How do you define your cultural identity?

2. How do you define your cultural identity?

3. Social Constructionism Social constructionism is the sociological theory that suggests humans naturally create categories (constructs) to understand and explain the world we live in. Social Construct (in sociology) A social mechanism, phenomenon, or category created and developed by society; a perception of an individual, group, or idea that is ‘constructed’ through cultural or social practice. Shared assumptions we make about reality. Social agreements.

4. Social Constructs Individuals and groups participate in the construction of their perceived social reality by creating categories of meaning. Everything we give social meaning or significance to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVVWmZAStn8

5. Well-Known Social Constructs • Race - Caucasian, Black, Asian, (Hispanic) • Ethnicity - White, African American, Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc. • Gender - male, female, transgender, etc. (Facebook = 58) • Sexuality - heterosexual, gay, bisexual, queer, etc. • Class - lower, middle and upper classes • etc.

6. 'Black' NAACP leader outed as white woman – June 15, 2015: SPOKANE, Wash. -- A recent investigation into racially charged threats made toward the president of the NAACP chapter in Spokane has raised questions beyond who made the threats. Rachel Dolezal's parents claimed she had been deceiving people. Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal said Thursday that they want people to know the truth including that their daughter is Caucasian.

7. Meet Rachel Dolezal - NAACP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B24Bbsf3U4 Is Dolezal White or Black? What are the limitations of social constructs?

8. Can you name other social constructs?

9. Conceptual Framework A conceptual framework is an analytical tool used to make conceptual distinctions, claims and organize ideas. Strong conceptual frameworks capture something real and do this in a way that is easy to remember and apply. Examples (may vary):

10. Conceptual Frameworks Introduction (Maurianne Adams) Social Diversity – race, [ethnicity], gender, sexuality, class, and others [i.e., abilities, disabilities, religion, age, etc.). Diversity = differences; between groups; in comparison to the “norm.” In cultural studies, diversity or ‘differences’ implies the presence of inequalities due to these perceived differences that must be acknowledged.

11. The “norm”? The larger social norm that is held by the majority group population. What is considered the “norm” in terms of race? White/Caucasian What is considered the “norm” in terms of gender? Male What is considered the “norm” in terms of sexuality? Heterosexual What is considered the “norm” in terms of religion? Christian

12. Marginalization To place in a position of marginal importance, influence, or power. Historically marginalized groups in the US: African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, Jews, Muslims, women, disabled/physically/mentally challenged, etc.

13. Historically Dominant Group The dominant group controls the value system and rewards in a particular society (occurs in all societies). Social dominance creates a hierarchy of power: those with power and those with limited power. Socially dominant groups enjoy a “privilege” by holding the position of “the norm” Historically in the US, groups considered “other” than White & Male, have been marginalized.

14. The “Other” The Other is an individual who is perceived by the group as not belonging, as being different in some fundamental way. Any stranger becomes the Other. The dominant group sees itself as the norm and judges those who do not meet that norm (that is, who are different in any way) as the Other. The “Other” is perceived as lacking essential characteristics possessed by the group, the Other is almost always seen as a lesser or inferior being and is treated accordingly. The Other in a society may have few or no legal rights, may be characterized as less intelligent or as immoral, and may even be regarded as sub-human.

15. Oppression The exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. Social oppression is the socially supported mistreatment and exploitation of a group, category, or team of people or individuals. "Institutional Oppression occurs when established laws, customs, and practices systematically reflect and produce inequities based on one’s membership in targeted social identity groups. If oppressive consequences accrue to institutional laws, customs, or Practices, the institution is oppressive whether or not the individuals maintaining those practices have oppressive intentions.

16. 4 Conceptual Frameworks (employed by Adams) The following 4 interrelated conceptual frameworks are key assumptions that inform the perspective of the textbook. 1. Social Identity is based on social identity groups in advantaged or disadvantaged social locations or positions. - You are who you are based on the group you belong to.

