Race and Ethnicity

Definition and Application

Physical markers are used to distinguish groups and create inequality based on race. Different social conditions among superordinates and subordinates create behavioral differences between them.

The Social Roots of Racism

The Social Roots of Racism

Perceptions of behavioral differences get embedded in culture as racial stereotypes.

Racial stereotypes reinforce the use of

physical markers to distinguish groups.

Key Questions

• What constitutes an ethnic group? • How do we define, identify and locate

an ethnic group? • What is the significance of ethnicity

in Canadian society?

Ethnic groups

• Ethnic groups can be identified by their cultural distinctiveness.

• There is general agreement that culture is the principally identifiable characteristic

Culture Defined

1. Systems of ideals and ideas, 2. Ways of thinking 3. Plans or recipes for behaving

in any group of people, 4. Passed down from generation

to generation."

Minority Status

• Ethnic groups are often referred to as cultural minorities.

Minority situation

• Integration and Suicide • Durkhiem, for example, noted that

when a group is in a minority situation the elements of group life become more pronounced. =Less chance of Suicide

Cultural Bonds

• Some common bonds that unify ethnic groups include:

• Language, religion, folkways and mores, styles of dress, foods,occupational specialization, social values, aesthetic standards

Theodorson and Theodorson

1975 • Modern Dictionary of Sociology

define ethnicity as a group with- • 1. A common culture • 2. A sense of identity which exists

as a sub- group in a larger society. • 3. Differential of cultural

characteristics from members of the host society.

•

What is an ethnic identity

• A. An ethnic group shares a common ancestry

• B. An ethnic group shares common norms, values and traditions (insiders)

• C. An ethnic group is considered to be a group by those who do not share the first two elements (outsiders)

Heterogenious/Homogenious Contexts

• Ethnicity then becomes more significant in North America than Europe. Why?

• Because in Europe, ethnicity is usually not a sub-group of the larger society.

• Nation and ethnicity are less differentiated in a culturally homogeneous societies.

• Ie. French in France, Italian in Italy

Prejudice

Prejudice refers to an unsubstantiated negative prejudgement of individuals or groups because of their ETHNICITY, race or RELIGION

Discrimination

• Discrimination is the exclusion of individuals or groups from full participation in society because of their ethnicity, race or religion

• Prejudice (an attitude) and discrimination (behaviour) are usually linked, but they are distinct phenomena.

Forms of Discrimination in Canada

Overt, Structural and Covert

1. Blatant or Overt-

• • To arbitrarily deny opportunities to

members of ethnic groups whose qualifications are equal to members of the dominant group.

2. Structural Discrimination

• The impersonal `perhaps’ unintentional operation of the Canadian social system.

• Unequal reward and opportunities

3. Legislative discrimination • -Phased out after WW2 I.e Internment

camps • Yet until mid 1960's, some of Canadian

immigration laws were racist. • E.g. policies regarding aboriginal

peoples have historically been paternalistic.

4. Cultural Discrimination -

• Operates through the expectations of the dominant culture and its attempts at conformity in public life.

Cultural Discrimination

• Those groups whose attributes (symbols, artificates, cultural practices) that deviate most markedly from the dominant group are the most severely discriminated against

Cultural Discrimination

• Ethnic groups that approximate the dominant ethno-cultural model in appearance, religion, lifestyle symbols etc. the more open and accessible are the institutions of society.

Myths About Immigrants

• Taking over the country • Uneducated • Stealing Jobs • Uncultured • Not to be trusted

South/Asians Toronto

• -Immigrants from South/Asia are taking over the country.

• -people from Asia -East Indian, Pakistan, China, Korea ect. are overrunning the country pretty soon there will be no white folk.

• Xenophobia

Xenophobia

• Xenophobia is a fear or contempt of that which is foreign or unknown, especially of strangers or foreign people.

• The term is typically used to describe a fear or dislike of foreigners or of people significantly different from oneself.

Myths

• -Immigrants are uneducated- NO- immigrants are more likely than non-immigrants to have a university education.

Daniel Bell 1975

• Canada is one and at same time: 1. Uni-cultural 2. Bi-cultural 3. Multicultural

Canada

• Multidimensional in terms of ethnic patterns:

• Uni-cultural-British, Anglo Saxon Dominance 1763

• Bicultural-French and English Charter groups 1963-1968

• Multicultural-since 1972 Official..

Canadian Uniculturalism

• Canada was never a melting pot:

Anglo Dominance combined with racism and nativism.

• Postwar immigration, however, went far to change this.

BR and Fr. Origins

• Of this population of about 22.4 million, nearly one-half (46%), or about 10.3 million, reported only British Isles, French and/or Canadian ethnic or cultural origins.

British ancestry.

• The largest proportion - 21% of the total population aged 15 years and older - was comprised of those of only British ancestry.

Other Europeans.

• The next largest proportion of Canada's population was comprised of the descendants of other Europeans.

• About 4.3 million people, or about one-fifth (19%) of those aged 15 and over, had only European ancestry (other than British and French origins).

