1. Sociology: Racial Stratification

2. Overview SEGMENT 1: Elements of Racial Stratification
SEGMENT 2: History of US Racial Stratification
SEGMENT 3: Minority and Dominant Groups

3. Elements of Racial Stratification
SEGMENT 1

4. Elements of Racial Stratification
Race – a socially constructed category composed of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society use to categorize people. Skin Color, Hair Color, Eye Color, Facial Structure, Height
Ethnicity – refers to cultural characteristics. People of the same ethnic group share clothing, foods, religion, and a strong sense of cultural heritage
Ethnicity Hispanic – Race Black, White, Asian, etc.
Race and Ethnicity are not the same terms, but both are groups and follow sociological principles of groups.
Race and Ethnicity also follow principles of stratification.

5. Elements of Racial Stratification
Two racial categories of Central African Bantu Tribes
Hutu – social minority race. Farm peasants and servant class to Tutsi
Shorter
Rounder Face
Deeper Voice
Larger Nose and Lips
Tutsi – social dominant race. Agricultural farmers with more than ten cattle.
Taller
Longer Face
Higher Pitched Voice
Pointed Nose
Belgium – Colonized Central Africa
Felt Tutsi were superior race
Instituted an Identification system
Gave power and privilege to Tutsi
Catholic Church – empowered Hutu minority by educating and welcoming to clergy
Disputes and Civil war erupted from between Hutu and Tutsi
April 7, 1994 Hutu “final solution” orders given to kill every last Tutsi in Rwanda
1,174,000 killed

6. History of US Racial Stratification
SEGMENT 2

7. History of US Racial Stratification
During the period of European colonization European interest expand throughout the world.
Colonial European expeditions in Africa, India, Asia, and the Americas uncovered numerous cultures and civilizations.
Culture shock & Ethnocentrism
Reports, biographies, and journals from colonists generally depicted the civilizations and cultures they found as inferior.
Combined with colonial domination the depictions of non-European cultures and people became viewed by others as truth.

8. History of US Racial Stratification
The cultural ideology soon developed that come cultures and people represented the more progressed part of the world (civilization) and other cultures and people represented the less progressed part of the world (savagery).
In this case racial biological traits were linked to expected behavioral patterns for groups.
Civilized people = biologically, morally, psychologically, and behaviorally superior
Savage people = biologically, morally, psychologically, and behaviorally inferior

9. History of US Racial Stratification

10. History of US Racial Stratification
Ota Benga – African Pygmie

11. History of US Racial Stratification

12. Minority and Dominant Groups
SEGMENT 3

13. Minority and Dominant Groups
Dominant Group – Racial or ethnic group with most wealth, power, and privileges in a society
Minority Group – Racial or ethnic group with less wealth, power, and privilege that is gets unequal social treatment compared to the dominant group
Minority group is different than the statistical minority
Hutu – larger in number, but minority group
US Hispanics, Arabs, Blacks – smaller in number and minority group

14. Minority and Dominant Groups
Racial and ethnic traits are highly esteemed
Status gives greater access to legitimate means for gaining wealth, power, prestige
Racial and ethnic identity tends to remain unnoticed because it is part of the cultural order
Minority Groups
Racial and ethnic traits are disparaged
Status blocks access to legitimate means for gaining wealth, power, prestige (Stigma)
Racial and ethnic identity tends to become apparent because it is not part of the cultural order

15. Minority and Dominant Groups
Discrimination is Actions taken against a group that contributes to its unequal status.
Positive Discrimination = Preference in Opportunity Structure.
Negative Discrimination = Obstruction in Opportunity Structure
Prejudice is an Attitude
Positive Prejudice = Positive attitudes towards a group
Negative Prejudice = Negative attitudes towards a group
Patterns of prejudice and discrimination towards other groups vary over time, context, and place. They get stronger and weaker depending on cultural and structural factors.

16. Minority and Dominant Groups.
Minority and Dominant Groups
Implicit Association Test - designed to examine which words and concepts are strongly paired in people's minds.
Experiment pair a variation of positive and negative word categories with black and white faces in rapid succession.
Asks participant to sort the categories into respective categories and measures the timing difference between category sorts and percentage of incorrect sorts.
Results are better predictor of behavior than self-reports of prejudices

17. Minority and Dominant Groups
Genocide – attempt at systematic annihilation of a racial or ethnic group (e.g. Rwanda genocide, German genocide, ISIS genocide)
Population Transfer – altogether expelling or forced moving a racial or ethnic group to a particular region within the country (e.g Jewish concentration camps, 1830 Trail of Tears, Trump proposed deportations)
Internal Colonialism – a racialized system whereby low-level jobs are reserved for minority groups (US Slavery, South African Apartheid, English Rule of Ireland)
Segregation – a racialized system whereby minority groups are kept physically and interactionally separate from the dominant group. (US Jim Crow Era, Arab-Israeli)
Assimilation – minority groups are required to adopt the culture and language of the dominant group. (US European)
Pluralism – minority and dominant groups co-exist without the dominant group controlling the minority group. Groups either co-mingle and/or cultural diffusion occurs. (US food culture, Globalization)

18. Minority and Dominant Groups
Functionalist - Prejudice is functional as it brings people together. However it can lead to discrimination (dysfunction)
Conflict – Prejudice is beneficial to the dominant group as it keeps minority groups oppressed and diminishes the possibility that they will organize according to their interests. (Carnegie and Pittsburgh’s Enclaves)
Symbolic Interactionist – Labels lead to selective perception and identity formation – we seek evidence that confirms and ignore evidence that disconfirms our beliefs – we also act according to cultural beliefs.

19. Minority and Dominant Groups
Race and ethnicity also constitutes a social status, and racial and ethnic characteristics follow the sociological principles of social status.
Status expectations states theory
Ordering of group members by social status which has the consequences of opportunities to participate, evaluation of contributions to group activity, opportunity to direct group outcomes, actual performance
Social status, including race and ethnicity, can lead to discrimination

20. RECAP SEGMENT 1: Elements of Racial Stratification
SEGMENT 2: History of US Racial Stratification
SEGMENT 3: Minority and Dominant Groups