Social Science HW about Race, Ethnicity, & Gender
foreverheng
chapter1.docxquick distinction of minority / majority (more details later)
- minority – reduced access to power, resources, authority
- majority – greater access to power, resources, authority
the book we are using has 2 continuing themes, which will be explained in more detail later
- 1. how subsistence technology impacts the relationship between majority and minority
— subsistence technology: how a society provides for the basic needs (food, water, shelter) for the people
- 2. contact situation between majority and minority: considers the initial contact between majority and minority according to two perspectives: Noel / Blauner
— Noel: whether or not the following conditions were in place at time of contact: ethnocentrism, competition, power differential among the groups
— Blauner: whether the initial contact was immigration or colonization
Chapter One: Diversity in the United States: Questions & Concepts
for the past 3 decades: more immigrants coming into US and these immigrants have been coming from more diverse areas
- regardless of how people in the US feel about these immigrants, we must remember that (aside from Native Americans) we are a nation of immigrants
- text indicates that even Native Americans are immigrants (most of these theories propose people came from Asia into North America via a northern route many thousands of years ago)
— however, it is also important to recognize that some Native American groups do NOT feel that this theory is accurate – throughout this class will be an emphasis on respect, acceptance of other world views
— in addition, archaeologists have been finding evidence of human inhabitation on the American continent that pre-dates prior knowledge
hierarchy and inequality: simply noting differences among groups is not problematic until there is an implied status hierarchy (that is differences in how goods, services, power are distributed)
- unequal distribution of goods, services, power creates inequalities
- diversity in US today is not limited to ethnicity, race – other factors: social class (SES or socio-economic status), education, size of group, religion, language, sexual orientation, differences in physical abilities
What is the difference between majority and minority?
- NOT referring to the number of individuals in a group; rather according to the group’s access to power, resources and authority
— does NOT indicate what should be, but the reality of the relationship between minority / majority (dominant) groups
majority / dominant group: greater access to power, authority, resources
minority group: reduced access to power, authority, resources, wealth, income, prestige — in general, the group members have the following characteristics
‘markers’ of group membership:
1. experience a pattern of disadvantage, inequality
— degree of disadvantage can vary (genocide, slavery to no left hand desks)
2. group members share a trait / characteristic that is visible; that differentiates them as unique (language, dress, grooming, physical characteristics, religion, etc.)
— these differences are considered to be evidence that the group is inferior
— these traits allow group members to be identified & treated as inferior
3. group members identify as a group; are a self-conscious social unit
— a sense of group identity emerges creating a degree of solidarity (we are all in this together)
4. ascribed membership (a person‘s status is given at birth)
— ascribed characteristics tend to be permanent - not changeable
— achieved characteristics – gained through an effort
— though we tend to think that achieved status is all about specific people, ascribed characteristics impact potential achieved characteristics (where a family lives, where kids go to school, etc)
5. tendency to marry within group (endogamous)
— sometimes voluntary by minority group; sometimes enforced by dominant group
traits above set boundaries of who is or who is not part of which groups
- these are ‘markers’ of group membership - these visible signs allow quick and easy identification - and differential treatment
- these traits / characteristics themselves not significant - become significant through social construction process
- pattern of inequality - part of daily life - not really acknowledged as existing by those in majority, dominant groups because they do not experience the negative effects
inequality: most important characteristic of minority groups (reduced access to resources (something most people want, but there is not enough to go around), power, authority)
- includes patterns of inequality, exploitation, slavery, genocide
- these patterns emerge due to majority (dominant) group’s actions
- frequently the inequalities are not recognized by members of majority, dominant group (they simply don’t ‘see’ it – because they haven’t experienced it)
racial and ethnic groups are social constructs (society determines what the groups are, where the boundaries are, what the hierarchies are) - therefore the consequences are social
- categories of race and ethnicity exist not due to any biological aspect, but due to historical, social, economic, political processes
- social consequences can include: where to live, type and degree of education, employment, etc.
— impact: exposure to pollution, available diet (nutritious or not), neighborhood safety (can kids play outside without fear of violence or environmental problems?)
ethnicity refers to culture - learned through the process of socialization
ethnic minority groups - defined as minority according to perceived cultural characteristics
- above categories can overlap
- result from historical and social processes not biological processes
racial minority groups - defined as minority according to perceived physical characteristics
- categories change over time, and from place to place
- no scientific proof of what the categories are or what criteria should be used to put a person in one category or another
How would you describe your ‘niche’ in the United States?
