Transcript Chapter 9 Race and Ethnicity

Warm-Up
What is the difference
between race and
ethnicity?
Warm-up:
In your opinion, what
character in The Help
made the biggest initiative
towards eliminating racial
inequality? Why?
Warm-up:
2 page essay on racial
inequality: 1960's vs. 2012.
Include (at least 3)
examples from The Help,
and specific examples you
see today. Do you see any
changes? Are there still
some inequalities?
Video: Living the Life of Another Race
• Take notes while watching this video (you will
need them for later use!)
• Video 1:
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/
watch?videoId=rqwXN0rQAYY
• Thoughts on the video?
• Video 2:
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/
watch?videoId=ieBBGZ55Qfk
• Video 3:
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/
watch?videoId=taqre2El-uU
Living the Life of the Other Race
1. Do you think all people should go through this experience? Why or
why not?
2. After the transformations, did the family members act the same way
as their original race?
3. What were some of the experiences that they faced as their “new”
race? What were some of their reactions?
4. Compare/Contrast the two videos. What are some similarities and
differences faced by the these families?
5. What caused tension among members of the same race families? Why
do you think that happened?
6. Do you think a person’s race affects how they are treated by people?
Why or why not? Please give 3 examples and explain.
Essay Prompt (1 page): if you could change your race, what race would
you change to? Write about some experiences you might encounter and
some activities you might participate in.
Ch. 9:
Race &
Ethnicity
“I know of no rights of race
superior to the rights of man” –
Frederick Douglas
Before we start…
• Reminder: be sensitive to the feelings of
others
• Also, sociology deals with general trends and
groups-not personalities and individuals.
• There will be exceptions for every trend and
generalization
• Does anyone want to share and personal
experiences with issues of discrimination or
prejudice?
• Now, lets get past the individual experiences
and focus on society in general.
Race and Ethnicity:
• So, what IS the difference?
• Survey
• Race and Ethnicity in the United
States:
• http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/m
edia/action/yt/watch?videoId=VA7La
5JgOUk
Section 1: Preview
• Write your own
definition for each of
the following terms:
• Minority
• Race
• Ethnicity
• Now, read the first
section (pg. 276) and
compare your
definition to the
book definition.
• How do they differ?
Racial and Ethnic Profile at AHS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Enrollment: 3,097
American Indian:1.4%
Asian: 3%
African Am.: 21.6%
Hispanic: 21.9%
White: 49.9%
Pacific Islander: 0.6%
• Economically Disadvantaged: 23.3%
• Limited English Proficient: 1.1%
What do
these stats
say about
this
school?
Dimension of Stratification
• Social stratification is
the creation of layers of
people who possess
unequal shares of scarce
resources.
• Income, wealth,
power, and
prestige are the
most important
resources.
Minorities
• A minority population is defined by
something more than size or number.
• A minority has 5 key features:
– A minority has distinctive physical or
cultural characteristics that can be used
to separate it from the majority.
– The minority is dominated by the majority.
Minority Key Features cont’d
• Minority traits are often believed by
the dominant majority to be inferior.
• Members of the minority have a
common sense of identity, with strong
group loyalty.
• The majority determines who belongs
to the minority through ascribed
status.
The Four Americas
• Read the passage on the hand
out, and answer the
questions.
• This will be a quiz grade.
Defining Race
• Members of a race share certain
biologically-inherited physical
characteristics that are considered equally
important within a society.
• Sociologists focus more on the social
attitudes and characteristics that relate to
race more than physical differences.
Ethnicity
• An ethnic minority is socially identified by
unique characteristics related to culture or
nationality.
• This type of minority is a subculture defined by its
own language, religion, values, beliefs, norms,
and customs.
• Negative attitudes toward ethnic minorities exist
in part because of ethnocentrism (judging others
in terms of one’s own cultural standards).
• The majority may view a minority as inferior
because they differ in beliefs, values, and
norms.
Remember…
• Ethnocentrism is not limited to the white majority
or just to Americans, or even Western Europeans.
• Many other cultures have displayed ethnocentric
or racist behaviors toward minorities in their
societies.
• Examples?
• The Chinese and the Japanese have historically been very
isolationist based on feelings of their own cultural
superiority.
