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Vincent N. Parrillo
Strangers to These Shores
The Study of America’s Minorities
America’s Immigrants
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The Study of Minorities
• Are we a nation of immigrants? Are we the
great melting pot of all races, religions,
and nationalities?
• What is the American dream, is it alive?
• Native-born Americans have not always
welcomed newcomers with open arms.
• We continue to face serious race (ethnic)
related problems.
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The Stranger as a Social
Phenomenon
• Similarity and Attraction
– We like those who are like us and engage in
the same pursuits.
– Those with similar attitudes, .. Values, ..
Beliefs, .. Social status, .. or physical
appearance
• Studies show greater receptivity to
strangers who are perceived as similar
than to those who are perceives as
different
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Social Distance
• Emory Bogardus (1926)
– Measured the degree of social closeness or
distance personally acceptable to members of
a particular group
• A number of studies spanning over 75 yrs.
• With few exceptions, the positioning of
response patterns is relatively consistant.
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Social Distance Cont.
Measured the degree of closeness of
different groups that would be acceptable
1. Would accept marrying in my family
2. Would accept as a personal friend in my
social circle
3. Would accept as a neighbor on my street
4. Would work in the same office
5. Would only have as speaking acquaintance
6. Would only have a visitors to my country
7. Would bar from entering my country
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Social Distance Cont.
• Note the results by thirds of the 30 groups
• Note how consistent the results have
been over the years
• The results reflect sociohistorical
conditions / situations
• Note the position of Muslims and Arabs
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Perceptions
• Strangers are perceived through categoric
knowing
– Classifications made on the basis of limited
information
• Native-born Americans, in the past,
perceived first generation immigrants as a
particular kind of stranger
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Interactions
• People from the same social world “know”
the language,.. Customs,.. Symbols, ..
and normative behavior patterns, the
stranger usually does not.
• Strangers lack a sense of historicity
– A lack of experience, … memory
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The Sociological Perspective
• Sociologists use scientific investigation
• Scientific investigation requires theories
• Three main theoretical paradigms
– Functional Theory
– Conflict Theory
– Interactionist Theory
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Functional Theory
• Society is seen as a stable,, cooperative
social system where everything has a
function contributing to harmony
• Societal elements function together to
maintain order, stability, and equilibrium
• Social problems are dysfunctional
resulting in temporary disorganization
• Rapid change is dysfunctional
• Necessary adjustments restore harmony
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Conflict Theory
• Based on Marxian theory
• Society is continually engaged in conflict
• Conflict is inevitable as people (social
classes) struggle to meet their interests
• Social change is the result of class
struggles related to social inequalities
• The Question, “Who benefits from
inequality, exploitation , discrimination?”
– The “powerful class” benefits
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Interactionist Theory
• Focus is on everyday, personal interaction
• This is a “micro” theory
• Seek to determine the “social construction
of reality”
• Shared expectations and cultural
understandings explain intergroup relations
• Better communication and intercultural
understanding improve minority-majority
relations
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Minority Groups
Development of a Definition
• Groups and group identity are important
components of race and ethnic relations
• Minority Group: Sociologists use it to
indicate a groups relative power and status
in a society
• May be by Race, … Ethnicity, … Gender
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Minority-Group Characteristics
• Wagley and Harris: Five Characteristics
1. The group receives unequal treatment
2. The group is easily identifiable by
physical and cultural characteristics
3. The group feels a sense of peoplehood
4. Membership is an ascribed status
5. Group members practice endogamy, …
they usually marry within their group
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Racial and Ethnic Groups
• Race: People sharing visible biological
characteristics, .. Body build, .. Hair
texture, .. Facial features, … Skin color
• Caucasoid, ..Negroid, .. Mongoloid
– Quickly broke down when applied
• We generally use “Color” for race
– White, Black, Yellow, Red, Brown, … ?
– Ultimately race is a social definition
• Ashley Montagu: “Only one race exists,
the human race, … a dangerous concept”
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Racism
• Racism: Asserts the superiority of one
group over another because of biological
conditions and sociocultural capabilities
• Subordinate group experiences prejudice
and discrimination
• Dominant group justifies racism on the
basis of its definitional perceptions
– Perceptions become reality for them
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Ethnic Group
• Groups which share a national (cultural)
heritage with distinct religious, linguistic or
cultural characteristics
– They may be racially different but have the
same cultural heritage
• Japanese, Arabs, Basques, Indians, and
Jews are often misidentified as racial
groups
– They could all be American
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Ethnocentrism
• One’s own group (culture) is used as a
reference to evaluate other cultures,
ethnicities.
– Evaluations of others are often negative
• One’s group is the ingroup the other is an
outgroup, … we / they
• Negative evaluations often result in
prejudice and discrimination
– The outgroup is sometimes seen as a threat
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Eurocentrism & Afrocentrism
• Eurocentrism: A variation of ethnocentrism
– Emphasis on Western culture, history,
literature, achievements, ...
• Afrocentrism: A viewpoint emphasizing
African culture and achievements and its
influence on American culture
– A counterbalance to the suppression of
African influence and achievement
– Another variation of ethnocentrism
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The Dillingham Flaw
• Refers to an error in analysis when we
apply modern (current) classifications or
conditions to a condition of earlier times
– Comparing current immigration and
assimilation conditions and outcomes to
those of the past ( 2000 to 1900)
• “Why don’t they learn English and
assimilate?”
• Previous immigrant groups went through
the same gradual acculturation process
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Personal Troubles and Public
Issues
• C. Wright Mills: The Sociological
Imagination
– “There is an intricate connection between the
patterns of individual lives and the larger
historical context of society.”
– “What we experience in diverse and distinct
social settings is often traceable to structural
changes (conditions) and institutional
contradictions.”
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C. Wright Mills Cont.
• Illustration: … a handful of undocumented
aliens, … sweatshop, … their personal
trouble, …
• But, if large scale smuggling of
undocumented workers, …
– Resulting in an underground economy, …
need to consider the economic and political
institutions of the society, …
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The Dynamics of Intergroup
Relations
• Patterns of intergroup relations change
and depend on industrialization,
urbanization, migration patterns, social
movements and economic trends.
• Recent large migrations of diverse
peoples into Belgium, Denmark, France,
Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and
the United States provides a good
example. … A general backlash, …
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Ethnoviolence
• Def.: Hostile behavior against people
solely because of their race, religion,
ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
• Examples: Hate Groups, … Others?, …
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Key Terms
Afrocentrism
Ascribed Status
Categoric Knowing
Conflict Theory
Dillingham Flaw
Dominant Group
Ethnocentrism
Ethnoviolence
Eurocentrism
Functional Theory
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Ingroup
Interactionist Theory
Latent Functions
Minority Group
Outgroup
Race
Racism
Social Distance
Secondary Group
Values