sociology final

how sociologists study race and ethnicity as independent variables

examining the race effect

how sociologists study race and ethnicity as group cultures

focusing on the different elements of cultures as they pertain to race

how sociologist study race and ethnicity as individual ideas

how does race shape individual identities and experiences

race

category or group of people based on phenotypical or observable

characteristics

race is a

social construct

ethnicity

membership in a category or group of people based on cultural traits, national tradition, or language

ethnic groups characterized by four related dimensions

homeland or ancestry

history and collective memory

identity (traditions, customs, symbols)

belonging

biological vs constructionist views of race

• little biological basis for racialized distinction

biological vs constructionist views of race

racialized features have no proven connection to any social, intelletual, or moral qualities

biological vs constructionist views of race

racism is discrimination, prejudice, or antagonism dir3ected against someone of a different ethnicity or racialized group based on the belief that ones racial identity is superior

biological vs constructionist views of race

WEB dubois discusses the complexities of racialized ientity, African American identity experienced through a DOUVLE CONSCIOUSNESS due to opression

social construction

assumptions of social construction theory

• there is no objective reality

• roles of claims-makers, claims, audience members

• legitimacy of claims

social construct

can refer to an idea or concept that is the product of social construction

social construction of race

racialization is the process by which racial and ethnic identities are ascribed to groups and individuals

social construction of race

this process is social and not biological

social construction of race

racialization processes vary across time and space

social construction of race

although race does not truly “exist: or isnt “real” from a social constructionist point of view, it has VERY Real consequences

Lack of biologically identifiable traits

Skin tone (and melanin) reflects environmental adaptation based on sunlight exposure

Lack of biologically identifiable traits

Contemporary racial classification is based on social traits often tiede socioeconomic assumptions

• Race categories in different societies

Differences in how individuals are racially classified

• Race categories in different societies

Criteria for racial classification

Race categories in different societies

Administrative approaches to racial classification

• ex. racial classification censsis

scientific evidence

has shown that there is no genetic basis for race. in fact there is more genetic variety within than across different race groups

structural functionism

• Socially cohesive groups are formed by shared identities

• Structural functionalism

Shared experiences of ethnic history or racialization

• Structural functionalism

• Georg simmel described affiliation in distinct social groups as a key characteristic of the structure of society

Structural functionalism

Defined social boundaries with fixed behavioural expectations

• Structural functionalism

• Members of racialized groups share strong bonds that provide social, emotional, and economic resources 

Conflict theory

• Dominant groups benefit more than racialized groups from differentiation

Conflict theory

• Differentiation provides advantages to dominant groups

Conflict theory

• Stereotypes

stereotypes

• are widely held beliefs about a social group that are overly simplistic and often untrue

conflict theory

critical race theory

critical race theory

•  is a theory that views racialization as a performance and a social construction rather than a reflection of innate, biological qualities

• Race problems are labour problems

• Symbolic interactionalism

• interactions with others shape our sense of self, including racial and ethnic identity

• Symbolic interactionalism

Racialized or ethnic socialization

Ethnic solidarity

 Third-culture kids

Code- Switch

Racialized or ethnic socialization

 We learn to evaluate people according to presumed racialised or ethnic differences

• Ethnic solidarity

Members of self-conscious communities interact with one another to achieve common purposes

 Third-culture kids

Are children who have been socialized into a culture different than the one their parents were socialized into

• Code- Switch

 Effortless switching to a different language, dialect, class, and often culture

Diasporas

• Refer to any group of people, and ethnic enclaves, that exist outside the homeland that provide connections back to one’s roots

Diasporas

• Networks that transcend boundaries

• Role of social media and digital technology in strengthening connections to home culture

• Sense of belonging

Diasporas

• Three key dimensions

  • Boundary maintenance

  • Dispersion

  • Homeland orientation

Social distance

• Is the perceived extent to which social groups are isolated from one another

• Social distance

• ndirect measurement of racism based on feeligns towards and about certain groups in various situations

Tolerance

• Is the idea that people from different ethnic and racialized backgrounds can come together in a single nation-state and show high levels of trust

Homophily

Is a relationship joining actors who have the same or similar attributes or statuses

Three elements of tolerance

• Cognitive

• Evaluative

• Political 

• Institutional racism

Forms of discrimination that rely on formal institutional rules and common practices

• Expressed racism

• Discriminatory practices based on fears or prejudices projected onto particular racialized minorities

• Internalized racism

• The acceptance by those who are racialized of stereotypes or beliefs existent in society about the racialized group by which they belong

Prejudice

• A negative or hostile attitude towards members of a particular groups simpy because they belong to that group, based on untested assumptions about their characteristics

Discrimination

• The denial of access based on a particular trait to opportunities that would otherwise be available to equally qualified people who are part of the dominant group

Scientific racism

The pseudoscientific belief that there is evidence to support or justify white supremacy and racism

• Microaggressions

Everyday, routine interaction with subtle, indirect or unintentional forms of discrimination at its root

• Institutional racism

•  Is a form of racism expresed in the practices of social and political institutions

• Institutional racism

• Eighteenth- and nineteenth century colonialism created generations of social problems for indigenous peoples 

Institutional racism

• Has also been documented in Canada’s immigration policies

Institutional racism

• Prior to the 1960s, immigration system largely excluded non-european immigrants (ex. Chinese immigration act 1885 and 1923)