Non-European descent

• People of non-European descent accounted for 13% of the population aged 15 and over, or 2.9 million.

Mixed ethnic heritages

• In addition, 22% of the population aged 15 and over, or 4.9 million, reported other mixed ethnic heritages, or did not know their ethnic ancestry.

Canada Ethnic History in Brief

• Contact 1608-1763

• 350,000 Natives vs. 5000 Europeans • Wilderness, Fur Trade • Champlain, ie. Penetang • Some trade, much claiming

Pre-Confederation

Two Solitudes • Plains of Abraham

• La Survivance • Upper Canada 55% English and 35%

French. Lower Canada 85% French 15% English.

Post-Confederation/Western Settlement

• 1867-1939 • Anglo-centric Orange Order

predominant. • Influx of Russian, Ukranian, Chinese • Chinese, Italian, Jewish in urban centers • prejudice and discrimination

Post World War Two

• Restrictions lifted • More Italian, Jewish, Greek, Northern

European • Italians 731,000, Germans 1.3 million,

385,000 Scand. • Diversity in Population/Conformity and

Assimilation gov’t policy

Establishing the Mosaic

• 1960’s • Introduction of the Points System • Immigration less Anglo-centric • Bi & Bi Commission, Multicultural

Official in 1972.

Refocusing current

• Refocusing the Cultural Mosaic • Three levels of immigration -points,

family reunification, refugee status • Increasing numbers of visible minorities

South Asia, Caribbean and Asia • 250,000 immigrants per year

Immigration

• Immigration is an important way of attempting to understand majority/minority relations in a country.

Anthony Richmond

• Enhanced by the increasing amount of

immigrants since WW2 (Richmond,1982) • Canada has been described as a salad bowl • Immigrants are working hard to carve

out their place...

Acculturation not assimilation

• .To adjust to Canada's two dominate groups. French and English.

• These groups serve as reference groups to many immigrant groups.

Assimilation and Acculturation

• The two ends of the continuum of what happens to ethnic groups are:

1. . Assimilation 2. Acculturation 3 ... Maintenance of group identity and

cohesion within the larger society. (ethnic ghetto)

Vertical Mosaic

• John Porter (1965) -Uniculturalism • A controversial thesis-Canada’s emphasis

on cultural pluralism hinders minority groups

• Creates `ethnic ghetto cultures’ restricting mobility…

• A functionalist thesis…

Revisionists

• Include Peter S. Li • Gordon Darroch • Ethnic communities carve out their own

occupational avenues for success. • Canada is primarily a class society-

Marxist thesis.

Subtle discrimination

• Examples of this subtle discrimination included being passed over for promotion, assigned unpleasant tasks, being stereotyped, and being excluded from the "inner circle" of the workplace

Evelyn Kallen (1974)

• KALLEN, Evelyn and KELNER, Merrijoy. 1983. Ethnicity, Opportunity ..... “Toronto: Polite Racism and Marshmallow Politics,” Currents: Readings in Race ...

Polite Racism

• Visible minority men and women still face "polite" racism when job hunting.

Covert Racism

• Racism is more covert today- US and Canada.

• Focus group participants said that racism is a "hidden thing" in the workplace, and many were convinced that they had been victims of subtle forms of racism.

Subtle discrimination

• Examples included: 1. Passed over for promotion, 2. Assigned unpleasant tasks, 3. Being stereotyped, 4. Being excluded from the "inner circle"

of the workplace

Polite racists.

• They maintain a number of fixed ideas about people, usually based on some insufficient or erroneous information such as Asians are passive, Chinese are bad drivers, Jews are Greedy, Native people are lazy.

Polite racists. (Kallen, 1974)

• A study conducted in 1978 showed that people are 16 somewhat racist and 33 percent somewhat racist. 51 percent of management in 199 large companies (N=50) held negative views of people of colour. (Henry and Ginsberg, 1978)

Trudeau claimed in 1971

Although there are two official

languages, there is no official culture." • Since 1971, 200 million dollars has

been spent promoting multicultural ideals, social integration and racial harmony

Trudeau Quote

• "There cannot be one policy for

Canadians of British origin or French origins, another for originals and yet a third for all others.” (1971)

R.C.B.B. 1963-1969

• The Royal Commission on Bi-lingualism and Bi-culturalism revealed the growth of a new current in Canada by the `other Canadians'.

• Multicultural Act-an afterthought?

surprised to see that I'm black because I sound like the

average guy on the telephone. They've said 'Oh, the job has just been filled,' or during the interview they'll say that I'm

overqualified or ask me questions like 'Are you sure you want to work at this type

of job?' Ethnic Origin In Canada

• • Ethnic Origin Total Responses Percentage Canadian 8,806,275 30.9% • English 6,832,095 23.9% • French 5,597,845 19.6% • Scottish 4,260,840 14.9% • Irish 4,260, 840 13.2% • German 2,757,140 9.7% • Iitalian 1,207,475 4.2% • Aboriginal 1,101,955 3.9%

Ukrainian 1 026 475 3 6%

Assimilation vs. Cultural Distinctiveness

• The two ends of the continuum of what happens to ethnic groups are:

• • 1. Assimilation • • 2. Maintenance of group identity and

cohesion within the • larger society. • •

The cultural pluralist

• Today we will look at some theoretical concepts that relate to the struggle of cultural pluralism

• Many immigrants who favour maintenance of their own identity have no desire to adopt the lifestyle of the host country.