17. 4 Conceptual Frameworks (employed by Adams) 2. The social construction of privilege and oppression within specific historical contexts. - History has played a significant part in determining advantages and disadvantages of dominant vs marginalized groups.

18. 4 Conceptual Frameworks (employed by Adams) 3. Frameworks for Analysis of Oppression - Moving beyond the individual (or “micro”) level of the socialization process, to analyze how oppression is enacted and reproduced at the institutional level (“meso”) and the societal/cultural (“macro”) level. - Understanding the inequalities that exists among groups.

19. 4 Conceptual Frameworks (employed by Adams) 4. Frameworks for envisioning empowerment and social change. - Approaching our social conditions with the desire for fairness and justice. - Creating a culture that does not enforce or reproduce oppression.

21. What is ethnicity? • Ethnicity (ethnic group) – an individual’s national origin or origins; an ethnic quality or affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties. Vague because the term can include only national origin, religion, race, and class. For example, many authors identify Jewish Americans as an ethnic group because they identify themselves more with their religion than where they are from. • Examples of Ethnic Groups in the US: • White • African American/Black • Hispanic • Asian • Middle Eastern • Native American • Pacific Islander

23. Concept of Race Race defined: • A. any of the traditional divisions of humankind, characterized by supposedly distinctive and universal physical characteristics. • B. any arbitrary classification of modern humans, sometimes, esp. formerly, based on any or a combination of various physical characteristics, as skin color, facial form, or eye shape, and now frequently based on such genetic markers as blood groups. • C. a human population partially isolated reproductively from other populations, whose members share a greater degree of physical and genetic similarity with one another than with other humans. • the commonest being the Caucasoid, Mongoloid, and Negroid; no longer in technical use.

24. The History of Race and Racialization History of Race and Racialization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1GjU01AMjE

25. Ethnicity vs. Race • Race refers to a person's physical appearance, such as skin color, eye color, hair color, bone/jaw structure, etc. • Ethnicity, on the other hand, relates to cultural factors such as nationality, culture, ancestry, language and beliefs.

26. Race vs. Ethnicity • Caucasian • Black • Asian • ? • White/Anglo • Black/African American • Asian • Middle Eastern • Native American • Hispanic/Latino Great confusion exists; these two concepts are easily misunderstood; they are often used interchangeably although they mean different things.

28. Why is it important to know?

29. Race/ethnicity in California

30. United States today

31. United States in the future

32. Stereotype - an oversimplified generalization about an entire group of people without regard for individual differences. • Ex. Whites are rich, Asians can’t drive, all Latinos speak Spanish, all Blacks can dance, Muslims are terrorists, Jews are stingy, etc.

33. Stereotypes

34. What is racism? • the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called "races". • This ideology entails the belief that members of a race share a set of characteristic traits, abilities, or qualities, that traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral characteristics are inherited, and that • this inheritance means that races can be ranked as innately superior or inferior to others. • To be racist is to believe one's race is superior to other races. • Racist behavior can be conscious and unconscious.

35. Multiple Group Identity • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92h2oOC5zFA • An individual's subjective representation of the interrelationships among his or her multiple group identities • Membership in these groups “…may result in shared experiences…and serve as powerful reference groups in the formation of worldviews”

36. Prejudice – unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group; Ex:. (i.e., fear of going into neighborhood, elevator, distrust of a merchant toward a customer of another ethnic group, anger at any advantages that group members may perceive as receiving, fear of property value dropping because of a particular group, etc.) = attitude

38. Individual discrimination – occurs at at the personal level; one person discriminates against another because of their own prejudicial, bigoted feelings. (i.e., realtors, personnel managers, receptionists, loan officers, landlords, teachers, etc.) • Institutional discrimination – the individual has less control; more than personal attitudes, this refers to “the effects of inequalities that are rooted in the system-wide operation of a society and have little relation to racially related attitudinal factors or the majority group’s racial or ethnic prejudices.” • The society we live in has inherently discriminated against others, therefore there are remnants still today. • Members of some groups do not receive the same benefits from society as the dominant group; • Individuals are harmed by circumstances beyond their control because of their membership in a specific group. • (i.e., textbooks, standardized-tests; ACTO; DADT, quota systems of hiring, etc. • Historical: Jim Crow, Rodney King Trial, Virginia Military Institute and the Citadel, Denny’s Discrimination lawsuit, etc.

