SOC Final Ch. 8

Assimilation

The structural and cultural merging of minority and dominant groups.

Discriminmation

Differential treatment and harmful actions against minorities.

Dominant Racial Group

a racial group that holds disproportionate power, resources, and privileges within a society

Ethnic group

A group within the human species that is based on cultural factors: language, religion, dress, foods, customs, beliefs, values, norms, a shared group identity or feeling, and sometimes loyalty to a homeland, monarch, or religious leader.

Genocide

The systematic effort of one group, usually the dominant group, to destroy a minority group by killing them.

Institutional racial discrimination

Any meso-level institutional arrangement that favors one racial group over another; this favoritism may result in intentional or unintentional consequences for minority groups.

Past-in-present discrimination

Practices from the past that may no longer be allowed but that continue to affect people today.

Pluralism

Occurs when each ethnic or racial group in a country maintains its own culture and separate set of institutions but has recognized equality in the society.

Population transfer

The removal, often forced, of a minority group from a region or country.

Prejudice

Preconceived attitudes about a group, usually negative and not based on facts.

race

A socially created concept that identifies a group as “different,” usually based on ancestry or certain physical characteristics.

side-effect discrimination

Practices in one institutional area that have a negative impact because they are linked to practices in another institutional area. Because institutions are interdependent, discrimination in one results in unintentional discrimination in others.

Subjugation

The subordination of one group to another that holds power and authority

Subordinate groups

a segment of society that experiences structured inequality, resulting in limited access to resources, power, and opportunities compared to dominant groups