•

Reference Groups-assimilation vs. distinctiveness

• Very often they view the host country in terms of expediency and look forward to making money and going home.

• With these groups, the reference group is drawn from their own ethnic history and not from the dominant culture.

• Immigrant groups who favour assimilation, on the other hand, look to the host or dominant culture as reference groups.

Minorities in Transition

• The culture of a minority group in transition

is referred to as a hybrid culture. • • Containing norms that are traditional as

well as some values of the dominant culture.

Canadian Family

• The Canadian Family in an Urban Setting

• • Elkin (1964) suggests that there is not one

Canadian Family. • It is too heterogeneous, with its diverse

ethnic religious and occupational groupings. •

Italian Family

• In Italy, the family is a source of moral authority

and community values. • A person's worth is determined by his/her ability

to promote the economic prosperity of the family and to preserve the chastity of women in the family.

•

Italian Canadians in Toronto

• The first handful arrived in the 1880's and

1890's settling in the Ward area bounded by Young and University college and Queen they lived in ramschackled housing.

• They were often a transient group working for the railway or mining in Ontario bush.

Formative Stage

• Numbers grew as they formed networks for incoming Italians to pass on information about housing, and financial aid in case of sickness and death.

Population- • The numbers were about 14,000 in 1913. •

Maintenance Stage

• During the Second World War about 500 were rounded up and interned in Toronto. Times were very difficult for the Italian community until following the war when the "enemy alien" designation had been lifted in 1947.

• Throughout the Second World War many Italians were inturned and lost their posessions.

• In the 1950's the Italian community began to grow such that protests by unionists, politicians and the general public were made to stem the tide of immigration.

• • Through the 1960's the Italian community

was largely responsible for building the infra-structure of Toronto.

• As a result, the group has moved northward to suburbs like North York. The star claims that " more recent neighbourhoods of choice in bedroom communities like Woodbridge "symbolize a collective distancing from there humble beginnings".

•

Italians Now Urban

• The majority of Italian Canadians are found in urban centres like Toronto and Montreal. The small number of works on Italians are contradictory.

• • On the one hand, Jansen(1971) found that Italian

immigrants in Toronto were ocupationally, residentially and linguistically segregated and had minumal contacts beyond their primary groups.

• Similar patterns were reported by Boissevain (1976)

Socialization

• The contradictions may be partly the product of differential socialization practices between Italian males and females.

• There "stricter, more protective practices towards females."

• • It is also reported that first generation Italians

have unrealistically high expectations for their children which often leads to conflict.

• Sturino reports that gradually Italians will see a blending of old and new family patterns.

•

Familiaria

• "At three levels of kinship of nuclear family,

family circle, and kindred, elements from a peasant past were merged with an urban present. The kinship patterns can neither be referred to as Canadian nor Italian".

• • Sturino sees the emergence of an entirely new

family form which represents a departure from concepts used to describe some other ethnic groups like stability and change.

Institutional Completeness

• The circumstances for Italians in Montreal have

been very different from those of the Jewish community.

• Large scale immigration for Italians took place following WW2.

• • Second only to British as a minority in the

province. • Despite some institutional completeness there has

been some question of the cohesiveness of Italians in that city

• Ukrainian Canadians • • • Hobart examined attitudes towards family size,

marital roles, and childbearing among a sample of three generations in Edmonton and surrounding rural communties.

• • The pattern of the first generation closely reflects

the native country while the third generation closely approximates the ideal typical English-Canadian family; small in size maternal

Myths

• -Immigrants come over and sap the

welfare system. NOT. Immigrants are only slightly less likely to participate in the labour force 76.4 compared to 77.7%.

• -However, among young people-able bodied-immigrants had a higher labour force participation rate at 95.3% compared to 94.8 among non-immigrants.

• Immigrant men earn more than non-immigrant men although the same is not true for women.

there, I get the feeling they are surprised to see that I'm black

because I sound like the average guy on the telephone. They've said 'Oh, the job has just been filled,' or during the interview they'll say that I'm

overqualified or ask me questions like 'Are you sure you want to work at this type

of job?'

• • Ethnic Origin Total Responses Percentage Canadian 8,806,275 30.9% • English 6,832,095 23.9% • French 5,597,845 19.6% • Scottish 4,260,840 14.9% • Irish 4,260, 840 13.2% • German 2,757,140 9.7% • Iitalian 1,207,475 4.2% • Aboriginal 1,101,955 3.9%

Ukrainian 1 026 475 3 6%