• More recently…
• The Hutus and the Tutsis
• The Serbs and the Kosovars
• The Armenians and the Turks;
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?vide
oId=4Gu4nP_YvK4
Attitudes of Americans Toward Immigrant
Minorities
Immigration…Discussion
• Then vs. Now
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/wa
tch?v=YhEl6HdfqWM
• What are the attitudes on immigration now?
• How do these attitudes tie into race and
ethnicity?
Why are ethnic minorities seen as
inferior?
• Negative attitudes exist in part because of
ethnocentrism.
• Ethnocentrism involves judging others in
terms of one’s own cultural standards.
• Ethnocentrism also creates the feeling of
“us”, the group one belongs to, verus “them”,
the other groups.
• What group (or groups of people) are seen as
superior? Why?
Activity…
• Read “The Travelling People” on page
279
• On a sheet of paper…
• Use either functionalism or conflict theory
(from ch. 7) to explain this attitude toward
the Travellers.
• Be prepared to discuss.
Section 2
Racial and Ethnic
Relations
Analogies of the United States
• Melting Pot:
• Implies a desire to have everyone
assimilated according to the dominant
culture’s standards
• Tossed Salad:
• Seems to allow for more diversity within a
larger unity (cultural plurality)
• Why do you think this change in
thinking might have developed?
• Article
Article Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How can anti-immigrant sentiments divide a
community? Give examples from the article.
What initiatives have groups taken to unite ethnic
communities? Give example from the article.
What do you think happened between 1990 and
2009 that caused a big increase in immigration to
the United States?
In your opinion, why do you think it is important
to learn about immigrants first hand? Explain.
How do groups like the Ku Klux Klan and neoNazis influence different ethnic communities?
Activity
• Write down how the meaning of
race is changing in the United
States today.
• Do you have the same racial attitudes
as your parents? Grandparents?
• How do you imagine your own (future)
children viewing the concept of race?
• What trends do you see developing in
racial attitudes?
Patterns of Assimilation
• Assimilation refers to
the blending or fusing
of minority groups into
the dominant society.
• http://www.cleanvideosear
ch.com/media/action/yt/w
atch?videoId=HvTf1_Vy1b
Y
• http://www.cleanvideosear
ch.com/media/action/yt/w
atch?videoId=ZSTdGC4z
6io
Warm-up:
What are some
reasons ethnic groups
might have for
immigrating? What
are some different
push and pull factors?
Patterns of Assimilation (cont.)
– Anglo-conformity—immigrants are
accepted as long as they conform;
the most common pattern of
assimilation in America.
– Tendency of immigrants to lose much
of their native cultural heritage and
conform substantially to the core
Anglo-Protestant culture of the United
States
– Melting pot/tossed salad—all
ethnic and racial minorities
voluntarily blend together.
Patterns of Assimilation (cont.)
– Cultural pluralism—immigrants maintain some
of their “old” ways, which can result in introducing
some of their culture to the United States.
– Examples?
– The Amish
– Native Americans
– Accommodation—a minority maintains its own
culturally-unique way of life.
– Examples?
– Say a Buddhist Asian moves to the US and learns English, but
still speaks his or her language, and still embraces his or her
native culture, while trying to make a way for themselves in the
United States
Different Types of Immigration
• legal or illegal
• voluntary or involuntary (such as slaves)
• refugees who have well-founded fears of
persecution because of their race, religion,
ethnicity, or political affiliation
• migrants who are seeking work
• safe-haven seekers who want temporary
safety from disasters
• sojourners who come for a specific shortterm reasons, such as tourism or study
Group Activity: Problem Solve the
Following Scenario
Rumor has is that one of five assistants at your school
unfairly punishes members of a certain race and gender
when dealing with discipline referrals. You and your best
friend (who is also a member of this unfavored group) are
sent to this assistant because of tardiness. You receive a
counseling session and your parents are called; your friend
gets five days of ISS, a parent conference, and one Saturday
class. During your sociology class, you mention what you
think is an inequitable response from the administration.
Your teacher suggest you formulate a plan of action to
remedy the situation. Decide whether you would proceed at
all, or whether it would be wiser to assume that life is not fair
and sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. If you decide
to take action, brainstorm the steps you would take to (1)
ascertain that there really was an inequity and (2) come up
with a remedy for the situation.
