What is the difference between race and ethnicity?
Warm-up:
In your opinion, what character in The Help made the biggest initiative towards eliminating racial inequality? Why?
Warm-up:
2 page essay on racial inequality: 1960's vs. 2012. Include (at least 3) examples from The Help, and specific examples you see today. Do you see any changes? Are there still some inequalities?
Video: Living the Life of Another Race
Take notes while watching this video (you will need them for later use!)
Video 1: http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=rqwXN0rQAYY
Thoughts on the video?
Video 2: http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=ieBBGZ55Qfk
Video 3: http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=taqre2El-uU
Living the Life of the Other Race
1. Do you think all people should go through this experience? Why or why not?
2. After the transformations, did the family members act the same way as their original race?
3. What were some of the experiences that they faced as their “new” race? What were some of their reactions?
4. Compare/Contrast the two videos. What are some similarities and differences faced by the these families?
5. What caused tension among members of the same race families? Why do you think that happened?
6. Do you think a person’s race affects how they are treated by people? Why or why not? Please give 3 examples and explain.
Essay Prompt (1 page): if you could change your race, what race would you change to? Write about some experiences you might encounter and some activities you might participate in.
Ch. 9: Race & Ethnicity
“I know of no rights of race superior to the rights of man” – Frederick Douglas
Before we start…
Reminder: be sensitive to the feelings of others
Also, sociology deals with general trends and groups-not personalities and individuals.
There will be exceptions for every trend and generalization
Does anyone want to share and personal experiences with issues of discrimination or prejudice?
Now, lets get past the individual experiences and focus on society in general.
What are some reasons ethnic groups might have for immigrating? What are some different push and pull factors?
Patterns of Assimilation (cont.)
Anglo-conformity—immigrants are accepted as long as they conform; the most common pattern of assimilation in America.
Tendency of immigrants to lose much of their native cultural heritage and conform substantially to the core Anglo-Protestant culture of the United States
Melting pot/tossed salad—all ethnic and racial minorities voluntarily blend together.
Patterns of Assimilation (cont.)
Cultural pluralism—immigrants maintain some of their “old” ways, which can result in introducing some of their culture to the United States.
Examples?
The Amish
Native Americans
Accommodation—a minority maintains its own culturally-unique way of life.
Examples?
Say a Buddhist Asian moves to the US and learns English, but still speaks his or her language, and still embraces his or her native culture, while trying to make a way for themselves in the United States
Different Types of Immigration
legal or illegal
voluntary or involuntary (such as slaves)
refugees who have well-founded fears of persecution because of their race, religion, ethnicity, or political affiliation
migrants who are seeking work
safe-haven seekers who want temporary safety from disasters
Group Activity: Problem Solve the Following Scenario
Rumor has is that one of five assistants at your school unfairly punishes members of a certain race and gender when dealing with discipline referrals. You and your best friend (who is also a member of this unfavored group) are sent to this assistant because of tardiness. You receive a counseling session and your parents are called; your friend gets five days of ISS, a parent conference, and one Saturday class. During your sociology class, you mention what you think is an inequitable response from the administration. Your teacher suggest you formulate a plan of action to remedy the situation. Decide whether you would proceed at all, or whether it would be wiser to assume that life is not fair and sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. If you decide to take action, brainstorm the steps you would take to (1) ascertain that there really was an inequity and (2) come up with a remedy for the situation.
Patterns of Conflict
Different forms of conflict:
Genocide—the systematic effort to destroy an entire population.
To a sociologist, prejudice refers to the widely-held preconceptions of a group (minority or majority) and its individual members.
Prejudice involves a generalization based on biased or insufficient information.
Racism is an extreme form of prejudice. Racists believe that discrimination or exclusion is morally justified because of their own natural superiority.
Discrimination involves acting upon those biased opinions by treating people unfairly.
Question:
To what extent do you think change is brought about by the government mandate as compared to the actions of individuals who challenge the status quo?
As late as 2 years after the 1954 Supreme Court Brown vs. Board of Education decision, six southern states had still not integrated their schools.
Many historians believe that the civil rights movement succeeded not because of traditional or mainstream institutional forces, but because of the grassroots of African American participation
Stereotypes
A stereotype is a set of ideas—based on distortion, exaggeration, and oversimplification—that is applied to all members of a group.
According to the conflict theory, a majority uses prejudice and discrimination as weapons of power to control a minority.
They do this in order to increase control over property, goods, and other resources.
Minorities tend to view one another as competitors instead of allies in the struggle against the majority.
The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
According to this perspective, members of a society learn to be prejudiced in much the same way that they learn to be patriotic.
Pregeneralized learning period—children overhear parents making racist statements, but they have not yet learned to separate people by race or ethnic group.
Total rejection stage—children can use physical clues to sort people into groups.
Two stages in learning to be prejudiced:
The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective (cont.)
Language itself can also reflect prejudices.
Self-fulfilling prophecy—an expectation that leads to behavior that then causes the expectation to become reality—also plays a large role in this perspective.
Members of a minority fail because of the low expectations they have for their own success.
Survey:
Design a questionnaire that would measure people’s exposure to other races and cultures.
Examples of questions might be:
How many people do you associate with daily (or weekly), who are not a member of your own race?
How many times in the past week (or month) have you had a conflict with someone of a different race or culture?
When you have formulated 10 good questions, answer them for yourself.
Section 4
Minority Groups in the United States
Why do people of Irish and Italian ancestry want to be identified as a separate minority group?
Institutionalized Discrimination
Institutionalized discrimination results from unfair practices that are part of the structure of society and that have grown out of traditional, accepted behaviors.
African Americans are the largest racial minority in the United States.
Reasons for their minority status:
Skin color and physical features
History as slaves
Hidden unemployment—discouraged workers who have stopped looking or part-time workers who would prefer to have full-time jobs.
African Americans (cont.)
Inequalities:
African American income is 62% of what whites earn.
A lower percentage of African Americans are employed in higher paying professional positions.
The jobless rate of African Americans was slightly more than double that of whites in 2005.
African Americans (cont.)
Despite these inequalities, gains have been made:
More than 25% of African Americans work in professional and managerial positions.
Business ownership has been increasing dramatically.
African Americans have also increased their political presence.
African Americans (cont.)
Some scholars see an emergence of two black Americas—a growing black middle class and a black underclass - people typically unemployed who come from families that have been poor for generations
Latinos
Latino is a term that refers to ethnic minorities from Latin America, a region that includes Mexico, Central America, South America, and the islands of the Caribbean.
Latinos:
are the largest minority group in America.
fall behind white Americans in formal education.
Latinos (cont.)
make an average income that is higher than that of African Americans but significantly lower than that of non-Latino whites.
are becoming a force in shaping American politics.
Native Americans
Native Americans, more than any other minority, are suffering today from the effects of hundreds of years of discrimination.
Native Americans are running casino-type gaming establishments, which is helping the quality of life for many families.
Many challenges, such as better health care and education, still need to be met.
Asian Americans
The road for Chinese Americans has not been easy since they began immigrating in the 1850s; however, today they are recognized as successful.
Japanese Americans also had a rocky beginning, but are now one of the most successful racial minorities in the U.S.
Asian Americans (cont.)
Why are they so successful?
They have not had to deal with centuries of prejudice and discrimination like the African and Native Americans.
They have used the educational system for upward mobility.
White Ethnics
White ethnics are the descendents of immigrants from Eastern and Southern European nations, particularly Italy and Poland.