Term
| 5 Characteristics of a "Minority" |
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Definition
- unequal treatment
- distinguishing physical/cultural traits
- involuntary membership
- awareness of subordination (group solidarity, us vs. them mentality, etc)
- in-group marriage |
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Term
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Definition
| A subordinate group whose memebers have significantly less control or power over their own lives than do members of the dominant group; minorities experience a narrowing of life's opportunities (education, success, wealth) |
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Term
| 4 Types of Minority Groups |
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Definition
- Racial
- Ethnic
- Religious
- Gender |
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Term
| Racial Group (definition) |
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Definition
| A group that is set apart by obvious, physical differences; "obvious" differences vary by society. Race is a SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED CONCEPT, not a biological one. |
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Term
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Definition
| A group that is set apart by their distinct cultural differences (language, attitudes toward marriage and parenting, food habits); cultural traits usually originate from the group's homeland. |
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Term
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Definition
| A group that is set apart because of their association with a religion outside the dominant faith. |
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Term
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Definition
| Group that is set apart by gender; women are the social minority in most cultures. |
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Term
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Definition
| The mistaken notion of a genetically isolated human group; biologically, there are NO pure, distinct races. DNA variability is greater WITHIN "races" (blacks for example) than BETWEEN (blacks vs. whites). |
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Term
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Definition
| Ration of a person's mental age to his chronological age, multiplied by 100; generally remains stable. |
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Term
| Herrnstein and Murray's "The Bell Curve" (1994) |
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Definition
Proposed that...
- 60% of IQ is inheritable; racial groups offer a convenient way to generalize about differences in intelligence.
- policy changes to end welfare would help discourage births to low IQ mothers
- changing immigration laws to keep the "IQ pool" in the US "is not diminished" |
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Term
| "Social Construction of Race" - What it means |
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Definition
| "Race" is a social construction, this process benefits the oppressor, who defines who is privileged and who is not; "race" was a useful political tool for Hitler ("Jewish race") and Winston Churchill ("British Race"). |
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Term
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Definition
| A doctrine that one race is superior. |
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Term
| Racial Formation (definition) |
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Definition
| A sociohistorical process by which racial categories are created, inhibited, trans-formed, and destroyed. Race definitions are crystalized through this process ("one-drop rule" in Southern US) |
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Term
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Definition
| The systematic study of social behavior and human groups. |
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Term
| Stratification (definition) |
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Definition
| A structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and power in a society. |
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Term
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Definition
| As defined by Max Weber, social ranking of people who share similar levels of wealth. |
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Term
| Functionalist Perspective |
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Definition
| ...views society as a living organsism; parts that do not contribute to the stability/survival of the whole will not endure. |
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Term
| 5 Functions of Racism (for the dominant group) |
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Definition
Racism is functional because it benefits racists; racist ideas....
- provide moral justification for a society that denies a group rights and privileges
- discourages subordinate people from questioning their lowly status
- serve as a rallying point for social movement (Nazi party)
- encourage support for the existing order ("...everyone would suffer, including sub groups, if things changed...")
- relieve dominant group of responsibilities to address the economic/educational problems of sub groups |
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Term
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Definition
- A society that practices discrimination fails to use the resources of all individuals. Discrimination limits the search for talent and leadership to the dominant group.
- Discrimination aggravates social problems such as poverty, delinquency, and crime and places the financial burden of alleviating these problems on the dom-inant group.
- Society must invest a good deal of time and money to defend the barriers that prevent the full participation of all members.
- Racial prejudice and discrimination undercut goodwill and friendly diplomatic relations between nations. They also negatively affect efforts to increase global trade.
- Social change is inhibited because change may assist a subordinate group.
- Discrimination promotes disrespect for law enforcement and for the peaceful settlement of disputes.
