INEQUALITY AND RACE PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY INEQUALITY AND RACE Week 7 Lecturer: Maria Konstantinou Fall Semester

RACIAL CATEGORY White Black, African, American, or Negro American Indian or Alaska Native Asian India Chinese Filipino Japanese Korean Vietnamese Other Asian Native Hawaiian Guamanian or Chamorro Samoan Other Pacific Islander Some other race

Racial and Ethnic Stratification Stratification:  represents institutionalized inequality in the distribution of social rewards and burdens

Race The use of the concept of race for sociologists is as a social construct A race is a group of people who see themselves – and are seen by others – as having hereditary traits that set them apart An important concept based on race is racism  Racism: the belief that some racial groups are naturally superior and others are inferior

Ethnic groups Groups that we identify chiefly on cultural ground  Language, folk practices, dress, gestures, mannerisms, religion  They often have a sense of peoplehood and may deem themselves to be a nation

Minority groups Racial and ethnic groups are often minority groups The lack of power characterizes a minority

Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice:  Refers to attitudes of aversion and hostility toward the members of a group simply because they belong to it and hence are presumed to have the objectionable qualities ascribed to it  A new form of prejudice against African Americans has been labeled symbolic racism by sociologists

Discriminations:  Is action, what people actually do in their daily activities  Involves the arbitrary denial of privilege, prestige, and power to members of a minority group  Since War World II whites have shifted from more blatant forms of discrimination to more subtle forms Prejudice and Discrimination

Institutional discrimination  The institutions of society may function in such a way that they produce unequal outcomes for different groups  Gatekeeping and environmental racism are mechanisms by which institutional discrimination occurs Prejudice and Discrimination

PATTERNS OF INTERGROUP RELATIONS In multiethnic societies, ethnic groups may either lose their distinctiveness through a process of assimilation or retain their identity and integrity through pluralism

Assimilation Refers to those processes whereby groups with distinctive identities become culturally and socially fused Two views toward assimilation have dominated within the United States,  the “melting pot” view and  the Anglo-conformity view

Pluralism Example: In US society, many groups have retained their identities and distinctiveness for many years  A situation in which diverse groups coexist and boundaries between them are maintained In equalitarian pluralism: ethnic group members participate freely and equally in political and economic institutions In inequalitarian pluralism: economic and political participation of minority groups is severely limited by the dominant group and may even entail genocide

RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS Hispanics/Latinos  The nation’s Hispanic population is not a consolidated minority  Latino groups have different histories, distinct concentrations in different areas of the United States, and substantially different demographic and socioeconomic characteristics  Hispanics typically earn less than non-Hispanics

African Americans  Have made tremendous progress but remain disadvantaged  The expected lifetime earnings of African-American men are significantly lower than those of white men, and housing segregation remains substantial  The full integration of African Americans is unlikely in the foreseeable future, primarily because of continuing social and economic barriers and low rates of interracial marriage RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS

American Indians and Alaskan Natives Native American people vary substantially in their history, lifestyles, kin systems, language, political arrangements, religion, economy, current circumstances, and identities The are the most severely disadvantaged of any population within the United States Poverty and unemployment rates are high

Asian Americans The average family income of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Americans in the second and subsequent generations is almost one-and-a-half times higher than that of non-Hispanic whites They are varied group  With contrasts and diversity The earnings of Laotians, Cambodians and Vietnamese are generally low

White Ethnics Most white Americans, including those of northwestern European background, know and identify with their ethnic ancestry, but white ethnicity is neither deep nor stable “Symbolic ethnicity” is an ethnicity that contributes to individual identity and perhaps to family communion, but does not create or sustain strong ethnic group ties

Sociological Perspectives on Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity The Functionalist perspective  Functionalists say that ethnic differentiation reduces consensus, increases the chances of conflict and threatens the equilibrium of a society But it also promotes group formation and cohesion, functions as a safety valve through scapegoating, and helps maintain a democratic order

The Conflict perspective  Conflict theorists contend that prejudice and discrimination can best be understood in terms of tension or conflict among competing groups  At least three different conflict theories exist, and they are related to ethnocentrism, Marxism, and the split labor market Sociological Perspectives on Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity

The Interactionist Perspective  Interactionists say that the world we experience is socially constructed  In this view, ethnic groups are seen as products of social interaction  Ethnicity arises when communication channels between groups are limited and the different groups develop different systems of meanings Sociological Perspectives on Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity

The future of ethnic and minority group relations Ethnic status for Americans with African, Hispanic, Asian and Native American roots is not “symbolic”, is not a matter of choice and remains heavily ascriptive

Intergroup relations  Functionalists believe there are long-run social trends that are eliminating ascription and other irrational features from modern, industrial, socially differentiated societies  The conflict perspective predicts that ethnic stratification will remain as long as it is in the interests of powerful dominant groups to keep it in place  Interactionists say that as long as segregation and isolation of minority groups persist, ethnocentrism will continue and probably worsen The future of ethnic and minority group relations

Ethnicity  Is ethnic stratification persists, then ethnicity will persist as well  If it diminishes significantly, perhaps ethnicity for all groups will become increasingly “symbolic” The future of ethnic and minority group relations