39. Bigotry – prejudice and/or discrimination against one or all members of a particular group based on negative perceptions of their beliefs and practices or on negative group stereotypes; bigotry is attitude driven. Stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own.

40. Scapegoating – the act of blaming an individual or group for something when, in reality, there is no one person or group responsible for the problem. Blaming another person or a group because of his/her group identity. • CurrentExamples? • Muslims after 9/11, Latino immigrants • Past: Chinese, Italian, Jews, Native Americans, Japanese, etc.

44. A term used in critical race theory by social scientists, as a way of conceptualizing racial inequalities that focuses as much on the advantages that white people accumulate from society as on the disadvantages that people of color (minorities) experience. • Suggests that whites view their social, cultural, and economic experiences as a norm that everyone should experience. • According to social scientists, this normative assumption constrains discussions of racial inequality and only discusses the failure of non-white groups to achieve normal social status. • Examples: Historical interpretation, accumulation of wealth, justice, employment, housing, education, self-image, etc.

45. If the police stop me, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race. • When I stay in a hotel, the complimentary shampoo generally works with the texture of my hair. • I can enroll in a class in college and be sure that the majority of my professors will be of my race. • I can be sure that my textbooks and literature books will reflect people of my race.

46. 1. White Privilege is being able to move into a new neighborhood and being fairly sure that your neighbors will be pleasant to you and treat you with respect. 2. White Privilege is being able to watch a movie, read a book and open the front page of a newspaper and see yourself and your race widely represented and spoken for. 3. White Privilege is being able to seek legal, financial and medical help without having your race work against you. 4. White Privilege is living in a world where you are taught that people with your skin tone hold the standard for beauty. 5. White Privilege is never being told to, “get over slavery”. 6. White Privilege is having the prevalence and importance of the English language and finding amusement in ridiculing people of color/immigrants for their accents and their difficulty in speaking a language that is not their native tongue.

47. 7. White Privilege is arrogantly believing that reverse racism actually exists. 8. White Privilege is being able to stay ignorant to the fact that racial slurs are part of a systematic dehumanization of entire groups of people who are and have historically been subjugated and hated just for being alive. 9. White Privilege is not having your name turned into an easier-to-say Anglo-Saxon name. 10. White Privilege is being able to fight racism one day, then ignore it the next. 11. White privilege is having your words and actions attributed to you as an individual, rather than have them reflect members of your race. 12. White Privilege is being able to talk about racism without appearing self-serving. 13. White Privilege is being able to be articulate and well-spoken without people being surprised.

48. 14. White Privilege is being pulled over or taken aside and knowing that you are not being singled out because of your race/color. 15. White Privilege is not having to teach your children to be aware of systematic racism for their own protection. 16. White Privilege is not having to acknowledge the fact that we live in a system that treat people of color unfairly politically, socially and economically and choosing, instead, to believe that people of color are inherently less capable. 17. White Privilege is not having your people and their culture appropriated, romanticized or eroticized for the gain and pleasure of other white people. 18. White Privilege is being able to ignore the consequences of race.

49. Anti-Semitism – religious bigotry against Jews; negative ideas about Jewish people’s beliefs and practices; unique applies to a specific group (there is no other specific word for hatred toward other groups).

50. Sexism – prejudice or discrimination based on gender. • a) individual sexism – personal beliefs that state one gender is superior to another (i.e., jokes, etc.) • b) institutional sexism – a gender is treated or paid differently because of their gender.