11.1 Racial, Ethnic, and Minority Groups

Race is fundamentally a social construct. Ethnicity is a term that describes shared culture and national origin. Minority groups are defined by their lack of power.

11.2 Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Stereotypes are oversimplified ideas about groups of people. Prejudice refers to thoughts and feelings, while discrimination refers to actions. Racism refers to the belief that one race is inherently superior or inferior to other races.

11.3 Theories of Race and Ethnicity

Functionalist views of race study the role dominant and subordinate groups play to create a stable social structure. Conflict theorists examine power disparities and struggles between various racial and ethnic groups. Interactionists see race and ethnicity as important sources of individual identity and social symbolism. The concept of culture of prejudice recognizes that all people are subject to stereotypes that are ingrained in their culture.

11.4 Intergroup Relationships

Intergroup relations range from a tolerant approach of pluralism to intolerance as severe as genocide. In pluralism, groups retain their own identity. In assimilation, groups conform to the identity of the dominant group. In amalgamation, groups combine to form a new group identity.

11.5 Race and Ethnicity in the United States

The history of the U.S. people contains an infinite variety of experiences that sociologist understand follow patterns. From the indigenous people who first inhabited these lands to the waves of immigrants over the past 500 years, migration is an experience with many shared characteristics. Most groups have experienced various degrees of prejudice and discrimination as they have gone through the process of assimilation.

Introduction to Race and Ethnicity

  • racial profiling: the use by law enforcement of race alone to determine whether to stop and detain someone

Section 11.1  Racial, Ethnic, and Minority Groups

  • social construction of race: the school of thought that race is not biologically identifiable
  • ethnicity: shared culture, which may include heritage, language, religion, and more
  • minority group: any group of people who are singled out from the others for differential and unequal treatment
  • subordinate group: a group of people who have less power than the dominant group
  • dominant group: a group of people who have more power in a society than any of the subordinate groups
  • scapegoat theory: a theory that suggests that the dominant group will displace its unfocused aggression onto a subordinate group

Section 11.2  Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

  • stereotypes: oversimplified ideas about groups of people
  • prejudice: biased thought based on flawed assumptions about a group of people
  • racism: a set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices that are used to justify the belief that one racial category is somehow superior or inferior to others
  • institutional racism: racism embedded in social institutions
  • colorism: the belief that one type of skin tone is superior or inferior to another within a racial group
  • discrimination: prejudiced action against a group of people
  • racial steering: the act of real estate agents directing prospective homeowners toward or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race
  • white privilege: the benefits people receive simply by being part of the dominant group
  • sedimentation of racial inequality: the intergenerational impact of de facto and de jure racism that limits the abilities of black people to accumulate wealth
  • redlining: the practice of routinely refusing mortgages for households and business located in predominately minority communities

Section 11.3  Theories of Race and Ethnicity

  • intersection theory: theory that suggests we cannot separate the effects of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other attributes
  • culture of prejudice: the theory that prejudice is embedded in our culture

Section 11.4  Intergroup Relationships

  • genocide: the deliberate annihilation of a targeted (usually subordinate) group
  • expulsion: the act of a dominant group forcing a subordinate group to leave a certain area or even the country
  • segregation: the physical separation of two groups, particularly in residence, but also in workplace and social functions
  • pluralism: the ideal of the United States as a "salad bowl:" a mixture of different cultures where each culture retains its own identity and yet adds to the "flavor" of the whole
  • assimilation:the process by which a minority individual or group takes on the characteristics of the dominant culture
  • amalgamation: the process by which a minority individual or group takes on the characteristics of the dominant culture

Section 11.5  Race and Ethnicity in the United States

  • model minority: the stereotype applied to a minority group that is seen as reaching higher educational, professional, and socioeconomic levels without protest against the majority establishment

Section 11.1 Racial, Ethnic, and Minority Groups

What Is Race?
What Is Ethnicity?
What Are Minority Groups?

Section 11.2 Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Prejudice and Racism
Discrimination
Racial Tensions in the United States
Multiple Identities

Section 11.3 Theories of Race and Ethnicity

Theoretical Perspectives
 Functionalism
 Conflict Theory
 Interactionism
Culture of Prejudice

Section 11.4 Intergroup Relationships

Genocide
Expulsion
Segregation
Pluralism
Assimilation
Amalgamation

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