Institutional racism

• Racially and ethnically undesirable groups permitted entry if labour needs could not be met with preferred group members

Institutional racism

• Once immigrants arrive, they are subjected to structured inequality such as language barriers and nonrecognition of foreign qualifications 

Research objectives

• nvestigate how mainstream media distinguish between the water pollution incidents in the communities of Kashechewan and Walkerton

• Research objectives

• Examine how mainstream media perpetuates racial stereotypes of indigenous peoples in canada

• Research objectives

• Assess the implications that media portrayals of indigenous peoples have on indigenous experiences and communities 

Concepts

• Unequal distribution of fresh water supply

Concepts

• Drinking water advisories issued more frequently in indigenous communities

Concepts

• Canada as a settler colonial nation

  • “Come to stay”

  • “Structure, not an event”

  • “Extinguishment of political challenges to the state”

• Institutional racism intertwined with colonization

• Prior research on media representation of indigenous peoples

  •  Lower rates of coverage 

• Limited coverage of water security challenges in indigenous communities

• Prior research on media representation of indigenous peoples

  • Reliance on white perspectives

• Exclusion of indigenous voices and perspectives

• Otherizing and exclusionary narratives

• Historical context of settler colonialmism omitted 

  • Lack of attention to the harmful impacts of settler colonialism and residential schools

Contemporary representations echo historical representations

• Dehumiznization and outsider status

• Indigenous peoples portrayed as a threat 

Gender

• The social and cultural expectations associated with different categories (ex. Men vs women), often associated with sex and teh body

• Gender

• Derives from nroms, values, beliefs, expectations, roles, etc

• Often built into social institutions and the relationship between men and women in everyday life

• Gender is conceptually different than biological sex, primary sex characeristics, secondary sex characteriscs

• A social construct

Gender

• How we understand and manage gender categories are a result of the social and cultural meanings we attach to them

• Gender norms and expectations are reaffirmed and maintained over time in various social situations via institutions

• Meanings of masculinity and femininity are a product of social forces

• Gender as a product of socilization, which can be complicated by racial, ethnic, religious, and other social contexts 

• Gender identity

• Is the extent to which one idetnifies as being either masculine or feminine

• Most social scientists do not view gender as a fixed binary variable. Instead, they view gender as fluid

• Gender identity does not always correspond with biological sex

• A status that shapes identity, socialization, institutional partici[ation, and life changes 

• Gender in society 

• Gender is often shaped by stereotypical behaviours and attitudes associated with masculinity and femininity Western society tend to think of gender in binary terms

• Gender in society 

• Western society tend to think of gender in binary terms

 Genderqueer

• A term that describes a person who identitifes with many genders, with no gender at all, or with a mixture of different components of many genders

• Genderfluid

Describes a person whose gender identity changes over time and contexts

Two-spirited

• A person who identifies as having both a masculine and feminine spirit 

Transgender

• Describes a discrepancy between the gender than individuals identify with and the biological sex they were identified as at birth

Cisgender

• A term that describes overlap between the gender that an indiviudal identifies with and the biological sex tehy were assigned at birth

• Gender identity is different from sexual orientation, which indicates the gender that one is attracted to

• Gender roles

• The behaviours, attitudes, and markers ascribed to men and women by society

• Sociologists posit that roles through socialization and social control

Scripts

• Guide our behaviour

  • Ex. aggressive behaviour is congruent with the script for masculinity 

• Mosts children become aware of gender roles by age 2 or 3

• Gender roles often reinforced by stereotypes

stereotypes

• Oversimplified nitions about members of a group

• Conflict theory

•  Capitalism demands the low-cost social reproduction of a workforce from one generation to the next

• Women (as mothers) provide the cheapest family labour

• Systems of gender inequality are devised and perpetuated by men

• Processes of gender domination and oppression make it more challenging for girls and women to access valued resources 

Funcitonalism

• Social gendering is universal and inevitable

• Distinct gender roles create the most effective way to carry out a society’s tasks of reproduction and socializaion

• Evolutionary surviva value of gender

• Talcott Parsons: functional theory of gender

  • Men perform instrumental tasks 

  • Women perform expressive tasks 

• Symbolic interactionalism

• Are also intrerested in the social construction of gendered concepts

• Creation and manipulation of symbols and language that are associated with gendered meanings

• “Selfish” mothers

• “Doing gender

Gender at home, work , and school

• Industrial societies created traditional gender roles that continue to be relevant today

• Breadwinner (paid employment) versus homemaker roles

• A second shift includes women’s unpaid housework and caretaking in addition to paid employment outside the home

• When women are engaged in paid employment, they continue to receive less pay for doing the same work as men

• Why are women paid less

• The average wage of women according to the UN is about 77% of what men receive

• Some possible explanations 

  • Full-time vs part-time employment

  • Experience

  • Seniority 

  • Parental leave 

  • Occupational gender segregation

• Hidden curriculum

• The implicit lessons in social roles, values, and expectations that are communicated in schools. But there are other sociological explanations as well

  • Stereotypes and bias

  • Hostile and chilly climates

  • Discrimination

  • Lack of mentors

• Technology, gender and education 

  • STEM

• Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; commonly used to refer to education, research, and employment in this sector

• Underrepresentation of girls and women in STEM is in part a consequence of gender socialization in schools