Ch. 3 Racial/Ethnic Inequality Terms

Race

a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of society define as important.

Multicultural

someone whose background consists of multiple cultures.

Ethnic Group (ethnicity)

a shared cultural heritage which typically involves common ancestors, language, and religion

ethnic work

study of ethnicity

prejudice

having any rigid and unfounded generalizations about an entire category of people

racism

personal prejudice on the part of an individual that is their race.

discrimination

unequal treatment of various categories of people

stereotypes

negative generalizatiosn

individual racism

institutional (structural) racism

racial profiling

eurocentrism

the practice of using european (particularly english) cultural standards to judge everyone

authoritarian personality theory

quick to direct anger at another group. believe they are higher than others.

scapegoat theory

use racial/ethnic prejudice and discrimination on a minority group to blame them for whatever reason

cultural theory

prejudice isn't just a trait of individuals, it's a normal part of our cultural system

affirmative action

policy or program that attempts to improve or correct minority standing of groups that experienced past prejudice/discrimination

genocide

the systematic killing of one category of people by another

segregation (de jure & de facto)

de jure: by law legal seperation and segregation

de facto: in facts community, still seperate into ethnic and racial neighborhoods.

assimilation

when the minority group is absorbed into the dominant group with their culture and all

pluralism

a state in which people of all racial/ethnic categories have about the same social standing.