Patterns of Conflict
• Different forms of conflict:
– Genocide—the systematic effort to destroy an entire
population.
– http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watc
h?videoId=qQl5MCBWtoo
– Population transfer—a minority is forced either to move to
a remote location or to leave entirely the territory
controlled by the majority.
– Examples?
– Again, Native Americans
– http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/w
atch?videoId=Np-TYoZE5NM
Impact of the Holocaust
Patterns of Conflict (cont.)
– Subjugation—the minority is denied equal access to
the culture and lifestyle of the larger society; the most
common pattern of conflict.
– http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=YSoC
Zs8WlDg
– Other examples of subjugation?
– De jure segregation—subjugation based on the law.
-Examples?
-Brown vs. Board of Education
-Plessy vs. Ferguson
– De facto segregation—a situation of segregation
that exists regardless of what the law is.
– Examples?
Pulling it all Together:
• Rank these terms by degree of hostility or
control that each term indicates is exerted
against a minority group by a majority
culture:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Subjugation
Assimilation
De jure segregation
De facto segregation
Genocide
Cultural pluralism
Accommodation
Population transfer
Section 3
Theories of Prejudice
and Discrimination
Discussion
•Do you believe most people
are prejudiced OR do you
believe that most people are
free from prejudice?
Question:
• What are ways in which people
are prejudiced that does not
involve race or ethnicity?
• Examples:
• A certain type of music
• A certain sport
• A style of dress
• People who are overweight
• Too loud
• Too old
What about other types of prejudice?
•Types of music
•Sports
•Style of dress
•Obese people
•Old people
Prejudice, Racism, and Discrimination
• To a sociologist, prejudice refers to the
widely-held preconceptions of a group
(minority or majority) and its individual
members.
• Prejudice involves a generalization based
on biased or insufficient information.
• Racism is an extreme form of prejudice.
Racists believe that discrimination or
exclusion is morally justified because of
their own natural superiority.
• Discrimination involves acting upon those
biased opinions by treating people unfairly.
Question:
• To what extent do you think change is
brought about by the government
mandate as compared to the actions of
individuals who challenge the status quo?
• As late as 2 years after the 1954 Supreme Court
Brown vs. Board of Education decision, six southern
states had still not integrated their schools.
• Many historians believe that the civil rights
movement succeeded not because of traditional or
mainstream institutional forces, but because of the
grassroots of African American participation
Stereotypes
• A stereotype is a set of ideas—based on
distortion, exaggeration, and oversimplification—
that is applied to all members of a group.
• http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/
yt/watch?videoId=h68UJaHvG_c
• Can they become self-fulfilling prophecies?
• http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/
yt/watch?videoId=ASDzcvyatgw
Hate Crimes
• A hate crime is a criminal act that is motivated by
extreme prejudice.
• Each of the perspectives—functionalist, conflict,
and symbolic interactionism—can help us
understand reasons for hate crimes.
• Functionalist: bolstering their sense of community
among a common enemy
• Conflict: based on the belief that the victim is somehow
threatening the person’s livelihood
• Symbolic: labeling!
Hate Crime Examples:
• Do hate crimes occur between all races or ethnic
groups?
• http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch
?videoId=bMN4Voz8vc0
• http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch
?videoId=RrnMYg62boM
• Why would people “fake” hate crimes?
• http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoI
d=f7sTeXg2H-k
• Trayvon Martin vs. George Zimmerman
Article: The Curious Case of Trayvon
Martin
• Do you think this was a hate crime or just a
random act of violence?
American History X
• http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/
watch?videoId=jXaZENPQrsw
• http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/
watch?videoId=8hEtN0-vF90
Mini-Quiz: True/False
Most hate crimes are extremely brutal and involve violence done
to a person
True: Research shows that more force than necessary is often used against the
victims than just to render them helpless
The U.S. Constitution has identified English as the official
language of the country.
False
The frequency of hate crimes in the U.S. has finally begun to
decrease
False: in 1999, hate crimes were still on the rise
Most school-related hate crimes are committed by students who
belonged to organized hate groups
False: Students arrested for hate crimes are more likely to be acting alone or
with one or two friends
Some kinds of hatred toward certain groups of people are
instinctive and biologically based.
