Assignment about sociology

RETHINKING RACISM: BONILLA-SILVA

QUESTIONS

1. In the opening quote: “The habit of considering racism as a mental quirk, as a psychological flaw, must be abandoned.” What does Frantz Fanon (1967:77) mean by “mental quirk” and “psychological flaw?” [Hint: see page 4, the second and third paragraph].

2. From Note #10 in the article, how is Power defined by Bonilla-Silva? How does this apply to race relations today?

3. How does Ruth Benedict (page 1) define racism in her 1945 publication Race and Racism? How does that compare to Schaefer’s definition in 1990?

4. How do orthodox Marxists and neo-Marxists view “race” in relation to “class”?

5. What three frameworks or concepts (page 3) does the author synthesize to form his “alternative structural theory” in analyzing racial issues?

6. Last week we talked about college students knowing how to speak in “politically correct” terminology (Farley). How does Bonilla-Silva believe this also applies to social research?

7. What are the consequences of racialization?

8. How does race acquire a life of its own? Note 16. [Comment: whether or not members of the dominant race are members of the dominant class—they will, on average, defend the racial hierarchy. This is what Marx calls “false consciousness.”]

9. What is a racialized social system? How does it differ from prejudice and institutional racism?

10. Why doesn’t education “cure” racism by itself?