Terms related to social stratification: Race Ethnicity Minority and Majority groups Prejudice Stereotypes Racism Discrimination

Race 19th century categories based on skin color, hair texture and eye shape Caucasian (light skin, fine hair) Negroid (darker skin, coarse or curly hair) Mongoloid (yellow or brown skin, eye shape)

Racial Categories 1890 Census 2000 Census White Black Mulatto Quadroon Octoroon Indian Chinese Japanese 2000 Census White Black or African American American Indian Alaska Native Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Asian Indian, Vietnamese Native Hawaiian Guamanian Samoan Asian or Pacific Islander Other

Race Sociological definition Category of people who have been singled out as inferior or superior, often on the basis of real (skin color) or alleged (amount of muscle fiber) physical differences

Ethnicity A collection of people distinguished, by others or by themselves, primarily on the basis of cultural or nationality characteristics

Afghanistan Iran Egypt Afghani Iranian Egyptian Pashtun (42%) Tajik Hazara Uzbek Aimak Turkmen Baloch Persian (51%) Azeri Gilaki & Mazandarani Kurd Arab Lur Arab (90%)

Social Significance of race and ethnicity: The way people act in regard to these terms affects other people’s lives Their opportunities How they are treated How long they live

Minority and Majority Groups Majority group – advantages and has superior resources and rights in a society Called dominant group by sociologists Minority group – members are disadvantaged and subjected to unequal treatment and regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination Called subordinate group by sociologists

Prejudice A negative attitude based on faulty generalizations about members of selected racial and ethnic groups

Stereotypes Overgeneralizations about the appearance, behavior, or other characteristics of members of particular categories Asians excel in school because individual performance reflects strongly on the entire family

Racism A set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices that is used to justify the superior treatment of one racial or ethnic group and the inferior treatment of another racial or ethnic group Belief that African Americans make good football running backs because they were bred during slavery to have big, strong thighs

Discrimination Involves actions or practices of dominant group members that have a harmful impact on members of a subordinate group Derogatory labels/names Violence against individuals and groups Quarterbacks and kickers are predominantly white (90% in 1990)