foreign power�s maintenance of political, economic, and cultural dominance over people for an extended period Neo-Colonialism�A country�s cultural and economic dominance over another country without actually occupying the other country militarily

11. The Consequences of Subordinate Group Status Extermination�The most extreme way of dealing with a subordinate group is to eliminate it. This process is called Genocide Expulsion�forcing subordinate groups to leave a certain area or the country in general. Examples??? Secession�when a subordinate group separates from a country to form their own nation. Ethnic Cleansing�the expulsion or extermination of a subordinate group. Bosnia (Serbs and Muslims) Rwanda (Hutu and Tutsi)

12. More Consequences of Subordinate Group Status Segregation�physical separation of two groups Fusion�A minority and majority group combining to form a new group. The notion of America as a �melting pot�. To what extent is this metaphor accurate? Assimilation�the process by which a subordinate individual or groups takes on the characteristics of the dominant group

13. The Pluralist Perspective Mutual respect between the various groups in a society for one another�s cultures What are some examples of America as a pluralist society? How is it NOT a pluralist society?

14. Biracial and Ethnic Identity Panethnicity�the development of solidarity between ethnic subgroups. The terms Hispanic or Asian American. Marginality�the status of being between two cultures at the same time. Resistance and Change�What occurs when subordinate groups do not passively accept their status. What are current examples of resistance or change???