False: Racism is a culturally transmitted or learned behavior
The Functionalist Perspective
• Negative aspects of prejudice and racism:
– The social, political, educational, and
economic costs to society are extremely
high.
– The safety and stability of the larger
society are at risk due to violence.
• Positive aspect of prejudice and racism:
– The self-concepts within the majority group
are strengthened due to a feeling of
superiority.
The Conflict Perspective
• According to the conflict theory, a majority
uses prejudice and discrimination as
weapons of power to control a minority.
• They do this in order to increase control
over property, goods, and other resources.
• Minorities tend to view one another as
competitors instead of allies in the struggle
against the majority.
The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
• According to this perspective, members of a
society learn to be prejudiced in much the
same way that they learn to be patriotic.
• Two stages in learning to be prejudiced:
– Pregeneralized learning period—children
overhear parents making racist statements,
but they have not yet learned to separate
people by race or ethnic group.
– Total rejection stage—children can use
physical clues to sort people into groups.
The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
(cont.)
• Language itself can also reflect prejudices.
• Self-fulfilling prophecy—an expectation that
leads to behavior that then causes the
expectation to become reality—also plays a
large role in this perspective.
• Members of a minority fail because of the low
expectations they have for their own success.
Survey:
• Design a questionnaire that would measure
people’s exposure to other races and cultures.
• Examples of questions might be:
• How many people do you associate with daily (or
weekly), who are not a member of your own race?
• How many times in the past week (or month) have
you had a conflict with someone of a different race or
culture?
• When you have formulated 10 good questions,
answer them for yourself.
Section 4
Minority Groups in
the United States
Why do people of Irish and
Italian ancestry want to be
identified as a separate
minority group?
Institutionalized Discrimination
• Institutionalized discrimination results from
unfair practices that are part of the structure of
society and that have grown out of traditional,
accepted behaviors.
• Examples:
– Seniority systems
– Public school systems
African Americans
• African Americans are the largest racial
minority in the United States.
• Reasons for their minority status:
– Skin color and physical features
– History as slaves
• Hidden unemployment—discouraged
workers who have stopped looking or parttime workers who would prefer to have fulltime jobs.
African Americans (cont.)
• Inequalities:
– African American income is 62% of what
whites earn.
– A lower percentage of African Americans
are employed in higher paying
professional positions.
– The jobless rate of African Americans was
slightly more than double that of whites in
2005.
African Americans (cont.)
• Despite these inequalities, gains have
been made:
– More than 25% of African Americans work
in professional and managerial positions.
– Business ownership has been increasing
dramatically.
– African Americans have also increased
their political presence.
African Americans (cont.)
• Some scholars see an emergence of two
black Americas—a growing black middle
class and a black underclass - people
typically unemployed who come from
families that have been poor for
generations
Latinos
• Latino is a term that refers to ethnic
minorities from Latin America, a region that
includes Mexico, Central America, South
America, and the islands of the Caribbean.
• Latinos:
– are the largest minority group in America.
– fall behind white Americans in formal
education.
Latinos (cont.)
– make an average income that is higher
than that of African Americans but
significantly lower than that of non-Latino
whites.
– are becoming a force in shaping American
politics.
Native Americans
• Native Americans, more than any other
minority, are suffering today from the
effects of hundreds of years of
discrimination.
• Native Americans are running casino-type
gaming establishments, which is helping
the quality of life for many families.
• Many challenges, such as better health
care and education, still need to be met.
Asian Americans
• The road for Chinese Americans has not
been easy since they began immigrating in
the 1850s; however, today they are
recognized as successful.
• Japanese Americans also had a rocky
beginning, but are now one of the most
successful racial minorities in the U.S.
Asian Americans (cont.)
• Why are they so successful?
– They have not had to deal with centuries
of prejudice and discrimination like the
African and Native Americans.
– They have used the educational system
for upward mobility.
White Ethnics
• White ethnics are the descendents of
immigrants from Eastern and Southern
European nations, particularly Italy and
Poland.
• White ethnics also include Greek, Irish and
Slavic people.
• White ethnics have not traditionally been
victims of discrimination, but still feel the
need to display their cultural and national
origins.