Prejudice and Discrimination

Intersectionality

an analytic framework for assessing how factors such as race, gender, and class interact to shape individual life chances and societal patterns of stratification

Oppression

Exists when one group has historically gained power and control over valued assets of society

What are the three domains of class oppression?

The ideological, the political, and the economic

The ideological Domain

Producing and distributing ideas and knowledge about society and its people

The political domain

The government, law, civil and criminal justice, the police, and the military

The Economic Domain

The major industries such as finance, health-care, manufacturing, housing, etc.

Internalized Oppression

The persuasive power of dominant ideologies to convince subordinate group members that current social hierarchies are acceptable and can't be changed.

Critical Race Theory

The belief that racism is such an ingrained feature of US society that it appears to be ordinary and natural to many people

Theory of racial formation

actions of the government substantially define racial and ethnic relations in the US

What does the split-labor-market theory describe?

The division of the economy into two areas of employment.

What is the primary sector in split-labor-market theory?

The upper tier composed of higher paid workers in more secure jobs.

What is the secondary sector in split-labor-market theory?

The lower tier composed of lower paid workers in jobs with little security and hazardous working conditions.

Internal colonialism

occurs when members of a racial or ethnic group are conquered or colonized and forcibly placed under the economic and political control of the dominant group

de facto segregation

Racial segregation and inequality enforced by custom

de jure segregation

refers to laws that once systematically enforced the physical and social seperation.

ethnic pluralism

the coexistence of a variety of distinct racial and ethnic groups within one society

Conflict theory

focuses on economic stratification and access to power in their analyses of race and ethnic relations.

Assimilation

is a process by which members of subordinate racial and ethnic groups become absorbed into the dominant culture

Contact hypothesis

Contact between people from divergent groups should lead to favorable attitudes and behavior when certain factors are present

Indirect institutionalized discrimination

refers to practices that have a harmful effect on subordinate-group members even though the organizationally or community-prescribed norms or regulations guiding these actions were initially established with no intent to harm

direct institutionalized discrimination

organizationally prescribed or community-prescribed action that intentionally has a differential and negative impact on members of subordinate groups

small group discrimination

harmful action intentionally taken by a limited number of dominant-group members against members of subordinate groups

isolate discrimination

harmful action intentionally taken by a dominant-group member against a member of a subordinate group

Genocide

The deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation

Discrimination

involves actions or practices of dominant group members that have a harmful impact on members of a subordinate group.

scapegoat

a person or group that bears the blame for another

stereotype

Overgeneralizations about the appearance, behavior, or other characteristics of members of particular categories.

Ethnocentrism

The tendency to regard one's own culture and group as the standard and thus superior

prejudice

A negative attitude based on faulty generalizations about members of selected racial and ethnic groups

According to this reading, how did Jesuit educational institutions

become predominantly white, affluent, and male-dominated?

These institutions were widely run by priests and Jesuits. But also, due to the economics of running a school, it attracted people from more fortunate backgrounds.

What are the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching

Compassion for the poor, Accompaniment and solidarity, Active pursuit of social justice, Education and Empowerment, Contemplatives in Action

Examining the tenets of Catholic social teaching, how do these align

with fighting racism?

These tenets emphasize building relationships with all people, walking with the marginalized, and helping those on society's margins. All of these align with fighting racism by emphasizing that all people should be treated equally, no matter their race.

What are the major aspects of Arrupian social justice?

Preservation of human, socially constructed privilege, and Prophetic action.

social distance scale

A rating of the degree to which a person would be willing to have contact with a member of another group. Originally created to examine racial and ethnic groups.

Straight-line assimilation

Robert Park's 1920s universal and linear model for how immigrants assimilate: they first arrive, then settle in, and achieve full assimilation in a newly homogeneous country

Gordon's alternative model

Suggests that immigrant populations pass through 7 stages of assimilation that are not necessarily linear. Stating that societal events and different aspects of culture may change how one assimilates.

Merton's Typology of Prejudice and Discrimination

unprejudiced nondiscriminator, unprejudiced discriminator, prejudiced nondiscriminator, prejudiced discriminator

According to Weber, what conditions must exist a social hierarchy to be defined as a "system of oppression?"

A system of oppression is defined as an institutionalized lack of access for certain groups over others; this includes the exploitation of the minority group.

Systems of oppression are.....

Complex, pervasive, variable, persistent, severe, and power-based

Weber outlines the "three faces of power" that undergird social hierarchies and allow dominant groups to persist. What are these three distinct faces?

Direct power, Agenda-setting power, and ideological power.

What is "social location", and why is it described as being powerfully embedded in all societal institutions?

Social location depicts where a person fits into society. This depends on factors such as race, gender, socioeconomic class, age, nationality, work, and education. These parts of a person's identity can determine how they are looked at and treated. Also, what chances they have.

Explain the "miner's canary" metaphor presented by Guinier and Torres and cited by Weber.

The "miner's canary" metaphor suggests that marginalized groups, because they experience the harmful effects of social inequalities earlier and more intensely, can serve as indicators of broader problems within social institutions and systems.

The authors focus their analysis around ideas about gender being either social constructionism or essentialist notions. What do they mean by these terms and how does masculinity and feminity fit into this discussion?

Social constructionism holds the view that differences between women and men that we identify as significant are products of the social world, not nature. Essentialist notions is the opposite viewpoint that claims that there is a real difference between men and women. From a social constructionist viewpoint, femininity and masculinity stem from gender expectations enforced by our society over time. From an essentialist viewpoint, femininity and masculinity evolved based on physiological necessity.

The authors discuss gender performance, what do they mean by this and how do they use the example of door-opening?

