Race and Racism E1 Vocab

Population

the complete set group of individuals, whether that group comprises a nation or a group of people with a common characteristic

State

 a centralized organization that enforces rules over a population within a given territory using their monopoly on use of force

Social Group

two or more people who interact with on another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity

Social Catagory

a collection of people that have certain characteristics or traits in common, but they tend NOT to interact with each other on a regular basis

Social Categorization

the process through which we group individuals based upon cultural information

Social Stratification

refers to a society’s categorization of its people based on differences in status, power, and access to resources

Social Structure

a system of interconnected positions and associated roles, linked through activities, resources, and meanings

Interconnected Positions

social structure consists of various positions that individuals can occupy within society

Associated Positions

each position comes with specific roles in which individuals are expected to fulfill specific rules and responsibilities

Linkage

• these positions and roles are connected through:

  • Activities

  • Resources

  • Meanings

• related to social structure and our stratification

Power

The ability of an individual or group to influence or control the behavior of others, often despite resistance

Domination

the exercise of power or influence over someone or something; often in a way that is perceived as negative or oppressive

Egalitarian

the belief that all people should be granted full autonomy in a given society

Elitism

the belief that certain people deserve power and privilege over others in a given society

Culture

All the ideas, behaviors, and artifacts that can be learned and transmitted within a group at a given time and space.

Theory of Mind

the understanding that the minds of others differ from our own and our ability to predict events based on that. 

• Allows us to teach and pass on culture at a rate far differently than other species

Schismogenesis

Societies often define themselves in opposition to their neighbors

Ethnicity

• is an identity based on perceived notions of shared:

  • Culture

  • Origins/history

  • Language

Ethnogenesis

the formation and development of an ethnic group either through division or amalgamation

Active Ethnogenesis

when people deliberately and directly “engineer” separate identities in order to solve a political problem

• deliberately creating a new ethnic identity

Passive Ethnogenesis

accumulation of markers of group identity forced through interaction with the physical environment, cultural and religious divisions between sections of a society, migrations and other processes, for which ethnic subdivisions is an unintended outcome 

• fully unintended emergence of a new identity

in-group

persons who are similar to the self

out-group

persons who differ from the self

Ethnocentrism

combines a positive attitude towards one’s own ethnic/cultural group with a negative attitude toward the other ethnic/cultural group

Citizenship

refers to the status granted to individuals by a policy or nation, recognizing them as full members of the social body

• It differentiates between those who belong to the community, and those who do not (INGROUP/OUTGROUP)

Empire

a large political structure that rules over territories outside of its original borders

Slavery

a socially structured practice in which one person claims to own another, as he or she would own property, and uses that claim to exploit that slave’s labor for economic gain

Feudalism

Period of decentralization in administration, economics, and infrastructure typically identified by the presence of multiple “feuding” monarchical structures

Serf

a structure suited for decentralized administration

Risk

the exposure an organization has to factor(s) that will lower its profits or lead it to fail

Profit

income that remains after a business pays all its expenses

Settler Colonialism

large numbers of settlers claim land and become the majority

Planter Colonialism

colonizers institute mass production of a single crop, such as sugar, coffee, cotton, or rubber

Extractive Colonialism

all the colonizers want is a raw material found in a particular location

Racialization

the process by which racial meaning is attached to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such

Nationalism

based on a sense of attachment to one another among individuals dispersed across space and time (likely never to meet e/o) but who share customs, language, traditions, culture or residence within a set of borders

Isomorphism

is a similarity of the processes or structure of one organization to those of another, be it the result or imitation or independent development under similar constraints

Mimetic Isomorphism

refers to the tendency of an organization to imitate another organization’s structure because of the belief that the structure of the latter organization is beneficial 

Corporation

An organization authorized by the state to act as a single entity and recognized as such in law for certain purposes

Monopoly

Where one person or group has sole control over a given set of resources

Charter

A giant or guarantee of rights, franchises, or privileges from the sovereign power of a state or country

Commercialization

The process of managing or running something principally for financial gain

Globalization

the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide

structural bias

when the creation and maintenance of certain rules are designed to produce outcomes which benefit one group over another

Slave Power

referred to the idea of a small class of slave owning elites taking control of the government and implementing a system which benefits them everywhere

The Missouri Compromise

1820; divided north and south among the river… below river has slaves and above is free

How profitable was racialzied slavery?

