Unit 5: Race and Ethnicity

Sociology Mr. Nicholas

Fall 2012

Truth or Fiction?

• Race as a biological classification is of great use to sociologists – Sociologists use the biological classification of race

to help them identify groups within society– Because of the variety of physical characteristics

found across races, the biological classification of race is not that useful to sociologists.

Truth or Fiction?

• There is no connection between prejudice and discrimination – Prejudice does not necessarily result in

discrimination, and acts of discrimination do not necessarily mean that a person is prejudice.

– Discrimination is behavior that arises from a person’s ingrained prejudice.

Truth or Fiction?

• The life experiences of all minority groups in the United States are essentially the same. – All minorities in the United States experience

similar levels of prejudice and discrimination – Some minority groups in the United States have a

positive image and experience little discrimination, while others struggle daily for equal treatment and face more social challenges, such as poverty.

Race and Sociology• Stereotyping can have grave consequences for

society. If people are told often enough and long enough that they or others are socially, mentally, or physically inferior, they may come to believe it. It does not matter whether the accusations are true.

• “If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”

• In other words, individuals see reality based on what they believe to be true, not necessarily on what is true.

Race• There are no biologically “pure”

races• In sociological terms, race is a

category of people who share inherited physical characteristics and whom others see as being a distinct group.

• Sociologists are not concerned with how people look, but how people react to physical characteristics.

Ethnicity

• The set of cultural characteristics that distinguishes one group from another is called ethnicity.

• People who share such common cultural characteristics as national origin, religion, language, customs, and values are known as an ethnic group.

Patterns of Intergroup Relations

• Discrimination• Prejudice• Stereotype• Racism

Discrimination

• Discrimination is the denial of equal treatment to individuals based on their group membership. Refers to actions. – Legal discrimination • Upheld by the law

– Institutional discrimination • An outgrowth of the structure of society

Prejudice

• Prejudice is an unsupported generalization about a category of people. Refers to attitudes. – A stereotype is an oversimplified, exaggerated, or

unfavorable generalization about a group of people.

• Racism is the belief that one’s own race is superior to other races

A Continuum of Intergroup Relations

Cultural Assimilation Legal Segregation Subjugation Population Extermination Pluralism Protection

Transfer

Acceptance Rejection

Patterns of Minority Group Treatment

• Cultural Pluralism – Allows each group to keep its unique cultural identity.

• Assimilation– The blending of culturally distinct groups into a single

group with a common culture and identity. • Segregation – The physical separation of the minority group from the

dominant group• De jure – Based on law• De facto – based on society

Patterns of Minority Group Treatment

• Subjugation – Maintaining control over a group through force– Slavery is the most extreme form

• Extermination – Genocide• The goal is the intentional destruction of a targeted

population– Ethnic Cleansing • Removing a group from a territory through terror,

expulsion, and mass murder