Ethnic Studies Essential Vocabulary

A complete list of vocabulary flashcards derived from the Ethnic Studies cloze notes, covering key terms related to identity, power, racism, and societal structures.

Ethnic Studies

A discipline involving history, critical analysis through an Ethnic Studies Lens, Knowledge with Purpose & Action, and Community & Solidarity.

Social Identities

Who someone is in relation to/categorization with other people in society.

Dominant Culture/Hegemony

The group of people in a society who tend to hold the most power as defined by their social identities.

Marginalization

To be pushed to the margins, on the outside of the dominant culture and treated as if you are insignificant or inferior.

Social Construct

An idea that has been created and accepted by society, as opposed to generated by science or empirical (data-based) fact.

Race

A socially constructed term that divides people up based on their skin color (and physical characteristics).

Ethnicity

Your cultural heritage: languages, traditions, ancestral history.

Nationality

Your membership in a country where you were born and/or where your citizenship resides.

Racism

The belief, and/or actions that stem from the belief, that certain racial or ethnic groups are in some way superior or inferior.

Personal Racism

Person-to-person acts of racism, including prejudice, biases, and mistreatment that individuals direct toward other individuals because of their race or ethnicity.

Prejudice

Prejudgement; a preconceived opinion/assumption about something or someone, typically an unjustified, negative attitude towards an individual or group rooted in stereotypes.

Bias

Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

Stereotype

A commonly believed oversimplification, generalization, or distorted view of a person or group that is not based on fact.

Microaggression

An intentional or unintentional insult, slight, or hostile, negative message to people who do not fit into the dominant culture.

Internalized Oppression

When a person holds racist, sexist, ageist, ableist, etc. beliefs about themselves and/or others with their same identity, believing they are inferior, acting on negative messages, or denying their identity.

Assimilation

The experience of taking on the customs, mannerisms, and ideas of a dominant group in order to fit in and survive.