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SOCIOLOGY Richard T. Schaefer

SOCIOLOGY Richard T. Schaefer. 11. Racial and Ethnic Inequality. 11. Racial and Ethnic Inequality. Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups Prejudice and Discrimination Patterns of Prejudice and Discrimination Studying Race and Ethnicity Patterns of Intergroup Relations

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SOCIOLOGY Richard T. Schaefer

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  1. SOCIOLOGYRichard T. Schaefer 11 Racial and Ethnic Inequality

  2. 11. Racial and Ethnic Inequality • Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups • Prejudice and Discrimination • Patterns of Prejudice and Discrimination • Studying Race and Ethnicity • Patterns of Intergroup Relations • Impact of Global Immigration • Race and Ethnicity in the United States • Social Policy and Race and Ethnicity

  3. Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups • Racial Group • Group set apart from others because of obvious physical differences • Ethnic Group • Group set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns

  4. Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups • Minority Groups • Properties of minority groups include: • Unequal treatment • Distinguishing cultural characteristics • Involuntary membership • Solidarity • In-group marriage Groups whose members have significantly less control or power than members of the dominant or majority group

  5. Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups • Race • Racial Group: minorities set apart from others by obvious physical differences • Biological Significance of Race • There are no “pure races” • Migration, exploration, and invasion led to intermingling of races

  6. Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups Table 11-1. Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States, 2000

  7. Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups Figure 11-1. Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States, 1500—2100 (projected) Sources: Author’s estimate; Bureau of the Census 1975; Grieco and Cassidy 2001; Therrien 1987

  8. Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups • Social construction of Race • A dominant or majority group has power to define itself legally and to define a society’s values • Stereotypes: unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within the group

  9. Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups • Ethnicity • Ethnic group set apart from others based on national origin or distinctive cultural patterns • Distinction between racial groups and ethnic groups socially significant

  10. Prejudice and Discrimination • Prejudice • Negative attitude toward an entire category of people • Ethnocentrism: tendency to assume one’s culture and way of life are superior to others • Racism: belief that one race is supreme and others are innately inferior • Hate crime: criminal offense committed because of the offender’s bias against a race, religion, ethnic group, national origin, or sexual orientation

  11. Prejudice and Discrimination Figure 11-2. Categorization of Reported Hate Crimes, 2003 Source: Department of Justice 2004

  12. Prejudice and Discrimination Figure 11-3. Active Hate Groups in the United States, 2004 Source: Southern Poverty Law Center 2005

  13. Patterns of Prejudice and Discrimination • Discriminatory Behavior • Discrimination: denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups based on some type of arbitrary bias • Discrimination persists even for educated and qualified minority members Glass Ceiling: invisible barrier blocking promotion of qualified individuals in work environment because of gender, race, or ethnicity

  14. Patterns of Prejudice and Discrimination • The Privileges of the Dominant • White people in U.S. take membership in the dominant racial group for granted • Institutional Discrimination • Denial of opportunities and equal rights that results from operations of a society AffirmativeAction: Positive efforts to recruit minority members or women for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities

  15. Prejudice and Discrimination Figure 11-4. U.S. Median Income by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender, 2003 Sources: DeNavas-Walt et al. 2004; for Native Americans, author’s estimate based on Bureau of the Census 2004f

  16. Studying Race and Ethnicity • Functionalist Perspective • Nash’s 3 functions that racially prejudiced beliefs have for the dominant group include: • Moral Justification for maintaining an unequal society • Discouraging subordinate groups from questioning their status • Encouraging support for the existing order

  17. Studying Race and Ethnicity • Functionalist Perspective • Rose identified dysfunctions associated with racism • Society that practices discrimination fails to use resources of all individuals • Discrimination aggravates social problems • Society must invest time and money to defend barriers to full participation • Racial prejudice undercuts goodwill and diplomatic relations between nations

  18. Studying Race and Ethnicity • The Conflict Response • Exploitation Theory: racism keeps minorities in low-paying jobs and supplies the dominant group with cheap labor • The Interactionist Approach • Contact Hypothesis: interracial contact between people of equal status in cooperative circumstances will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon old stereotypes

  19. Prejudice and Discrimination Table 11-2. Sociological Perspectives on Race

  20. Patterns of Intergroup Relations • Amalgamation • Genocide: Deliberate, systematic killing of entire people or nation • Expulsion: Forced removal of people from region or country • Assimilation • Process by which person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture

  21. Patterns of Intergroup Relations • Segregation • Refers to physical separation of two groups of people in terms of residence • Apartheid: Republic of South Africa severely restricted the movement of Blacks and non-Whites • Pluralism • Based on mutual respect among various groups in a society for one another’s cultures

  22. Impact of Global Immigration • Worldwide immigration at an all-time high • Each year, 2.3% (146 million) of the world’s population moves from country to country • U.S. and Europe examining immigration policies • Emergence of transnationals—people or families who move across borders multiple times searching for better jobs and education

  23. Impact of Global Immigration Figure 11-5. Foreign-Born Population of the United States, from 10 Leading Counties, 2002 Sources: Schmidley and Robinson 2003:Table A-3

  24. Impact of Global Immigration Figure 11-6. Census 2000: The Image of Diversity Source: Brewer and Suchan 2001:20

  25. Race and Ethnicity in the United States • African Americans currently largest minority group in U.S. • Contemporary institutional discrimination and individual prejudice against African Americans rooted in history of slavery • Black Power: rejected goal of assimilation into White middle-class society • Racial Groups • African Americans

  26. Race and Ethnicity in the United States • Racial Groups • Native Americans • 2.5 million Native Americans represent diverse array of cultures distinguishable by language, family organization, religion, and livelihood • Life remains difficult for members of 554 tribal groups in U.S. • Increasing number claiming identity as Native American

  27. Race and Ethnicity in the United States • Racial Groups • Asian Americans • Asian Americans comprise one of fastest growing segments of U.S. population • Asian Americans often held up as model or ideal minority group

  28. Race and Ethnicity in the United States • Racial Groups • Asian Americans • Vietnamese Americans • Came to U.S. during and after Vietnam War and, over time, gravitated toward larger urban areas • Chinese Americans • Encouraged to immigrate to U.S. from 1850 to 1880 • Currently, about 2.7 million Chinese Americans live in U.S.

  29. Race and Ethnicity in the United States • Racial Groups • Asian Americans • Japanese Americans • Issei: first generation of Japanese immigrants • In August 1943, 113,000 Japanese Americans forced into hastily built camps in response to World War II • Korean Americans • At 1.2 million, population of Korean Americans exceeds that of Japanese Americans

  30. Race and Ethnicity in the United States Figure 11-7. Major Asian American Groups in the United States, 2000 Source: Logan 2001

  31. Race and Ethnicity in the United States • Racial Groups • Arab Americans • Up to 3 million people of Arab ancestry reside in the United States • Cannot be characterize as having a specific family type, gender role, or occupational pattern Profiling of potential terrorists has put Arab and Muslim Americans under special surveillance

  32. Race and Ethnicity in the United States Figure 11-8. Distribution of the Arab Population by State, 2000 Source: Bureau of the Census 2003c

  33. Race and Ethnicity in the United States • Ethnic Groups • Latinos • Largest minority in the United States • Mexican Americans • Largest Latino population • Puerto Ricans • Residents of Puerto Rico are American citizens • Cuban Americans • Immigration began in earnest following Castro’s assumption of power in Cuban Revolution (1959)

  34. Race and Ethnicity in the United States Figure 11-9. Major Hispanic Groups in the United States, 2002 Source: R. Ramirez and de la Cruz 2003:1

  35. Race and Ethnicity in the United States • Ethnic Groups • Jewish Americans • Constitute almost 3% of population • Anti-Semitism: anti-Jewish prejudice • White Ethnics • White ethnics’ ancestors came from Europe in last 100 years Symbolic ethnicity: emphasis on ethnic food or political issues rather than on deeper ties to one’s ethnic heritage

  36. Social Policy and Race and Ethnicity • Racial Profiling • The Issue • In the late 1980s and 1990s, African Americans constituted 17% of motorists on NJ Turnpike • African Americans represented 80% of motorists pull over by police during that period • The Setting • Racial Profiling: any police-initiated action based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on a person’s behavior

  37. Social Policy and Race and Ethnicity • Racial Profiling • Sociological Insights • Interactionist theorists note profiling produces distrust on all sides • Conflict theorists see racial profiling as one more way those in power seek to further social inequality

  38. Social Policy and Race and Ethnicity • Racial Profiling • Policy Initiatives • In 1990s, states and other government units began to devise policies and training to discourage racial profiling • Efforts cam to abrupt end after terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 • One survey estimates 32 million Americans subject to racial profiling in 2003

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