BA272 Lecture Notes on Culture and Racism

Flashcards about culture, racism, migration, and social work, based on lecture notes from BA272 on 20.02.2025 and subsequent dates.

Cultural and ethnic boundaries in migration

Often perceived as congruent with national boundaries, but influenced by power dynamics controlled by those in power.

Paradox in integration

Groups are excluded if they don't integrate, but are prevented from integrating in the first place.

Pluralization

Respect for a variety of free individuals and societal forces, in competition with each other, with questions arising as to who is admitted and who isn't based on attributions.

National State Definition

A population within fixed, recognized boundaries, a territory, and a government recognized by other states.

Language about Asylum and Flight

Often negatively framed with crisis rhetoric, metaphors involving water, and perspective-dependent terminology.

Classic Cultural Concept (Herder)

The common people as bearers of culture, with different ethnic cultures considered equal, and culture as an expression of the people's soul.

Classic Cultural Concept (Evolutionism)

Culture defined by Tylor as the complex whole of knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and other capabilities and habits acquired as part of society.

Criticism of the Classical Concept of Culture

Includes the idea of cultural homogeneity, disregarding the connection between power and importance, an inadequate concept of action, and a lack of tools for analyzing change.

Newer Definition of Culture

Culture understood as an orientation system that guides our perception, evaluation, and action of communication and representation.

Kultur Heute

Culture encompasses meanings and attitudes that seem self-evident, is an open system that is constantly changing, and is dependent on class, gender, age, etc.

Kulturgebrauch

It is not a question of cultural differences, but how culture is used and under what conditions and effects.

Theories of Racism: Social Psychological Approaches

Racism as an individual problem.

Theories of Racism: Ideological Approaches

Racism as a societal problem.

Forms of Racism

Biological, Neo-Racism, Everyday Racism, Structural Racism, and Institutional Racism.

Criteria of Racism Definition

Classification, Homogenization, Stigmatization, Hierarchization, Essentialization, Polarization, and Construction Power (Arbitrariness).

Racism - Legal Concept

In a legal sense, there is no formal definition of racism. It is defined as unjustified group-related inequalities.

Article 35 BV

The basic rights must apply throughout the entire legal system and be respected by those performing state duties.

Diskriminierungsverbot Art. 8 Abs. 2 BV

No one shall be discriminated against, especially not because of origin, race, gender, age, language, social status, lifestyle, religious, ideological or political conviction or because of a physical, mental or psychological disability.

Forms of discrimination

Direct, Indirect, Structural, Institutional, Multiple and inter-sectional.

Art. 261bis StGB

Penalizes incitement to hatred or discrimination, dissemination of ideologies, propaganda actions, and denial of genocide.

Tathandlungen gemäss Art. 261bis StGB Abs. 1

Racist agitation, incitement to hatred or discrimination. Examples include calls for boycotts or exclusion of specific groups.

Aussage zu Dankbarkeit

Whoever is grateful recognizes both the fact that the benefactor is more powerful and richer than the beneficiary, and that they have no intention of buying their release from this asymmetric relationship in haste.

Aussage zu Dankbarkeit

He who gives thanks also acknowledges his own helplessness / or the assessment of helplessness