A - dysfunction - is an element that disrupts a social system or decreases stability. |
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Term
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Definition
| A sociological approach that assumes that the social structure is best under-stood in terms of conflict or tension between com-peting groups; conflict theorists emphasize social change and redistribution of resources. |
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Term
| "Blaming the Victim" (William Ryan, 1976) |
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Definition
| Portraying the problems of racial and ethnic minori-ties as their fault rather than recognizing society’s responsibilities. |
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Term
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Definition
| Related to "blaming the victim"; a sociological approach introduced by Howard Becker that attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants and others engaging in the same behavior are not. The labeling approach points out that stereotypes, when applied by people in power, can have very negative consequences for people or groups identified falsely. |
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Term
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Definition
| Unreliable, exaggerated generalizations about all members of a group that do not take individual differences into account. |
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Term
| self-fulfilling prophecy (definition) |
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Definition
| The tendency to respond to and act on the basis of stereotypes, a predisposi-tion that can lead one to validate false definitions. |
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Term
| 3 situations that create subordinate groups!! |
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Definition
- migration: any transfer (movement) of population
- annexation: incorporation of land during war or as a result of war
- colonialism: the maintenance of political, social, economic, and cultural dominance over people by a foreign power for an extended period |
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Term
| "World Systems Theory" (Wallerstein) |
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Definition
| views the global economic system as divided between nations that control wealth and those that provide natural resources and labor. The limited economic resources available in developing nations exacerbate many of the ethnic, racial, and religious conflicts noted at the beginning of this chapter. In addition, the presence of massive inequality between nations only serves to encourage immigration generally and, more specifically, the movement of many of the most skilled from developing nations to the industrial nations. |
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Term
| 6 Possible Consequences of Subordinate Group Status |
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Definition
- extermination
- expulsion
- secession
- segregation
- fusion (A+B+C=D)
- assimilation (A+b+c=A)
- pluralism (A+b+c = A+B+C) |
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Term
| amalgamation (definition) |
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Definition
| The process by which a dominant group and a sub-ordinate group combine through intermarriage to form a new group. |
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Term
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Definition
| The process by which a subordinate individual or group takes on the characteristics of the dominant group. |
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Term
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Definition
| The development of solidarity between ethnic subgroups as reflected in the terms Hispanic and Asian American. |
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Term
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Definition
| The status of being between two cultures at the same time, as in the case of a person whose mother is a Jew and father a Christian. Du Bois ( 1903) spoke eloquently of the “ double consciousness” that Black Americans feel— caught between the concept of being a citizen of the United States but viewed as something quite apart from the dominant social forces of society. Incomplete assimilation by immi-grants also results in marginality. Although a Filipino woman migrating to the United States may take on the characteristics of her new host society, she may not be fully accepted and may, therefore, feel neither Filipino nor American. The marginalized person finds himself or herself being perceived differently in different environments, with varying expectations |
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Term
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Definition
| An emphasis on the customs of African cultures and how they have pervaded the history, culture, and behavior of Blacks in the United States and around the world; black history that is not "painted white". |
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Term
| Merton's Typology: main idea plus his 4 major categories |
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Definition
Prejudice and discrimination do not necessarily coincide with eachother.
- unprejudiced nondiscriminator (all-weather liberal)
- unprejudiced discriminator (reluctant liberal)
- prejudiced nondiscriminator (timid bigot)
- prejudiced discriminator (all-weather bigot)
*unprej/nondiscr = small% of pop; far removed from competition
*prej/discr = >% than ^ but more pop. in types 2 & 3 than 1&4 |
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Term
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Definition
- scapegoating
- authoritarian personality
- exploitation
- normative
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Term
| Barriers to Positive Race Relations |
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Definition
Prejudice - a neg. attitude towards an entire category of people.
Discrimination - beh. that denies opportunities and equal rights to indiv. and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons.
ethnocentrism - tendancy to assume one's way of life or culture are superior to all others
xenophobia - tendancy to fear other racial/ethnic groups
ethnophaulisms - ethnic or racial slurs, even derisive nicknames
paternalism - belief that one's race should "parent" (control) other groups "for their own good" |
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