• VERY!!!!!! 18,580,000,000.00  in wealth

  • (18 trillion US)

Redistribution

The transfer of income and wealth (including physical property) from some individuals to others through a social mechanism such as taxation, welfare, public services land reform, monetary policies, etc. 

Reparations

• Generally compensation given for an abuse or injury

• Specifically, measures take by the state to redress gross and systematic violations of human rights law or humanitarian law through the administration or some form of compensation or restitution to the victims

The Myth Of Linear Progress

progress is not linear; it is all over the place and back in forth

• Relates to slaves because the process of gaining freedom took a lot of time and went very back and forth in history

Annual Labor Contracts

enforced economic control over black people

Disparate Impact

refers to practices in employment, housing, and other areas that adversary affect one group of people of a protected characteristic more than another, even though rules applied are formally neutral

Criminal Disenfranchisement

Barring those with the status of criminal from having civil rights

Terrorism

 the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims

Lynching

generally the killing of an individual (by another individual or by mob) especially by hanging, for an alleged offense with or without a legal trial 

Assimilation

the process in which a minority group or culture resembles those of a dominant group

Relocation

physical movement of bodies through purchase of lands or conquest 

Blood Quantum

a designated percentage of Native American “blood,” based on an equal from the US Government 

• apart of the Dawes Act (removal of indigenous tribes for their land)

Hypodescent

Being born of mixed union results in joining the subordinate group

Hyperdescent

Being born in mixed union results in joining the dominant group

Imperialism

A policy or ideology of extending the rule over peoples and other countries for extending political and economic access

Push Factors

in immigration are those forces which induce a people to leave their home country

Pull Factors

are forces which induce migrants to come to a specific country

Racial Identity

an individual’s sense of being defined, in part, by membership in a particular racial group

Ethnic Identity

an individual’s sense of being defined, in part, by membership in a particular ethnic group

Hereditary Slave Law 1662/ The Law of Maternal Descent:

All children borne in this country shalbe held bond or free according to the condition of the mother. (FIRST TIME THAT THEY WENT BY MOTHERS STATUS INSTEAD OF FATHER) ANY CHILD BORN FROM BLACK SLAVE WOMEN ARE ALSO ENSLAVED. (MAKES SLAVE STATUS HEREDITARY AND FIXED)

Statute

is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent.

American paradox

liberty can exist, so long as it is exclusive. (What the founders actually meant when they referred to men- they wanted liberty for white men only. )

Northwest Ordinance (1784)

 gave us new territory beyond Appalachian Mountains after Revolutionary War.

Panethnicity

describes when different ethnic or tribal groups cooperate, organize, and build institutions and identities across ethnic boundaries 

Colorism

prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group 

Social Darwinism

“survival of the (social) fittest”

Eugenics

the idea that racial groups could be actively improved via artificial selection

Race Hygiene

A project of removing inferior genetic material from the German People

Genocide

the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group

Navajo Code Talkers

the name given to indigenous Americans who used their tribal language to send secret communications on the battlefield

Ethnostate

where national identity and power are tied to specific cultural elements such as religion, race, and which elevate some ingroups over others

Ethnocracy

a type of political structure in which the state apparatus is controlled by a dominant ethnic group to further its interests, power, dominance, and resources

Liberalism

a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, right to private property, and equality before the law

Human Rights

are rights homosapiens are said to have simply because they exist as human beings

Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR)

include the rights to adequate food, to adequate housing, to education, to health, to social security, to take part in cultural life, to water and sanitation, and to work

Division of labor

refers to the way tasks, roles, and responsibilities are distributed and specialized among individuals or groups in a society, group, or social organization 

Monotypic genus

is a genus in the special case where a genus and a single species are simultaneously described

• we are known as this

What makes us human?

the ability to rearrange group structures with intentionality and based on reflective reasoning is uniquely human.  

Christmas rebellion 1521

20 black Muslim slaves killed some Christians in the fields and continued to the village. 

Mudsill Theory

viewed elites as providing the necessary cognitive and creative outputs. Needed underclasses (slaves) to perform the necessary manual labor. The primary role of government is to protect property.  

Free Labor Theory

Viewed all individuals as potential engines of economic growth. Emphasized property distribution, education, and national infrastructure. Role of government to provide equal opportunity.