Transcript A Raisin in the Sun To Kill A Mockingbird

Introduction to the
Language of Prejudice
A Raisin in the Sun
To Kill A Mockingbird
Get ready…
Get set…
Definitions!!!
Your Task
• THINK about these ideas.
• NOTE the spelling of different forms
of the verbs.
• DO NOT copy info at this time – this
powerpoint will be on Ms. M’s website,
and you can check later if you need to
study.
• Ethnic
– (adj) of or relating to large groups of people
classed according to common racial, national,
tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or
background
– (noun or adj.) a member of a minority ethnic
group who retains the customs, language, or
social views of the group
• Ethnicity (noun) – an ethnic quality or affiliation
• Ethnocentric (adj) – characterized by or based
on the attitude that one’s own group is superior
• Race (noun)
– 1. a breeding stock of animals
– 2. a) a family, tribe, people, or nation
belonging to the same stock. b) a class or kind
of people unified by shared interests, habits,
or characteristics
– 3. a) an actually or potentially interbreeding
group within a species. b) a breed. c) a
category of humankind that shares certain
distinctive physical traits
RACE was a term once commonly used in physical
anthropology to denote a division of humankind
possessing traits that are transmissible by descent and
sufficient to characterize it as a distinct human type
(e.g., Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid). Today the
term has little scientific standing, as older methods
of differentiation, including hair form and body
measurement, have given way to the comparative
analysis of DNA and gene frequencies relating to such
factors as blood typing, the excretion of amino acids,
and inherited enzyme deficiencies. Because all
human populations today are extremely similar
genetically, most researchers have abandoned the
concept of race for the concept of the cline, a
graded series of differences occurring along a line of
environmental or geographical transition …
… This reflects the recognition that human
populations have always been in a state of flux, with
genes constantly flowing from one gene pool to
another, impeded only by physical or ecological
boundaries. While relative isolation does preserve
genetic differences and allow populations to
maximally adapt to climatic and disease factors over
long periods of time, all groups currently existing
are thoroughly “mixed” genetically, and such
differences as still exist do not lend themselves to
simple typologizing. “Race” is today primarily a
sociological designation, identifying a class
sharing some outward physical characteristics
and some commonalities of culture and history.
• Racism (noun)
– a) a belief that race is the primary
determinant of human traits and
capacities, and that racial differences
produce an inherent superiority of a
particular race
– b) racial prejudice or discrimination
• Racist (noun or adjectival form of racism)
RACISM is any action, practice, or belief that
reflects the racial worldview – the ideology
that humans are divided into separate and
exclusive biological entities called “races;”
that there is a causal link between inherited
physical traits and traits of personality,
intellect, morality, and other cultural
behavioral features; and that some “races”
are innately superior to others.
Racism was at the heart of North American
slavery and the overseas colonization and
empire-building activities of some western
Europeans, especially in the 18th century. The
idea of race was invented to magnify the
differences between people of European
origin in the U.S. and those of African
descent whose ancestors had been brought
against their will to function as slaves in the
American South. By viewing Africans and
their descendants as lesser human beings, …
… the proponents of slavery attempted to
justify and maintain this system of
exploitation while at the same time
portraying the U.S. as a bastion and
champion of human freedom, with human
rights, democratic institutions, unlimited
opportunities, and equality. The contradiction
between slavery and the ideology of human
equality, accompanying a philosophy of human
freedom and dignity, seemed to demand the
dehumanization of those enslaved. …
… Racism differs from ethnocentrism in that
it is linked to physical and therefore
immutable differences among people.
Ethnic identity is acquired, and ethnic
features are learned forms of behavior.
Race, on the other hand, is a form of
identity that is perceived as innate and
unalterable … Racism reflects an acceptance
of the deepest forms and degrees of
divisiveness, and carries the implication that
differences among groups are so great that
they cannot be transcended.
• Prejudice (noun)
– preconceived judgment or opinion; an adverse
opinion or leaning formed without just
grounds or before sufficient knowledge
– an instance of such judgment or opinion
– an irrational attitude of hostility directed
against an individual, a group, a race, or their
supposed characteristics
• Prejudiced (adj.)
– resulting from or having a prejudice or bias
for or especially against
• Bias (noun)
– a tendency
– an inclination of temperament or outlook; a
personal and sometimes unreasoned
judgment; prejudice
– an instance of such prejudice
• Biased (adj.)
– exhibiting or characterized by bias
 Notice that prejudice and bias are fairly close
synonyms.
• Discriminate (verb)
– to make a distinction, or use good judgment
– make a difference in treatment or favor on a basis
other than individual merit. <discriminate in favor
of your friends> or <discriminate against a certain
nationality >
• Discrimination (noun)
– the act, practice, or a particular instance of
discriminating categorically rather than individually
– a prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or
treatment. <racial discrimination>
• Discriminatory (adj.)
– applying or favoring discrimination in treatment.
<The law prohibits discriminatory hiring
practices.>