Chapter 9 Race and ethnicity

Race and EthnicityGS 138: Introduction to Sociology1

Questions for youHow is race socially constructed in society?What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?What evidence is there that race relations are improving in the society?

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Chapter OutlineRace and EthnicityPrejudiceDiscriminationSociological Perspectives on Race and Ethnic RelationsRacial and Ethnic Groups in the United States2010 Census and its Definitions of Race3

What Is Race? Some people view race as:Skin color: the Caucasian race, Religion: the Jewish race Nationality: the British raceEntire human species: the human raceSociological definition of race:A category of people who have been singled out as inferior or superior, often on the basis of real or alleged physical characteristics such as skin color, hair texture, eye shape, or other subjectively selected attributes14

Kendall, Diana. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials Annotated Instructor's 8th Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2012.4

Race and BiologyA race is a category of people who have been singled out as inferior or superior, on the basis of real or alleged physical characteristics such as skin color, hair texture, eye shape, or other attributes.

Race has little meaning biologically due to interbreeding in the human population.

Only 6% of DNA differences in humans can be attributed to racial differences and thus many social and natural scientists have dismissed race as a category5

Historical Conceptions of RaceMonogenism (14th 18th century) Racial classification by originPolygenism (18th 19th century) Focus on inheritance of traits/hierarchy of racesEvolutionism (late 19th century) Races evolved over time, explained the dominance of EuropeansRace as Class, Culture (19th cent.)- Race was though to determine social standing and cultureRace as Ethnicity, Nation (19- 20th century) Racial mixing blurs fixed categories, race used as a political strategy 6

6DiscourseDescriptionConsequencesMonogenism (14th - 18th Century) Focus on origin, breed, stock - descent from Adam & Evecommitment to race as lineage, pedigree Polygenism(18 -19th Century)biological inheritance and hierarchy Species - Population - rigid categoriesEvolutionism(late 19th more fluid taxonomies race as subspecies geneticallyinterpretedBreeding populations are species. Races are sub-species. Race as Class19th Century onsocio-economic status or relation to mode of production, or statusrace as determined by class - Reductionist - ignores cultural dimensionRace as Culture(19th Century onidentification with language, religion, customs, mores encultured characteristicsgroup-bound dictum 'manners (or language) maketh man' Race as Ethnicity(20th Century onuse of term 'race' inherently ethnocentric 'ethnicity' used interchangeably with racesocial choice to identify by natural rather than social criteria reflects reification of concepts over time ethnicity shifts back to objectified category 'them' rather than 'us'Race as Nation (late 19th Century - onrace as nation - similar to early concept of lineage, rallying force behind nationalist movementsE.g. White Australia Policy also current concerns about immigration & asylum seekers etc.

Historical Conceptions of RaceTaken from Baron Cuviers Natural History (1890)7

7The plates from Baron Cuvier's Natural History (1890) which portray the Human race are divided into 4 categories: American Indian, Caucasian, Mongol and Negro (the same as Linnaeus red, white, yellow and black) show the varieties within these colour coded groups. Each plate purports to show details of human types. The inclusion of the skull is representative of the materialist anthropology and physiognomy of the time. The studies from drawings by Thomas Landseer are sensitive and sympathetic to the dignity and character of their subjects, and a long way removed from the crude stereotypes which can be seen in other works of the period. The accompanying text explains that these categories of humankind are not considered separate species as this precluded interbreeding between species, whereas it is clearly possible between human groups. However, the physical boundaries of race are affirmed by the presence of 'hereditary peculiarities of conformance' -Although the human species would appear to be single, since the union of any of its members produces individuals capable of propagation, there are nevertheless, certain hereditary peculiarities of conformation observable, which constitute what are termed races, Three of these in particular appear eminently distinct: the Caucasian, or white, the Mongolian, or yellow, and the Ethiopian, or negro. (1890:37)Swedish biologist Linnaeus who's General System of Nature (1735) established four basic colour types in descending order: White Europeans, Red Americans Yellow Asians Black Africans

So Race is a Social ConstructionIt is generally agreed among sociologists that race is socially constructed based on the social realities, norms and group experiences within society at a particular time. (Remember the Thomas Theorem)

Race became significant only after the transatlantic economy emerges in the 1400s

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Race is a Social Construction

Who would you consider white? Why? John F. Kennedy Albert Einstein Rudy Guiliani Sonia Sotomayor Irish Ancestry Jewish AncestryItalian Ancestry Puerto Rican Ancestry9

An interracial marriage in 1864Dr. Michael OMalley, professor at George Mason University, had an Irish great-grandfather and a native Virginian great grandmother . His grandfather was listed as colored on their wedding certificate.10

Characteristics of Ethnic GroupsUnique cultural traits.A sense of community.A feeling of ethnocentrism.Ascribed membership from birth.Tendency to occupy a geographic area.

