Chapter 9: Race and Ethnicity
Objectives (slide 1 of 3)
9.1 Race and Ethnicity in Society
• Describe the distinction between race and ethnicity.
9.2 Race
• Explain the different concepts of race.
• Identify the three major racial classifications.
9.3 Ethnicity
• Compare and contrast race and ethnicity.
• Discuss the three major ways in which new minority
groups emerge in a culture.
• Illustrate the four factors that influence the strength
of a person’s sense of ethnic or racial identity.
Objectives (slide 2 of 3)
9.4 Prejudice
• Discuss the key perspectives on prejudice.
• Describe the nature of stereotypes.
9.5 Discrimination
• Describe the difference between prejudice and
discrimination.
• Analyze the key theories of discrimination.
9.6 Theoretical Perspectives on Race and Ethnic
Relations
• Compare and contrast the ways in which the
major theoretical perspectives understand race
and racial relations.
Objectives (slide 3 of 3)
9.7 Racial and Ethnic Relations in the
United States
• Compare and contrast the major racial
groups in the United States and how
intersection theory dictates assumptions.
9.8 Key Issues in the Future of Race and
Ethnicity
• Describe the key issues regarding race
and ethnicity in the United States.
Race and Ethnicity in Society
• Race refers to biological categories that
distinguish groups of people.
• Ethnicity refers to aspects of culture that
distinguish one group from another.
Race
• Race: A socially constructed
category of people who share
some biologically transmitted
traits that society considers
important
• Racialization: The process by
which people are placed into
racial categories
Ethnicity
• The most common ethnic distinctions are
based on:
– Language
– Religion
– Style of dress
– History/perceived ancestry
Minority Groups
• Minority groups: Groups that society sets
apart in some way and disadvantages due
to the traits that set them apart
• Dominant group: A group that has
greater power, privilege, and prestige
than other groups
• Segregation: The physical or social
isolation of a group of people from the
rest of society
The Emergence of Minority Groups
• Sociologists recognize three major ways
in which new minority groups emerge in a
culture:
– Migration
– Expansion of political boundaries
– Creation within the society through social
processes
Constructing Racial and
Ethnic Identity
• Ethnic work: The process by which a
person identifies with and constructs his
or her identity
• Melting pot: A blending of ethnic
traditions in a society
Defining and Measuring Prejudice
• Prejudice: Beliefs or attitudes about a
particular attitude
Origins and Perspectives
on Prejudice
• Functionalism sees prejudice as functional
for the maintenance of the individual or the
social group.
• The conflict perspective analyzes prejudice
in terms of competition over scarce social
resources.
• Through the symbolic interactionist
perspective, the specific ways in which
prejudice is constructed and understood in
society can be studied.
Stereotypes
• Stereotypes: Generalizations that are
applied to a group of people
• Scapegoats: Groups that are blamed for the
problems of society that are not their fault
• Displacement: The process of individual
feelings of hostility, inadequacy, or anger
being directed against groups that are not
the origins of those feelings
• Projection: The process whereby a person
unconsciously projects his or her own
characteristics onto others
Discrimination and Racism
• Discrimination: Actions against a group that are
designed to deny access to the same rights,
privileges, and opportunities as the dominant
group
• Racism: Discrimination that is directed at a
particular race
• Institutional racism: The belief that racism is built
into the structure of society, and that society is
structured to favor the dominant group
• Antiracism: Ideologies or practices that seek to
eliminate or ameliorate racism
Psychological Theories of
Discrimination
• Frustration-aggression hypothesis: The idea
that discrimination is the result of displaced
anger for an individual’s inability to achieve
highly desired goals
• Authoritarian personality theory:
Authoritarianism is a personality trait of
individuals that is the result of a poor
upbringing
• Social-cognitive theory explains that
stereotyping and discrimination are normal
parts of information processing.
Social-Psychological Theories of
Discrimination
• Social identity theory: People desire a
positive social identity, and will discriminate
to elevate their own identity
• Realistic group conflict theory:
Discrimination is the result of competition
between groups for limited societal
resources
• Social learning theory: People engage in
prejudice and discrimination because they
have been socialized to feel and behave in
those ways
Social-Structural and Elite Theories
• Group position theory: When groups
interact, the dominant group will
promote social policies and attitudes that
advantage themselves over other groups
• Critical race theory: A theory that
examines the intersection of race, law,
and power
Evolutionary Theories of
Discrimination
• Evolutionary theory argues that
discrimination is a behavioral adaptation
to increase reproductive fitness.
Theoretical Perspectives on Race
and Ethnic Relations (slide 1 of 2)
Functionalism
• Functionalism seeks to
understand why a
person would want to
have a strong ethnic or
racial identity.
Social Conflict
• The conflict perspective
analyzes prejudice in
terms of competition
over scarce social
resources.
Theoretical Perspectives on Race
and Ethnic Relations (slide 2 of 2)
Symbolic Interactionism
• Symbolic interactionism
attempts to understand
how certain
characteristics come to
be associated with
particular groups.
Biosocial Perspectives
• The biosocial
perspective suggests
that prejudices have an
innate component, even
though specific targets
or preferential attitudes
are learned.
Racial and Ethnic Relations in the
United States
Prejudice and discrimination continue to
manifest themselves in the actions of
individuals, as well as in American society
as a whole. While often the controversies
are largely academic—such as what terms
are appropriate to describe a particular
group—many times the issues have
broader social consequences.
European Americans
• Assimilation: The adoption of the values,
beliefs, and practices of the dominant
culture
African Americans
• African Americans came to the United
States as indentured servants and slaves.
• After slavery was abolished, the Supreme
Court established a doctrine of “separate
but equal.”
• Affirmative action: Policies that
mandates preferential hiring, promotion,
and college admission of historically
disadvantaged groups
Hispanic Americans
• Hispanics are the largest and fastestgrowing minority group in the United
States.
• Hispanics are a diverse ethnic group.
Country of nationality-rather than
language or ethnic identification-defines
most Hispanics.
Asian Americans
• Asian Americans are grouped together by
continent of origin but represent a diversity of
cultures.
• Asian Americans have the highest income levels
of all racial or ethnic groups, but have higher
poverty rates than whites.
• Sociologists base the success of Asian Americans
on:
– Family life
– Ties to traditional values stressing self-discipline,
hard work, and thrift
– Strong values tie to education and achievement
– High tolerance for assimilation
Native Americans
• Native Americans are a diverse group, comprising
more than 250 distinct tribes.
• Today, Native Americans exist largely on the
margins of society.
– Half of the population lives in rural areas.
• Native Americans have the lowest life expectancy
of any racial or ethnic group and are most likely
to live in poverty.
• Pan-Indianism: The idea that all Native
Americans share a common identity that is
rooted in the experiences of past prejudice and
discrimination
Intersectionality Theory
• The core assumption of intersectionality
theory is that variables that influence life
changes intersect and work in groups to
create interlocking systems of oppression.
Immigration and Emigration
• Immigration: The movement of people
into a given country
• Emigration: The movement of people out
of a given country
Affirmative Action
• President John F. Kennedy initiated
policies of affirmative action to promote
differential hiring, promotion, and college
admission to minority groups.
• Its impact has been marginal due to
inadequate enforcement.