The authors define gender performance as what is expected of females or males rather than what female or male bodies require or can accomplish physically. The example of opening a door is used in reference to gender performance because both women and men have hands to open doors, yet the manner is often prescribed to males. Genitalia is not used in the action of opening a door, so there is no reason to expect that males nor females are better door openers.

In the reading, this is stated "gender does not exist, but it is real." What do they mean by this?

Regardless of how the concept of gender was created or why it exists, merely because of its presence, inequalities are created. These social disadvantages make gender a real process because everyone, male, female, or otherwise identifying, experiences the effects of the system.

What is the gender feedback loop? How is this idea useful, according to the author?

Instead of everyone fitting into two "natural" boxes, being male or female, the Gender Feedback Loop argues that everyone has their own unique ideas about what is deemed appropriate expressions of gender. The authors believe that the loop is useful because it is a better way of explaining how complex gender really is.

Why does Wendell argue that a disability can not be defined purely in biomedical terms?

Wendell argues that disability cannot be defined purely in biomedical terms because a person's disability is influenced not only by their physical condition but also by the social environment they live in.

How does the pace of life play in the construction of disability?

In the reading, she points out that our society and pace of life are set up for "normal" people and fail to acknowledge disability, which in turn creates more. It becomes harder for people to keep up for two reasons: physical consequences from the effort to keep up, and lower rates of meeting certain expectations, like "expectations of normal performance."

What is the "paradigm citizen," and how does our social design better suit this type of person and exclude those that don't fit this description?

A "paradigm citizen" is a person who does not rely on or need social help. They are people who would be considered fully able. Our society privileges these types of people and excludes others.

How does the author explain that disability is often located or relegated to the "private sphere?" What do you think are the consequences of this type of thinking about disability?

Wendell articulates how a lot of the experiences of disabled and sick individuals are kept behind the curtains of the private sphere because there is no way to have the full experience acknowledged and to articulate the feelings in a socially acceptable way.Some consequences of this mentality include the profitization of healthcare agencies from disabilities, the increase in stigmatization, and a continuation of the accessibility gap that’s already present in our society.

What does the author say about the idea that "hard work pays off"?  Is this so?  

This premise holds true, while relentless effort is essential for daily survival and stability, upward economic mobility is fundamentally constrained by structural factors, market demand, and the type of occupation.

We often hear that "having the right attitude" will get you far in life. What does the author say about what this idea is really getting at? 

McNamee says that the "right attitude" usually includes things like being driven, taking responsibility for yourself, being determined, being ready to take chances, and being willing to wait for rewards. He believes these attitudes are not completely about a person's own personality and do not always lead to success on their own.The "right attitude" is partially about acting and showing yourself in ways that society values, and those ways are often easier to learn if you come from a more privileged background.

How does inheritance factor into one's economic standing in the U.S.? 

It can also refer to the resources and advantages someone is born into, which can be a strong predictor of their economic outcomes.  Inheritance can impact more than just one's financial comfort; it can provide access to better educational opportunities, greater health and life expectancy, and further resources that shape a person's opportunities throughout life.

Meritocracy

Everyone is equal, and the hardest working person will get the best outcomes. The harder you work the better you do.

Zuberi notes that slavery existed long before the fifteenth century but argues that its nature changed dramatically afterward. What made the racialization of slavery and colonialism during this period historically unique, according to the author?

Slavery at this point was not specifically tied to race. Orginally, slavery was especially seen in fields and plantations, but there were specific rules and laws about how you could treat a slave. However, Cyprus was outside of the Roman Empire, and they could skirt around following these laws, which is where the social hierarchy of slavery began.

How did the economic demands of plantation systems—particularly the shift toward export-driven economies like sugar production—fuel the need for a racialized labor force?

There were essentially two different types of economic systems that had developed. The first focused on small farmers and the second was the main export driven economy that had been producing sugar and creating the demand for it. The Europeans created a demand for slaves and did so by using manipulation tactics and military weapons. Therefore, the economic demands of plantation systems helped fuel the growth of racialized slavery because plantations mainly depended on a large workforce to produce sugar and other exported crops.

The article describes the "illusion of freedom" following emancipation in places like the United States, Brazil, and the West Indies. In what ways did the planter elite maintain control and secure their interests after legal enslavement ended?

Following emancipation the plantar elite maintained control by transitioned from enslavement to wage laborers. "Freedom" became a system of racial stratification that institutionalized oppression. In the United States, African American workers had their wages reduced to the bare minimum by taxation, peonage, caste, and every method of discrimination.

"Scientific"  or intellectual theories of the time helped to justify racism  - this reading mentions  the "Great Chain of Being," and Malthus’s theories on population competition.   Describe one of these an explain how it is connected to a racial social structure.  

The Great Chain of being theory explains social structure through a religious frame. This theory states that the whiter you are the closer you are to god. The chain is God, at the top, european men, african populations, and animals. This theory seeks to dehumanize those who are not white by saying they are not close to god as they have darker skin.

ARTICLE: Freedom and Frustration: Who is being studied in this article?  What is the sample?  How is the research conducted?   

ARTICLE: Freedom and Frustration:What does the author mean by the terms negra frustrada and negro frustrado, and how did the racial attitudes of White spouses in Rio de Janeiro differ from those in Los Angeles?

ARTICLE: Freedom and Frustration:How does Osuji use the analogy of concrete to illustrate the difference between ethnoracial boundaries in Brazil and the United States?

ARTICLE: Freedom and Frustration:Why did Rachel Dolezal’s public identity shift provoke widespread outrage in the United States, whereas Osuji suggests she would have experienced a different reception in Brazil?