1. Racial and Ethnic Identity
Racial Formation and Social Construction

2. Introductory Questions
Which of the following identities is socially constructed?
Race
Ethnicity
Class
Gender
Merit

3. Questions, continued
Which of the following is most important in determining one’s life chances in American society?
Race
Ethnicity
Class
Gender
Merit
Luck

4. Waters: Overview Questions
What is the new ethnicity?
When Waters says that the two most important characteristics of later-generation ethnicity are choice and dynamism, what does she mean?

5. Approaches to Understanding Racial and Ethnic Identities
The Racial Formation Approach (Omi and Winant)
Global processes (European, Islam)
Societal processes (acceptance, demands)
The Social Construction Approach
Thick/thin dimension
Asserted/assigned
Ethnic options (Mary Waters)

6. Questions Posed by Waters
Why do some people choose to be ethnic?
What factors influence our choice of ancestries?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in an ethnic neighborhood?

7. Questions, continued What are the roles of cultural practices?
Language
Food
Holidays
Weddings and funerals

8. Challenging v. Conforming Identities
Malcolm X: I am not an American
Origins of Hip Hop
Will Smith, Nelly
Martin Luther King, Jr.: brotherhood of all mankind
Crossover music by Latino artists: Gloria Estevan, J-LO, Ricky Martin, Mark Anthony

9. Will we ever quit viewing race as real?
George Will: can we say race is still an important barrier in American society given Oprah, Colin Powell, and Michael Jordan?
Counter evidence
Guadalupe, Arizona (Bob Herbert)
Residential segregation, economic inequality