The Complexity of Race, Ethnicity and Nationality

By Today’s End You Should Know:  What race is and its strengths and limitations  What ethnicity is and its strengths and limitations  What nationality is and its strengths and limitations  Which category is best when attempting to identify/describe a person and why. The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 3 Defining Race and Ethnicity  Race is a socially defined category, based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people; typically based on physical appearance. i.e. skin & eye color, hair texture, etc.  Ethnicity is a socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality, history, or other cultural factors.  Nationality is belonging to a particular nation by origin, birth, or naturalization.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 4 Why Race and Ethnicity Aren’t Scientific  Race and ethnicity are considered social constructions because they are not rooted in biological differences, they change over time, and they never have firm boundaries.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 5 The Difference between Race and Ethnicity  The difference between race and ethnicity is important because ETHNICITY can be displayed or hidden, depending on individual preferences.  RACIAL identities are always on display.  Although RACE is always displayed it is not always what it seems.

What Race shows/doesn’t show…  Race is GREAT at showing what a person looks like. Race is not so great in the following areas:  Highlighting a person’s language.  Highlighting what a person believes. Religion & personal beliefs cannot be determined by appearance  Highlighting where a person is from. Nationality cannot be determined by appearance. The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 6

What Nationality Shows/Doesn’t Show…  Nationality is GREAT for identifying a person’s country of origin but it too can be problematic in the following areas: People born in a country may choose to identify or find more connection within another ethnic group. There are many ethnic groups within a given country. People move to different countries. The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 7

Different ways of Identifying Ethnicity  Categories that are used to identify ethnicity:  Country of Birth  Nationality  Language spoken at home  Parents country of birth / respondents country of birth  Skin Colour  National / Geographical Origin  Religion  Customs and Traditions The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 8

What is Keanu Reeves?  Keanu Charles Reeves was born on September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon. His father was an Asian American of Chinese and Hawaiian descent and his mother was born in England. There was a move to Australia for a year where Keanu's first sister Kim was born in Shortly afterward the family headed to New York City. After a few years in New York the family relocated to Canada in 1971 where Keanu spent most of his formative years. The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 9

Which is Arab? The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 10

Which is Black? The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 11

Which is Asian? The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 12

Which is American? The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 13

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 14 What Is a Minority?  A minority group is made up of members of a social group that is systematically denied the same access to power and resources available to the dominant groups of a society, but who are not necessarily fewer in number than the dominant group.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 15 What Is a Minority? (cont’d)  Unequal and unfair treatment typically generates a strong sense of common identity and solidarity among members of minority groups.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 16 Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination  Racism refers to a set of beliefs about the superiority of one racial or ethnic group, is used to justify inequality, and is often rooted in the assumption that differences between groups are genetic.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 17 Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination (cont’d)  Prejudice is an idea about the characteristics of a group that is applied to all members of that group and is unlikely to change regardless of the evidence against it.  Discrimination is usually motivated by prejudice and refers to the unequal treatment of individuals because of their social group.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 18 Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination (cont’d)  Individual discrimination is discrimination carried out by one person against another.  Institutional discrimination is discrimination carried out systematically by social institutions (political, economic, educational, and others) that affect all members of a group who come into contact with it.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 19 Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Race in America  Functionalist theorists focus on the ways that race creates social ties and strengthens group bonds, though they also acknowledge that such ties can lead to violence and social conflict.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 20 Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Race in America (cont’d)  Conflict theory focuses on the struggle for power and control over scarce resources. Early conflict theorists tried to explain race as a result of economic oppression.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 21 Race as an Interactional Accomplishment  Symbolic Interactionists focus on the ways that race, class, and gender intersect to produce an individual’s identity. They see race as an aspect of identity established through interaction. There are several different ways that we project and receive our racial and ethnic identities.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 22 Race as an Interactional Accomplishment (Cont’d)  Racial passing, or living as if one is a member of a different racial category, has a long history in the United States.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 23 Race as an Interactional Accomplishment (Cont’d)  The way that we are perceived in the physical world, our embodied identity, historically has been used as a basis for discrimination. This issue becomes particularly interesting today as we examine online communication, where our physical traits often remain hidden from those with whom we interact.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 24 Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances  Race and ethnicity influence all aspects of our lives, including health, education, work, family, and interactions with the criminal justice system.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 25 Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d)  Health care is an area in which we find widespread disparity between racial and ethnic groups. Disparities in access to health care may help explain the life expectancy rates for men and women of different races.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 27 Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d)  In U.S. education, the highest high school dropout rates are associated with those from economically disadvantaged and non-English- speaking backgrounds.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 29 Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d)  Inequality can also be seen in the workplace and in income distribution. People of color, who are less likely to achieve high levels of education, are more likely to have lower- paying jobs.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 30 Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d)  In 2004, the median income for whites was $34,164, for Asian Americans $36,816, for African Americans $27,300, and for Hispanics $23,712.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 31 Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d)  Finally, non-whites are more likely to interact with law enforcement. African Americans and Hispanics are much more likely to go to prison than whites. African Americans are also far more likely to be murdered than whites. Also, more than two-thirds of racially motivated hate crimes in 2003 targeted blacks.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 32 Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation  Interactions between dominant and subordinate groups can take many different forms. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a racial, ethnic, national, or cultural group. The treatment of Native Americans is an example of population transfer, the forcible removal of a group of people from the territory they have occupied.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 33 Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation (cont’d)  Internal colonialism is the economic and political domination and subjugation of the minority group by the controlling group within a nation.  Segregation is the formal and legal separation of groups by race or ethnicity.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 34 Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation (cont’d)  Assimilation is a pattern of relations between ethnic or racial groups in which the minority group is absorbed into the mainstream or dominant group, making society more homogeneous. Racial assimilation is the process by which racial minority groups are absorbed into the dominant group through intermarriage.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 35 Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation (cont’d)  Cultural assimilation is the process by which racial or ethnic groups are absorbed into the dominant group by adopting the dominant group’s culture. Finally, pluralism (or multiculturalism) is a pattern of inter-group relations that encourage racial and ethnic variation within a society.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 36 Concept Quiz: 1.A socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality, history, or another cultural factor is called: a. ethnicity. b. symbolic ethnicity. c. symbolic race. d. race.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 37 Concept Quiz: 2.The unequal treatment of individuals because of their social group is called: a. racism. b. discrimination. c. prejudice. d. institutional racism.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 38 Concept Quiz: 3.Light-skinned African Americans who attempt to live as white in order to avoid the consequences of being black in a racist society are practicing: a. racial passing. b. social fraud. c. ethnic cleansing. d. symbolic racism.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 39 Concept Quiz: 4.In the early nineteenth century, the U.S. government forced Native Americans to move onto reservations. This is an example of: a. population transfer. b. assimilation. c. pluralism. d. genocide.

The Real World Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 40 Concept Quiz: 5.The pattern of intergroup relations that encourages racial and ethnic variation within a society is called: a. pluralism. b. segregation. c. population transfer. d. assimilation.