Chapter 8: Race and Ethnicity P1

What is race?

is a social construct that distinguishes people based on physical characteristics (such as skin color, hair texture, and facial features) and often has a major impact on people's lives.

What is ethnicity?

is a group of people who share a common cultural heritage, such as their country of origin, language, traditions, and customs.

Why is race considered a social construct?

is considered a social construct because it is a man-made idea. Society decides who belongs to different racial groups, and these ideas change over time.

Why is the Irish example important in sociology?

The Irish example shows that race is a social construct, meaning society decides who belongs to different racial groups. What counts as a race can change over time

How did the Irish represent race as a social construct?

In the 1850s, Irish Catholics and Scotch-Irish Protestants were treated as separate races. Today they are considered ethnic groups instead. This shows that society's definition of race changes over time.

Who invaded Ireland in 1649?

Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland in 1649.

What happened during Oliver Cromwell's invasion?

More than half of the Irish population died, and many Irish people lost their land.

What did the English Parliament do after Cromwell's invasion?

The English Parliament gave Irish land to English loyalists. Irish Catholics became renters and servants on land they once owned.

Why were Irish Catholics poor?

They had very few rights, lost their land, and had to give most of their crops and livestock to English landlords as rent.

Why did Irish Catholics depend on potatoes?

Potatoes were cheap, easy to grow, and were often the only food they were allowed to keep.

What happened during the potato famine?

A virus destroyed the potato crops for several growing seasons, leaving many Irish Catholics with nothing to eat.

What happened to many Irish Catholics during the potato famine?

Many died from starvation, while others left Ireland to find a better life.

Why did many Irish Catholics immigrate to the United States?

They came to the United States to escape starvation, poverty, and discrimination in Ireland.

How did many Irish immigrants travel to America?

Many traveled on old Dutch slave ships.

Were Irish Catholics welcomed in the United States?

No. They faced discrimination because they were Catholic in a country that was mostly Protestant.

Why did Protestants from Ireland want to separate themselves from Irish Catholics?

They did not want to be confused with Irish Catholics because Catholics were treated poorly.

Why were the labels "Irish Catholic" and "Scotch-Irish" created?

The labels separated Catholics from Protestants and treated them as two different races.

What does the change in how society views the Irish tell us about race?

It shows that race changes over time depending on society, proving that race is socially created rather than biological.

Why do functionalists believe race labels exist?

Functionalists believe race labels serve important functions in society.

What are the three functions of race labels?

• They can justify the mistreatment of groups.

• They promote unity and solidarity within groups.

• They help people categorize and identify others.

Why can race labels justify mistreatment?

Race labels have been used to justify prejudice, discrimination, segregation, and genocide.

What is segregation?

Segregation is the physical separation of people based on race or another characteristic.

Examples of segregation.

Jim Crow laws

What is genocide?

Genocide is the systematic killing of one group by another.

Example of genocide

Holocaust

How do race labels promote unity and solidarity within groups?

in the 1960s, you saw lots of groups promoting ethnic and racial pride (ex. Red Power and Pan Indian movements)

Why can race labels help make us comfortable?

we like to identify people: Single or married, straight or gay, liberal or conservative.

What are the limitations of race labels?

• Labels change over time.

• Labels change from place to place.

• Many people are multiracial.

• People disagree on how many races exist.

Examples of labels changing over time?

we once viewed the “Irish-Catholics” as a racial group. We no longer see them as such. In the 1880s, Italians were seen as a separate race. Now we would see them as an ethnic group.

Example of labels changing from place to place.

From 1870-1965, many of our states had Jim Crow laws. These laws enforced racial segregation- the separation of people by skin color. People who had
black ancestors might be viewed as white in one state and in another state be identified as black. (Ex. Greg Williams, author of On the Color Line—more information on the next slide)

Why did Greg Williams have different racial labels depending on where he lived?

Indiana classified him as White, while Virginia classified him as Black because different states interpreted race differently under Jim Crow laws’ and used the "one-drop rule," meaning having a Black ancestor could legally classify someone as Black.

What different treatment did Greg Williams receive after moving to Virginia?

He was classified as Black, attended segregated Black schools, and received a lower-quality education because of Jim Crow laws.

What is multi-racial?

It is hard to say anyone is 100% anything. This is why DNA testing like 23 and Me is so popular. Think of people like Tiger Woods and Kamala Harris (see next slide).

Why is there a disagreement about the number of races?

There is a lot of inconsistency about how
many races actually exist

Who was Tiger Woods?

He referred to himself as “Cablinasian“. He used this term, which he made up to describe his identity. It is a
combination of his CAucasian, BLack, American INdian and ASIAN ancestries.

What is the sociological definition of a minority group?

is a group that has traditionally experienced social disadvantage and discrimination.

What is the sociological definition of a majority group?

A group that has traditionally had access to power and resources.

Traditionally what group has been the majority group?

WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant)

What is the mathematical definition of a minority group?

A group with fewer people.

What is the mathematical definition of a majority group?

A group with more people

Why can the mathematical definitions be misleading?

Because a larger population does not always have more power.

What terms are used today instead of minority?

Subordinate group

What terms are used today instead of majority?

Dominant group

Minority groups may be based on (but not
limited to)

• Race/Ethnicity

• Gender

• Sexual Orientation

• Disability

• Veteran Status

What are the five characteristics of a minority group according to Wagley and Harris?

1. History of unequal treatment.

2. Distinguishing physical or cultural characteristics.

3. Involuntary (ascribed) membership.

4. Awareness of subordinate status ("us vs. them").

5. In-group marriage.

What could be physical and cultural characteristics?

This could be a way of dress, skin color or hair texture

What is involuntary membership?

is an ascribed characteristic. You don’t really have control over this.

What does it mean with awareness of subordinate status?

us vs. them or ingroup-outgroup

What is ingroup marriage?

Wagley and Harris found that minority group members tend to marry within their group. This has changed over time.

What is prejudice?

A negative attitude or belief toward a group based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation or Veteran Status.

What is a form of prejudice?

A stereotype

What is a stereotype?

It is an overgeneralization about a group of people.
It involves reducing a group to a basic characteristics

What is discrimination?

Unequal treatment of people based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, or other characteristics.

What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?

• Prejudice = thoughts or attitudes.

• Discrimination = actions or behaviors.