Example: Irish Americans were historically united by a common faith (Catholicism), lived in ethnic enclaves in cities like NYC and Boston, preferred the folkways of Irish over the WASP culture, and remained in Irish neighborhoods due to discrimination.11

Dominant and Subordinate GroupsA dominant group is one that is advantaged and has superior resources and rights in a society.

A subordinate group is one whose members are disadvantaged and subjected to unequal treatment by the dominant group and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination.

Why would sociologists use dominant/subordinate rather than majority/minority?12

Prejudice and RacismA negative attitude based on generalizations about members of selected racial, ethnic, or other groups. Ethnocentrism refers to the tendency to regard ones own culture and group as the standard.Stereotypes are overgeneralizations about the appearance, behavior, or other characteristics of members of particular categories. Racism-attitudes, beliefs, and practices that justify the superior treatment of one group13

Prejudice, Discrimination, & RacismTermDefinitionRelated ConceptsRacismSet of attitudes, beliefs, and practices that is used to justify the treatment of another racial or ethnic group.DiscriminationActions or practices of dominant group members that have a harmful impact on a subordinate groupIsolated vs. InstituationalizedIndirect vs. Direct PrejudiceNegative attitude based on faulty generalizations about members of specific ethnic, racial, or other groupsStereotypesEthnocentrism

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Theories of PrejudiceFrustrationaggression (scapegoat) hypothesisPeople who are frustrated in their efforts to achieve a highly desired goal will respond with a pattern of aggression toward others.

CULTURE OF PREJUDICETHE SOCIALIZATION EXPERIENCEITS NORMAL FOR PEOPLE TO PREJUDGE OTHERS

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Institutionalized Discrimination

Example of Indirect:1937 Map of Philadelphia developed by Homeowners Loan Corporation, a New Deal effort to salvage distressed properties

Sections of the city were given grades according to their properties and the racial infiltrations. The red and yellow areas were predominantly minority, while blue and green were safer areas for lending.16

Jennifer Lee and Immigration17

Census Categories Then & NowPrevious racial categories included:

1790:Free white malesFree white femalesAll other free persons (included NativeAmericans who paid taxes and freeblacks)Slaves

1890: Mulattos, Quadroons, Octoroons, Chinese, Japanese,

20th century: Hindu, South Americans

Census categories from other nations

2010 Census, Race Section18

Some Caveats for Understanding the 2010 CensusThe 2010 Census lumps diverse groups intoone race category:Hispanics may choose White as race or any other (most choose white)Arabs are instructed to mark their race as whiteBeginning in 2000, people are allowed to choose a two or more races

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White, Black, Brown, and. When asked to indentify racial groups in America, most people will list White, African-American, Native American, Asian, Latino/Hispanic, but there are other groups/subgroups worth mentioningWhite EthnicsNon-British Europeans-Czechs, Poles, Italians, Irish, Russians, entered the U.S. between 1880-1920WASPs White Anglo-Saxon Protestants-the upper class for most of US history has been described as WASP, usually attend mainline churches, members of country clubs, send children to elite prep schools 20

Subgroups of WhitesDo you think that white subgroups, like WASPS or white ethnics still exist? Or do they simply exist in popular media depictions?George H.W. Bush, a WASP prototypeCast of the Jersey Shore, which depicts the guido lifestyle of young, Northeastern Italian-Americans21

Latino/HispanicLatino/Hispanic-The only ethnic group recognized by the Census, not a raceHispanic refers to Spanish language (and thus excludes Brazilians and Surinamese) while Latino includes people from Latin-speaking countries

Javier Weyler Celia Cruz (Argentinean) (Cuban)22

Asians The Census asks for certain major nationalities, but often lumps Southeast Asians, Orientals, Indians, and native of the Pacific islands together

What Asians are not included in this Census category?23

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Overview of Theoretical Perspectives26

Symbolic Interactionism & RaceContact theory - contact between divergent groups should, in theory, reduce racismInteractionists would study how people define themselves along racial & ethnic lines and how they perceive people of other racesInteractionists would also study the daily encounters between people of different races27

How Does This Ad Exemplify the Interactionist Perspective?28

Functionalist Perspectives on Race and Ethnic RelationsAssimilation A process by which members of subordinate racial and ethnic groups become absorbed into the dominant culture.Ethnic PluralismThe coexistence of a variety of distinct racial and ethnic groups within one society.Functionalists focus on unequal opportunities and achievement of subordinate groups, racism is merely a dysfunction (not an overt set of obstacles)29

Conflict Perspectives on Race and Ethnic RelationsThe Caste Perspective views racial and ethnic inequality as a permanent feature of U.S. society.

Class perspectives emphasize the role of the capitalist class in racial exploitation. William Julius Wilsons The Truly Disadvantaged explain racism as limited life chances for inner city blacks 30

Conflict Perspectives on Race and Ethnic RelationsInternal Colonialism occurs when members of a racial or ethnic group are forcibly placed under the control of the dominant group.

Split Labor Market - The division of the economy into a primary sector composed of higher paid workers in more secure jobs, and a secondary sector of lower-paid workers in jobs with little security.31

Gendered Racism

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