chapter 12 – race

1、chapter 12 race & ethnicitylearning objectives explain how the concept of race is both a reality and a myth. distinguish between race and ethnicity and the concept of what it means to be a member of an ethnic group. understand the concept of multicultural identity and its importance to many american

2、s. describe the characteristics of minority groups and dominant groups. know what is meant by ethnic identity and the four factors that heighten or reduce it. differentiate between prejudice and discrimination. distinguish between individual discrimination and institutional discrimination. understan

3、d how prejudice is learned and how dominant group norms are internalized by members of a group. understand the psychological and sociological theories of prejudice, how they are similar and different. provide examples of both individual and institutional group discrimination. list the six patterns o

4、f intergroup relations that develop between minority and dominant groups, and provide examples for each. compare and contrast the experiences of white europeans, latinos, african americans, asian americans, and native americans in the united states. talk about the major issues and debates dominating

5、 race-ethnic relations in the united states.chapter summary with more than six billion people on the planet, the world offers a fascinating array of human characteristics. race refers to the inherited physical characteristics that distinguish one group from another. these distinguishing characterist

6、ics include a variety of complexions, colors, and shapes. although there have been significant strides in the understanding of race and racial equality, two myths of race are still common. one is the perception that some races are superior to others and the other is that pure races exist. the idea o

7、f race remains a very real and powerful force in american society, shaping basic relationships between people and peoples in the united states.the question of how many races inhabit the planet is a debatable topic among anthropologists and sociologists. the number of race classifications has ranged

8、from two to two thousand. ashley montagu has classified humans in forty racial groups.while race refers to biological characteristics that distinguish one group of people from another, ethnicity refers to cultural characteristics that distinguish one group of people from another. derived from the gr

9、eek word ethnos, meaning people or nation, ethnicity may center on nation of origin, distinctive foods, dress, language, music, religion, or family names and relationships. it is common for people to confuse the terms race and ethnic group. jews, for example, are considered by many as being a race,

10、but in reality, they are more accurately classified as an ethnic group. people often construct their racial and ethnic identity through a process referred to as ethnic work. ethnic work refers to activities to discover, enhance, or maintain ethnic and racial identification. this includes clothing, f

11、ood, language, celebrated holidays, and religion.along with race and ethnicity, the concept of minority group is often misunderstood. sociologically, a minority group consists of a group of people who are singled out for unequal treatment and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimina

12、tion. four factors reduce or heighten peoples ethnic identification with a group: its relative size, power, broad physical characteristics, and the degree to which it is subjected to discrimination. although often used interchangeably, prejudice and discrimination are not the same. prejudice refers

13、to an attitude, or prejudging, usually in a negative way. discrimination is an act of unfair treatment directed against an individual or group. discrimination comes in two forms: individual discrimination, consisting of the negative treatment of one person by another on the basis of that persons per

14、ceived characteristics and institutional discrimination, consisting of discriminatory practices that are embedded in and spread through societys social institutions.psychological theories of prejudice include scapegoating (unfairly blaming another individual or group for ones own frustrations and tr

15、oubles) and authoritarian personalities (people with particular personality traits that may make them more inclined to be prejudiced).sociological theories of prejudice focus on the social environments that encourage or discourage prejudice. functionalists examine the benefits and costs of discrimin

16、ation, conflict theorists look at the way groups in power exploit racial and ethnic divisions; and symbolic interactionsists explore how racial and ethnic stereotypes become self-fulfilling prophecies.sociologists have identified six global patterns of intergroup relations between dominant and minor

17、ity groups. these are, from the most oppressive to the most desirable, genocide, population transfer, internal colonialism, segregation, assimilation, and multiculturalism. all of these intergroup relations have been practiced in the united states at one time or another to some degree and all are pr

18、esently practiced somewhere on the planet. the major ethnic groups in the united states are, from the largest to the smallest, european americans, latinos, african americans, asian americans, and native americans. each minority group faces different concerns or obstacles. for many years, white europ

19、eans from countries other than england were not welcomed in america. referred to as white ethnics, these caucasian europeans had language and customs different from the earliest immigrants and were considered as inferior. latinos are divided by country of origin. african americans are increasingly d

20、ivided into middle and lower classes. the well-being of asian americans varies widely by country of origin. for native americans, the primary issues are poverty, nationhood, and settling treaty obligations. all minority groups are concerned with overcoming discrimination. every group that has immigr

