Week #8 Race and Racism: The Social Construction of the 'Color Line'

critical race theory (CRT)

legal theory that asserts that race is not naturally but rather is socially constructed in order to oppress nonwhites

• Argues that racism is inherent in US legal institutions

• 18 US states censor/ban the teaching of ___ as a "divisive concept" in public schools---including public higher education (AL, FL, IA, NH, OK, and OH)

• Fits into conflict theory framework; critical framework upsetting the status quo

  • Status quo + foundations of institutions are racist/set up on race-based lines

racialization

the formation of a new racial identity by drawing ideological boundaries of difference around a formerly unnoticed group of people

• Arab --> ethnicity

• Islam --> religion

• Many people think both r linked, islam racialized

white privilege

a set of societal privileges granted to white people and withheld from people of color in the same social, political, or economic spaces

• __ ___ stems from white supremacy

• 1989: Peggy McIntosh essay "___ ___: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack"

privilege

when you think smth is not a problem bc it's not a problem to u personally

institutional racism

institutions + social dynamics that may seem race-neutral but actually disadvantage minority groups

• Ex: the labor market, law/courts, neighborhoods/housing policy, etc

color-blind racism

view that racial inequality is perpetuated by a supposedly color-blind stance that ends up reinforcing historical and contemporary inequities, disparate impact, and institutional bias by "ignoring" them in favor of a technically neutral approach

• Idea coined by sociologist Eduardo Bonilla-Silva (2003)

• Ex: contemporary anti-'woke' hysteria, anti-DEI intitiatives

• By ignoring it, we perpetuate it

nativism

movement to protect and preserve land or culture from the allegedly dangerous and polluting effects of new immigrants

• Has a long history within American politics --> activating white fears of the 'other' for political gain

• Effectively wielded by Donald Trump in his presidential campaigns

prejudice

negative attitudes, feelings, or beliefs about an ethnic or racial group

discrimination

harmful or negative actions against people deemed inferior on the basis of their racial category + without regard to their individual merit

straight-line assimilation

Robert Pak's 1920s model for how immigrants assimilate: they first arrive, then settle in, and finally achieve full assimilation

• Ex: so-called "Americanization" of 19th and 20th century immigrants

• Stresses the loss of primordial ties to their homeland --> assimilation, or the adoption of dominant cultural norms + values

primordialism

 Clifford Geertz's term to explain the strength of ethnic ties because they are fixed in deeply in felt or primordial ties to one's homeland culture

• The notion of America being a "melting pot" of cultures is largely a myth (more like a salad)

pluralism ***TBA

 the presence and engaged coexistence of numerous distinct groups in society

• After the failure of assimilation programs in early 20th century, pluralism ***MISSED THIS PART

segregation

 the legal or social practice of separating people on the basis of their race or ethnicity

• Formerly state-sanctioned (de jure) but modern ___ is de factor + the result of long social and historical processes

TBA