Sociology-� Race and Ethnicity
Race�Categories of people set apart
because of socially defined physical characteristics.
Ethnic group�a category of people set apart from
others because of distinctive social and cultural characteristics.
Minority group�a category of people whose physical
appearance or cultural characteristics are defined as being different from the
traits of the dominant group, which results in their being set apart for
differential treatment.
Racism�beliefs and attitudes that one
racial category� or ethnic grouping is
INHERENTLY SUPERIOR OR INFERIOR to another.
Prejudice�irrational attitudes and preconceived
judgments, either favorable or unfavorable, toward a category of people� (pre judge� thought)
Discrimination�the unequal treatment of people
because of their minority group status (the behavior�the act itself)
5 CHARACTERISTICS SHARED BY MINORITY
GROUP MEMBERS
A.�
Identifiability
B.�
Membership by
Ascription
C.�
Group
Awareness
D.�
Differential
Power
E.��
Differential
and Unequal Treatment
The three types of discrimination
1) Legal�minority group members are
denied lawful access to public institutions, jobs, housing, and social rewards.
2) Personal�behaviors ranging from
social slights, racial and ethnic slurs, insults, threats, violence, and murder
3) Institutional�differential and unequal
treatment of a minority or subordinate group deeply ingrained in social,
economic, and political institutions.
(Institutional Discrimination�the denial of opportunities and equal
rights to individuals and groups that result from the normal operations of society
and are deeply imbedded in the institutions of our society
a)
Our
institutions are family, work , school, mass media, politics/government/
sports/neighborhood/peers.
b)
Individual
discrimination refers to overt acts of person toward another. Institutional
discrimination refers to less obvious acts committed collectively against
entire groups which usually occur without individual intentionality or
awareness (examples, IQ tests, written by white male majority� standards for
assessing credit risks, minorities lack conventional credit references�jobs
eliminate people with police records..talk about poverty)
c)
There
are unintended consequences that result in institutional discrimination, even
when people and institutions have good intentions (examples, airport security,
tighter standards, US citizens, Florida elections, names)
d)
Institutional
discrimination can be seen in the outcomes of our institutions for subordinate
groups.
--differential hiring practices/ promotion practices
--bias in lending and leasing practices
-- inadequate health care
--differential access to health care
--differential income status
Merton�s Typology-- the relationship between prejudice
and discrimination is varied and complex.
1) YES, prejudice, NO, discrimination
2) YES, prejudice, YES , discrimination
3) NO, prejudice, YES, discrimination
4) NO, prejudice, NO discrimination]
Dominant Group Responses to Minority
Groups
Genocide--�
the deliberate and systematic elimination of all men, women, and
children of a particular minority group
Population Transfer�the forced expulsion of a minority
group, forcing that group to move to another location against its will
Spatial Segregation�the physical separation of minority
group members from others in society and their confinement, usually informally,
to inferior residential areas.
Social Segregation�when a minority group is excluded
from participating in social, political, and other activities of the dominant
group
Cultural Pluralism�occurs when racial and ethnic groups
cooperate in areas thought to be essential to their mutual well being while
retaining their distinctive identities
Assimilation�a process by which members of� a racial or ethnic minority group lose their
distinctive identities and lifeways, conforming to cultural patterns of the
dominant group