How Does It Differ From Race and Culture? Ethnicity How Does It Differ From Race and Culture?

Recap from last time . . . Race is a biological term used to describe subspecies of organisms. The physical variation in humans, though perhaps seemingly great, is genetically minimal. During the history of humanity, populations have never been isolated long enough to become true biological races. Social races are cultural constructs.

Example of great variability within a species: Dogs Dogs, though diverse in appearance, are genetically indistinguishable from wild wolves from which they descend.

Ethnicity and Race An ethnic group may define themselves as different because of their language, religion, geography, history, ancestry, or physical traits. An ethnic group that is assumed to have a biological basis is called a race.

What do most people think about ethnicity? Most Americans fail to distinguish between ethnicity and race. Many people think that ethnicity is just a politically correct term for race. Ethnicity is based on cultural traditions, while races are based mainly on biological traits.

Ethnic Markers, Identities, and Statuses Ethnic groups are formed around virtually the same features as cultures: common beliefs, values, customs, history, etc. Ethnicity entails identification with a given ethnic group, but it also involves the maintenance of a distinction from other groups. Status refers to any position in a society that can be filled by an individual.

Status in Society Ascribed status: Status into which people enter automatically without choice, usually at birth or some special event in the life cycle. Achieved status: Status that people acquire through their own individual accomplishments and actions in life. Within complex societies, ascribed status can describe large subgroups: minority groups, majority groups, and races are all examples as ascribed statuses. Differences in ascribed status are commonly associated with differences in socio-political power.

Minority Status The definitive feature of a minority group is that its members systematically experience lesser income, authority, and power than other members of their society. A minority group is not necessarily a smaller population than other groups.

Status Shifting Most status can change, particularly through the influence of social contexts. Adjusting or switching one’s status in reaction to different social contexts is called the situational negotiation of social identity. The application of a social category label, such as an ethnic label, to a particular individual depends on the perception by others of that person’s status, as well as that person’s own assertions of status.

Ethnic Groups, Nations, and Nationalities Nation and nation-state: an autonomous, centrally organized political entity. Ethnic groups are not necessarily so formally politically organized. The majority of all nation-states have more than one ethnic group, and the multiethnicity of all countries is increasing with migration/immigration.

Nationalities and Imagined Communities Nationalities are ethnic groups that aspire to autonomous statehood. The term “imagined communities” has been used to describe nationalities, since most of their members feel a bond with each other in the absence of any “real” acquaintance (No Palestinian will ever meet every member who considers themselves Palestinian). Mass media and literature has helped to form such imagined communities by becoming the means of establishing a commonalty of values, motivations, language, etc.

Colonialism Colonialism refers to the political, social, economic, and cultural domination of a territory and its people by a foreign power for an extended period of time. Colonialism helped create imagined communities as different ethnic groups under the control of the same colonial administration rose in opposition to colonial power.

Colonialism can fuel “imagined communities” Negritude (“African identity”) developed by black intellectuals out of the common experience of French colonial rule in Western Africa and the Caribbean. The fact the negritude crosses several present-day national boundaries makes it no more or less an imagined community than any nation-state.

Ethnic Nationalism Run Amok The breakup of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines in the early 1990s is an example of the interplay between history, ethnic identity, and nationalism. Serbs, Croat, Albanians, and Muslim Slavs are divided into various groups based on religion, culture, and political and military history (particularly, Serb retaliation for actions taken against them by Croat during the Second World War. Serbian “ethnic cleansing,” the policy of killing or driving out non-Serbs, took place in Bosnia.

Assimilation Assimilation describes the process of change when a minority ethnic group adopts the patterns and norms of its host culture. Assimilation is not uniform; it may be forced or relatively benign depending on historical particularities. Brazil (as opposed to the United States and Canada) is cited as a highly assimilative society where ethnic neighborhoods are uncommon.

The Plural Society Plural society refers to a multi-ethnic nation-state wherein the subgroups do not assimilate but remain essentially distinct, in (relatively) stable coexistence. Fredrik Barth defines plural society as a society combining ethnic contrasts and the economic interdependence of the ethnic groups. Such interdependence tends to be structured by ecological specialization. Cultural differences are part of the “natural” environment of ethnic groups, thus egalitarian coexistence is possible when there is no competition for resources.

Multicutluralism vs. Assimilation Multiculturalism is the view of cultural diversity in a country as something good and desirable. This is opposed to assimilation, which expects subordinate groups to take on the culture of the dominate group while abandoning their own. Basic aspects of multiculturalism at the government level are the official espousal of some degree of cultural relativism along with the promotion of distinct ethnic practices.

Multiculturalism in the U.S. A number of factors have caused the United States to move away from an assimilationist stance and towards a more multicultural model. Large-scale migration has brought in substantial minorities in a time span too short for assimilation to take place. An ethnic consciousness may take root in reaction to consistent discrimination. Studies have demonstrated that closely maintained ethnic ties have been a successful strategy for recent immigrants.

Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice is the devaluation of a given group based upon the assumed characteristics of that group. Discrimination is disproportionately harmful treatment of a group, which can be de jure or de facto.

More Discrimination Attitudinal discrimination is discrimination against a group based only upon its existence as a group (example: the KKK) Genocide is the deliberate elimination of a group through mass murder (example: Nazi Germany). Institutional discrimination is the formalized pursuance of discriminatory practices by a government or similar institution (example: apartheid).

When Multiculturalism Slips. . . Despite the fact that the 1992 Los Angeles riot began as a reaction to the first Rodney King verdict, much of the violence played out along ethnic lines: prosperous, culturally isolated Korean merchants were targeted for looting and violence. Subsequent public discussion indicated that much of the enmity was due to culturally based miscommunication.

The Politics of Cultural Oppression Ethnic differentiation sometimes interferes with the dominant group’s consolidation of power. Such conditions, perceived or real, have resulted in brutal discrimination: forced assimilation, ethnocide, ethnic expulsion, and cultural colonialism.

Summary Aspects of culture and race used to define ethnicity. Statuses exist in all societies, some of which are flexible. Nation-states are formal governments that contain multiple ethnic groups. Colonialism by nation-states has often resulted in subjugation of ethnic minorities Multiculturalism and truly plural societies are possible.