21、ated to america has faced this problem, including caucasian europeans. people of color, however, have faced greater degrees of discrimination and for longer periods of time. current issues and debates dominating race-ethnic relations in the united states include immigration, affirmative action, and

22、how to develop a true multicultural society.key terms in chapter twelveassimilation: the process of being absorbed into the mainstream culture. (p. 339) authoritarian personality: theodor adornos term for people who are prejudiced and rank high on scales of conformity, intolerance, insecurity, respe

23、ct for authority, and submissiveness to superiors. (p. 336)compartmentalize: to separate acts from feelings or attitudes. (p. 339)discrimination: an act of unfair treatment directed against an individual or a group. (p. 331)dominant group: the group with the most power, greatest privileges, and high

24、est social status. (p. 330)ethnicity (and ethnic): having distinctive cultural characteristics. (p. 328)ethnic cleansing: a policy to eliminate an ethnic group; includes forced expulsion and genocide. (p. 339)ethnic work: activities designed to discover, enhance, or maintain ethnic and racial identi

25、fication. (p. 331)genocide: the systematic annihilation or attempted annihilation of people based on their presumed race or ethnicity. (p. 326)individual discrimination: the negative treatment of one person by another on the basis of that persons perceived characteristics. (p. 334)institutional disc

26、rimination: negative treatment of a minority group that is built into a societys institutions; also called systemic discrimination. (p. 334)internal colonialism: the policy of economically exploiting minority groups. (p. 339)melting pot: the view that americans of various backgrounds would blend int

27、o a sort of ethnic stew. (p. 331)minority group: people who are singled out for unequal treatment, and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination. (p. 329)multiculturalism (also called pluralism): a philosophy or political policy that permits or encourages ethnic difference. (p. 3

28、40)pan-indianism: a movement that focuses on common elements in native american culture in order to develop a mutual self-identity and to work toward the welfare of all native americans. (p. 355)population transfer: forcing a minority group to move. (p. 339)prejudice: an attitude or prejudging, usua

29、lly in a negative way. (p. 330)race: inherited physical characteristics that distinguish one group from another. (p. 326)racism: prejudice and discrimination on the basis of race. (p. 331)reserve labor force: the unemployed; unemployed workers are thought of as being “in reserve”capitalists take the

30、m “out of reserve” (put them back to work) during times of high production and then lay them off (put them back in reserve) when they are no longer needed. (p. 337)rising expectations: the sense that better conditions are soon to follow, which, if unfulfilled, increase frustration. (p. 347)scapegoat

31、: an individual or group unfairly blamed for someone elses troubles. (p. 335)segregation: the policy of keeping racial or ethnic groups apart. (p. 339)selective perception: seeing certain features of an object or situation, but remaining blind to others. (p. 337)split-labor market: workers split alo

32、ng racial, ethnic, gender, age or any other lines; this split is exploited by owners to weaken the bargaining power of workers. (p. 337)wasp: a white anglo-saxon protestant; narrowly, an american of english descent; broadly, an american of western european ancestry. (p. 342)white ethnics: white immi

33、grants to the united states whose culture differs from that of wasps. (p. 342)key people in chapter twelvetheodor adorno: adorno (1950) identified the “authoritarian personality,” people with particular personality traits, such as high levels of conformity, intolerance, insecurity, and deference to

34、authority, which may make them more inclined to be prejudiced. (p. 336)mahzarin banaji and anthony greewald: found in their research on light skinned blacks that both blacks and whites attribute positive qualities with whites and negative qualities with blacks. (p. 333)kathleen blee: studied women w

35、ho joined the kkk and aryan nations groups and found that racism was not the cause of their joining but was later learned. (p. 332)emery cowen: leading a team of psychologists, cowen gave students an impossible task to complete and found out that, afterwards, the frustrated students scored higher on

36、 tests of prejudice than they did beforehand. the 1959 experiment confirmed that individuals often direct their frustrations onto people who have nothing to do with their problems. (p. 336)ashley doane: doane identified four factors that heighten or lessen an individuals sense of ethnic identity. (p

37、. 331)john dollard: dollard theorized that prejudice is the result of frustration, suggesting that people who cannot strike out at the real source of their frustrations will look for scapegoats on which to vent their frustrations. (p. 335)rapheal ezekiel: ezekial observed and interviewed neo-nazis and ku klux klan