Sociolgoy Chapter 14: Race and Ethnicity – Flashcards

a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important

Heirarchy, money, power, prestige

caucasoids mongoloids Negroids

a shared cultural heritage

ancestors; language, religion

place; place time

any category of people distinguished by physical or cultural difference that a society sets apart and subordinates

unequal treatment of various categories of people

bias built into the operation of society's institutions (includes schools, hospitals, the police, and the workplace)

a rigid and unfair generalization about an entire category of people

a simplified description applied to every person in some category

the belief that one racial category is innately superior or inferior to another

1. Scapegoat theory 2. Authoritarian personality theory 3. Culture theory 4. Conflict theory

a person or category of people typically with little power whom people unfairly blame for their own troubles

claims that prejudice results from frustration among people who are disadvantaged

claims that prejudice is a personality trait of certain individuals, especially those with little education and those raised by cold and demanding parents

Claims that prejudice is rooted in culture; we learn to feel greater social distance from some categories of peopl

claims that prejudice is a tool used by powerful people to divide and control the population

attitudes; actions

prejudice; discrimination

a state in which people of all races and ethnicities are distinct but have equal social standing *u.s. is pluralistic in that all people regardless of race/ethnicity have equal standing under the law * U.S. is NOT pluralistic in that all categories do not have equal social standing

the process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominant culture *involves changes in dress, language, religion, values, and friends *a strategy to escape prejudice and discrimination and to achieve upward social mobility

voluntary (Amish)

biological reproduction by partners of different racial categories

the physical and social separation of categories of people

the systematic killing of one category of people by another.

segregation by law

describes settings that contain only people of one category

means having little social contact with people beyond the local community

*earliest human inhabitants of the Americas *have endured genocide, segregation, and forced assimilation *today social standing is well below national avg

*most of the original European settlers of U.S. *many still have high social position today

*exp more then 2 centuries of slavery *Emancipation in 1865 gave way to segregation by law (Jim Crow laws) *Civil Rights Movement outlawed segregated schools and overt discrimination in employment and public accommodations *today despite legal equality, African Americans remain disadvantaged

*suffered both racial and ethnic hostility * although some prejudice and discrimination continue today, both Chinese and Japanese Americans now have above-avg income and schooling. *Asian immigrants (esp. Koreans, Indians, Filipinos) now account for more then 1/3 of all immigration to U.S.

*largest U.S. minority, include many ethnicities sharing a Spanish heritage *Mexican Americans (lgst) are concentrated in the SW region of the country and are the poorest Hispanic category. *Cubans concentrated in Miami, are the most affluent Hispanic category

*growing U.S. minority *come to U.S. from many different nations, culturally diverse population and represented in all social classes *targeted in recent years for prejudice and hate crimes due the the stereotype that links them with terrorism

*non WASPs whose ancestors emigrated from Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. *in response to prejudice and discrimination, many white ethnics formed supportive residential enclaves

False

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False

biological; cultural

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False

False

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False

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True

number 14