Chapter 1 Understanding Race & Ethnicity

What is a Subordinate Group? A minority group is a subordinate group whose member s have significantly less control or power over their own lives than do member of a dominant or majority group.

Characteristics of a Minority Group Wagley and Harris use these 5 characteristics to identify minority groups. Unequal treatment Share physical or cultural characteristics Born into the group. Group solidarity Generally marry within the group.

Types of Subordinate Groups Racial groups Groups that are socially set apart because of obvious physical differences. Ethnic groups Groups that are socially set apart from others because of national origin or distinctive cultural patterns.

Other Subordinate Groups Religious groups What is the dominant or majority group? What then would be the minority or minority groups? Gender groups Which gender is the dominant or majority group? Which group is larger in number?

Other Subordinate Groups Age Disability Sexual orientation

Does Race Matter? Is there a distinct race? What races are there? What about biological race? Is race socially constructed? What is racism? Describe racial formation? What is the one-drop rule?

Stratification Stratification is a ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and power in society. In the U.S. the largest stratification is by social class. People who share similar wealth Max Weber

Theoretical Perspectives Functionalist Conflict Symbolic Interactionist (Labeling theory)

Functionalist A macro theory that looks at large groups in society. Sees society as a delicate balance of parts, each with its own functions and dysfunctions, and holds that most social problems result from the disorganization of society. Social disorganization is a condition that exists when an institution or an entire society is poorly organized and fails to carry out essential social functions satisfactorily.

Conflict Perspective A macro theory Sees the conflict between different groups as a basic sociological process and holds that the principal source of social problems is the exploitation and oppression of one group by another. This is how social reform is generated Blaming the victim Social Class Class Conflict Ethnic Conflict

Interactionist Perspective A micro theory Explains our behavior in terms of the patterns of thoughts and beliefs we have and in terms of the meaning we give to our lives. Sometimes seen as Symbolic Interactionist Perspective.

Labeling Theory Attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants and others engaging in the same behavior are not. Examples of labeling theory. Stereotypes – are unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that do not take individual differences into account. Examples of stereotypes.

How Subordinate Groups are Formed Migration Annexation Colonialism

Migration Migration describes any transfer of a population Emigration is when you leave a country to settle in another. Immigration is when you come into a new country from another country. Migration has been affected by globalization. The worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets through trade, movements of people, and the exchange of ideas.

Annexation During wars or as a result of war, nations sometimes acquire, incorporate or attach land. Austria and Czechoslovakia annexed into Germany. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the U.S. acquired California, Utah, Nevada, most of New Mexico and parts of Arizona Wyoming and Colorado.

Colonialism Colonialism is the maintenance of political, social, economic, and cultural dominance over people by a foreign power for an extend period. The British Empire over parts of North America, Africa and India. Internal Colonialism is the treatment of subordinate peoples as colonial subjects by those in power. African Americans in the U.S.

Consequences of Subordinate-Group Status Extermination Expulsion Secession Segregation Fusion Assimilation Pluralism

Extermination Genocide is used to describe the deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation. Ethnic cleansing Muslims in Serbia Hutu and Tutsi people in Rwanda Jews in Germany

Expulsion Native Americans Vietnam The U.S. government drove almost all out of their tribal lands into unfamiliar territory. Vietnam Expelled nearly 1 million ethnic Chinese from the country.

Secession A group ceases to be a subordinate group when it secedes to form a new nation or moves to an already established nation, where it becomes dominant. Jews moved from Germany to Israel.

Segregation The physical separation of two groups in residence, workplace, and social functions. African Americans in the U.S. What about neighborhoods?

Fusion Occurs when a minority and a majority group combine to form a new group. Amalgamation is the process by which a dominant group and a subordinate group combine through intermarriage into a new people Melting pot is when diverse racial or ethnic groups or both, form a new creation, a new cultural entity. A + B + C = D

Assimilation The process by which a subordinate individual or group takes on the characteristics of the dominant group. Assimilation is difficult because a person or group must forsake his or her cultural tradition to become part of a different, often antagonistic culture. A + B + C = A

Pluralism Mutual respect between the various groups in a society for one another’s cultures, allowing minorities to express their own culture without experiencing prejudice or hostility. A + B + C = A + B + C Bilingualism

Who Am I? What race are you? What ethnicity are you? What religion are you? Do you have any disabilities? What age are you? What sexual preference are you? How many of the groups that you are a member of are considered minority.