Sociology and Race, Prejudice, & Hate

Are We Racist/ Prejudiced…………….. In WRHS???? In NJ???? IN USA???? Journal : Have you ever experienced discrimintation yourself? Explain!

Basic Terms Assimilation: The process through which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture. Should we demand that immigrants assimilate? Is assimilation necessary?

Basic Terms Ethnic Group: A group that is set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. DIFFERENT FROM RACE!

Basic Terms   Prejudice: A negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority. Racism: The belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior. Discrimination: The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons.

Basic Terms Pluralism: Mutual respect for one another’s culture among the carious groups in a society, which allows minorities to express their own cultures without experiencing prejudice. Stereotype: An unreliable generalization about all members of a group that does not recognize individual differences within the group.

Basic Terms Ethnocentrism: The tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others. Hate Crime: A criminal offense committed because of the offender’s bias against a race, religion, ethnic group, national origin, or sexual orientation. Should rape be considered a hate crime?

Journal What is a question you are afraid to ask regarding race or prejudice? Explain.

5 Basic Characteristics of Minorities Members of a minority group experience unequal treatment compared to members of a dominant group. Members of a minority group share physical or cultural characteristics that distinguish them from the dominant group. Each society arbitrarily decides which characteristics are most important in defining groups. Membership in a minority group is not voluntary, people are born into the group. Minority group members have a strong sense of group solidarity. Members of a minority group generally marry others from the same group. A member of a dominant group is often unwilling to marry into a supposedly inferior minority group.

Sociological Theories on Racism Functionalist Perspective: Three purposes that Racism has: Racist views provide a moral justification for maintaining an unequal society that routinely deprives a minority group of its rights and privileges. Racist beliefs discourage the subordinate minority from attempting to questions the very foundations of society. Racial myths suggest that any major societal change would only bring greater poverty to the minority and lower the majority’s standard of living.

Sociological Theories on Racism Four Dysfunctions Associated with Racism: A society that practices discrimination fails to use the resources of all individuals. Discrimination limits the search for talent and leadership to the dominant group. Discrimination aggravates social problems such as poverty, delinquency, and crime, and places the financial burden of alleviating those problems on the dominant group. Society must invest a good deal of time and money to defend its barriers to the full participation of all members. Racial prejudice and discrimination often undercut goodwill and friendly diplomatic relations between nations.

Sociological Theories on Racism Conflict Perspective: Exploitation Theory: (Marxist Class theory) Views the exploitation of the lower class as a basic part of the capitalist economic system. Racism keeps minorities in low-paying jobs, supplying the capitalist ruling class with a pool of cheap labor. Only problem is it does not account for all types of prejudice. Some minority groups have experienced prejudice in the United States without experiencing it in the workforce or in economic terms.

Sociological Theories on Racism Interactionist Perspective: In cooperative circumstances, interracial contact between people of equal status will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon old stereotypes. People begin to see one another as individuals and discard the broad generalizations characteristic of stereotyping. Based on individual interactions; on a micro level.