chapter 1 begins with self descriptions from 3 Americans of very different backgrounds
- they discuss how they think they fit into US society
- this is representative of how each of us needs to examine our niche
- reasons why forebears came to US vary greatly
— continuum from voluntary to involuntary
— various forms of discrimination: religious, nationality, cultural group, socio-economic status (SES)
— for better economic opportunities
— have different political / nationality perspectives
stratification - unequal distribution of valued goods, services, power
- stratification is basic to almost all human societies (some make exception for hunting / gathering societies)
— theme – subsistence technology – how a society provides needed ‘stuff’ – food, shelter. water
- strata: horizontal layers - social classes - differ re: resources, education, age, gender, talent
- degree of access to resources, power, authority important
depending on a person’s racial status, their perceptions of racism can be very different
Theoretical Perspectives: different theoretical perspectives (ways of understanding) inequality
- no one theoretical perspective can explain all problems
- these are looked at in chronological order
- not mutually exclusive
Marx
- Marxism - complex theory - core concern is societal inequality
— inequality due a society‘s system of economic production
— ‘means of production’ important to understanding inequality
— — means of production (materials, tools, resources, organizations a society uses to produce, distribute (usually unequally) goods & services)
Marx saw 2 and only 2 classes
- proletariat (working class) - sold their labor for subsistence wages
- bourgeoisie (elite) - owned the means of production
— the system of means of production can / does change
- this system creates inequality, which leads to competition, which leads to conflict
- Marx perceived conflict as good since it can bring about needed social change
— eventually this conflict would result in working class overcoming exploitation with a new, utopian, egalitarian society emerging
Marx did not see emergence of middle class
- today we are losing our middle class - most people are in downward social mobility
— lower classes are increasing in numbers, upper classes decreasing in numbers, but increasing in resources
means of production changes over time
- agriculture period land is important
- industrial period factories, machines - capital
- post-industrial – knowledge, ability to use knowledge
Weber - came after Marx
- felt that Marx's view of inequality (primarily economics) was too narrow
- need to also consider economic position (socio-economic status - SES), prestige, power (ability to influence others - INCLUDING DECISION MAKING – example political power through voting)
— above 3 often go together - but not always - that is, someone can be high in SES (person in organized crime), but not have the prestige that a person of the same SES whose SES was acquired through more accepted means)
— — note: accepted means does not always mean appropriate, good for all members of society, etc. (ex: current financial - banking, investment community)
Weber: 3 different, often overlapping stratification systems
1. ownership, control of property, wealth, income (similar to Marx concept of class)
2. prestige: honor, esteem, respect
3. power (including decision making) - ability to influence others, pursue own interests, goals
which has greater influence – wealth or income?
- income: earned in a set period of time (in US – yearly – income taxes); wages
- wealth – what is accrued over time – either over one person’s life time or through generations of a family
Lenski (after Weber) - accepts Weber‘s premise of importance of class (property), prestige, power
- includes that to understand stratification, we need to consider societal evolution (level of development)
- nature of inequality related to subsistence technology - how a society satisfies basic needs (food, water, shelter)
— subsistence technology impacts degree of inequality & criteria of inequality)
hunting / gathering // foraging – little surplus, little to no stratification – human energy only
agricultural societies rely on human & animal labor to create the energy to sustain life
- this inequality based on control of land, labor (are most important components to means of production)
industrial society - land ownership not as important as in pre-industrial; ownership of manufacturing, commercial interests are important
- control of capital is now important; the nature of inequality will also be different
post industrial society - societies‘ economic growth based on technology, computer related knowledge, information processing, scientific research
- therefore specialized knowledge, new techniques, education important now
- post industrial stratification not based just on land or capital, education is also crucial
— and education (including probability of an adequate education) is unequally distributed
Patricia Hill Collins: adds concept of intersectionality (female, black)
- intersection of race, class, gender (not look at them separately but recognize they are):
— interlocked
— mutually reinforcing
inequalities need to be examined in more complexity
- not just not dichotomy of 2 classes (elite versus workers)
- within the many class strata, individuals are then situated according to the combination of race, class, gender - for that specific person
being white (or black, or Asian, etc) is not the same experience for all persons who appear to be of that group
- important to consider where that person fits into society by also examining that person‘s class, gender - within the current social context
the above is a ‘matrix of domination’- that is, there are many cross systems of domination and subordination
- cross over each other
- overlap with each other
- impact an individual person‘s experiences, opportunities
- the concept ‘matrix of domination’ does not end with race, class gender
— other factors such as disability, sexual preference, religion, age, national origin, being homeless
how individuals are ranked to each other re: power is not static
- a man working at a low income, low prestige job will have low power at work
- when that same man goes home, his power is likely to increase, especially if the household is based on more patriarchal principles
minority group status & stratification
minority status
- stratification due to differential access to wealth, income
— (wealth - accrued over time - has greater impact)
— (income - amount earned within a set period of time, often a year)
- a person‘s status (minority, majority) impact that person‘s life chances, health, wealth opportunities, potential success
social classes / minority group status - often correlated, not always
- some groups are more able to not be as constrained by minority status (example a Euro-ethnic White may be low income, but if they are not also considered minority status due to perceived race, they are likely to have more opportunities than a person in a similar niche who is also African American, Hispanic American or Native American)
- somewhat together, not 100%
- differences in power leads to competition, conflict - to control goods, services
— can result in emergence of exploitation institutions such as slavery
- social classes may be correlated with a group’s place in the strata; however these are separate social realities
at core of struggles between dominant / majority groups and minority / subordinate groups are inequalities of property, wealth, prestige, and power
Race
- Even though race is not regarded as an important biological characteristic, it is still an important social concept. It continues to be seen as a significant way of differentiating among people.
