Race and Ethnic Relations

Question 1

Sociological perspective on race/ethnicity

Answer 1

• focus on inequality, power and discrimination
• categories have significance
• ethnicity achieved and socially constructed
• race is ascribed and biological myth
• can be objective or subjective

Question 2

Objective

Answer 2

• basic level of ethnicity
• it is fixed, doesn’t change
• based on language, culture, customs, origin, ancestry

Question 3

Subjective

Answer 3

• self identities and how they change
• influenced by social settings
• ex. Quebec civic nationalism versus ethnic nationalists (NS)

Question 4

Institutional Racism

Answer 4

Discriminatory racial practises built into political and economic institutions
3 forms

Question 5

Institutional Racism: Based on racist ideas (1)

Answer 5

Overtly racist ideas of superiority of groups over others

Question 6

Institutional Racism: Institutional practices that were originally racist but not longer are (2)

Answer 6

Ex. the immigration racism doesn’t exist as much now but the immigration policies are still in place

Question 7

Institutional Racism: Institutions that unintentionally restrict chances of certain groups (ex. racial profiling) (3)

Answer 7

Ex. Racial profiling by police

Question 8

White Privilege

Answer 8

• unearned privilege that whites benefit from
• concept developed by Peggy McIntosh
• privileges can be social, economic, educational

Question 9

Three Groups Facing Inequality:

Answer 9

1) Aboriginal (economic and health outcomes)
2) Black men (economic outcomes suggest persistent discrimination)
3) Recent Immigrants (poorer outcomes as compared to earlier waves of immigrants)

Question 10

Frustration-aggression theory

Answer 10

• frustration over blocked opportunities leads to racism against racial and ethnic minorities
• people who have employment difficulties blame minorities for their own unemployment (easy target)
• Critique: doesn’t explain why certain groups become scapegoats

Question 11

Primordialism

Answer 11

• people seek out others who are similar to themselves whether its skin colour, language, etc.
• helps maintain social boundaries
• evolutionary advantage
• Critique: why is there within group violence then?

Question 12

Normative Theories

Answer 12

• we learn certain prejudices and attitudes based on agents of socialization
• most learning takes place in our earliest years of life

Question 13

Marxist Theory

Answer 13

• economic interests —> slavery —> racism
• white people need racist ideology to justify their racist treatments of black people
• useful for capitalists because they want to see division in the class system and prevents class consciousness

Question 14

Split Labour Market Theory

Answer 14

• racial and ethnic conflict is rooted in the cost of labour
• white workers being replaced with cheaper black workers
• white workers feel threatened

Question 15

Culture of Poverty Thesis

Answer 15

• problematic cultural values explain poverty among ethnic and racial minorities
• deficiency in values, did not value same things that whites did that lead to economic success

Question 16

Conflict Theory-Internal Colonial Model

Answer 16

Focuses on historical exploitation and material conditions of life

Question 17

Canada: Vertical Mosaic

Answer 17

• Hugh Lautard and Neil Guppy
• hierarchy stratified
• idea that social and ethnic groups were situated differently and stuck in their positions
• race and ethnicity determine where you are in hierarchy