- and, as a social construct, the consequences of race are social (where to live, type of employment, educational attainment, access to appropriate nutrition, neighborhood safety, etc.)
dominant-minority group relationships due to desire to control valued resources (goods & services including land, education, etc.)
visible traits used to define boundaries across groups - if traits are more easily noted, the identification is more certain (increases ability to itemize people into groups)
- boundary - race, religion, language, occupation
- important: these categories are not perceived as simple ‘different- - hierarchy is imbedded
history of evolution
- current scientific data points to the beginnings of human kind in Africa, then dispersing throughout the globe
— melanin (protects our skin from sun) is more prevalent in people that live closer to the equator
— over thousands of years, as peoples move northward and then east and west, melanin no longer needed to protect from sun
— in fact, the farther from the equator, melanin is counter productive because it can reduce our ability to produce vitamin D
1400s - technology of ship building and navigation improves, allowing Europeans to explore and then colonize / exploit other areas
- as exploration, colonization increase, the importance of race increases
— when areas are colonized, the peoples in those areas are considered inferior (it helps to justify exploitation)
- racism used to justify military conquest, genocide, exploitation, slavery
using biology to ‘explain’ race
- the ‘categories’ developed are arbitrary, blurred, ambiguous
- often more variation within a category than across different categories
social construction of race
- race played role in creating institution of slavery in what became the US
- rather than science, meaning of race due to historical, social, economic, political processes
- racial differences re: slavery - emerged so that elite can justify exploitation of slaves
- importance of race was a social construction - so current consequences are social
Prejudice
- negative attitudes (cognition, thoughts) applied to an entire category of people
- these attitudes are usually very invested in affect (the emotions), so can be hard to ‘un-do’
— that is, negative emotions (affective) are generally attached to groups that are defined as being inferior
Discrimination – actions; treating people differently sometimes based on prejudices
Stereotypes are generalizations that are thought to apply to all members of the group.
Gender
- both gender and race have biological and social components
- both can be very visible and convenient means of sorting and judging people
- need to look at gender not just – male / female, but also how individuals have various life opportunities, experiences based on gender, class and race
This approach permits us to analyze the ways in which race, ethnicity, gender, and class combine, overlap, and crosscut each other to form a “matrix of domination” (Hill-Collins).
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Exhibit 1.5 – 4 key concepts in dominant-minority relations |
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dimension |
individual |
group or societal |
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thinking / feeling |
1. prejudice |
3. ideological racism |
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doing |
2. discrimination |
4. institutional discrimination |
Prejudice – having negative thoughts about individuals in other groups
- usually involves emotional (affective) aspects
- affective / emotional aspects difficult to ‘undo’
Stereotypes – generalizations that are applied to all members of a group
- competition between groups likely leads to prejudice (rather than prejudice leading to competition)
- prejudice serves the purpose of rationalizing inequities in societies (if X group is inferior, then it is ‘OK’ to exploit them)
— over time this societal inequality becomes part of the cultural heritage of a society
Discrimination: behavior
- can be defined as treating individuals unequally based on their perceived group membership (and a persons thoughts about that group)
discrimination and prejudice often go together, but not always
- some very prejudiced people don’t act on their thoughts (may want to be politically correct)
- or some non-prejudiced people may discriminate (better to treat ‘others’ poorly than to be the scapegoat yourself)
Ideological Racism – a belief system or a set of ideas
- asserts that a particular group is inferior
- is used to legitimize or rationalize the inferior status of the group
- Incorporated into the culture of society and can be passed on from generation to generation.
Institutionalized Discrimination
- Patterns of unequal treatment based on group membership and built into the institutions and daily operations of society.
- Can be obvious and overt, but usually operate in more hidden and unintended ways.
- Individual level prejudice and discrimination, and group level racism and institutional discrimination reinforce each other.
some thoughts on causes of prejudice
- being raised in a racist society (with an underlying acceptance of prejudice and discrimination)
- prejudice emerges from intergroup conflict
- competition between groups can lead to prejudice
— more likely that prejudice is a result of competition (rather than prejudice being a cause of competition)
- though prejudice may originate due to competition, it often continues as an underlying basis of society well past original competition
other reasons for prejudice
- it is learned through the process of socialization; sometimes learned from family; sometimes learned through other agencies of socialization (example: peers, school)
- what we learn ‘to be true’ through socialization is often difficult to change
- since prejudice is learned, it can be ‘unlearned’
that it is passed from generation to generation
