africana studies

ethnic group

characteristics that define an ethnic group (shared culture, history, identity)

Race

Understand race as a socio-biological construct rather than a purely genetic classification

Racism

Systematic oppression based on race; the distinction between individual prejudice and institutional racism

Ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures by one’s own cultural standards

Afrocentricity

(molefi asante) a methodology and orientation rooted in the cultural image and human interest of African people, introduced by Molefi Asante. It centers African people in their culture and history, viewing them as agents rather than subjects.

Social Stratitification

The ranking of groups based on wealth, power, and status

Discrimination

Actions denying equal rights based on prejudice

Prejudice vs Racism

Prejudice refers to preconceived opinions or judgments about individuals based on their group affiliation, while racism involves systemic discrimination and oppression based on race.

Social Class

Unequal distribution of wealth, power, and status

Gender

A socio-biological category used to impose, explain, and justify unequal, exploitative, and oppressive relations between males and females.

Racial Formation (Omi & Winant)

A concept introduced by Omi and Winant, arguing that race and formation are state-constructed phenomena sustained in the interest of the ruling group.

Functionalist Perspective

How society maintains stability and order.

Conflict Theory

Focus on power struggles over resources and social inequality.

Modes of Domination

Race, class, and gender as tools of oppression.

Responses to Oppression

Submission, accomodation, and resistance

Cultural Construction

The ways in which oppressed groups create meaning and value through their culture, even in the midst of oppression, reaffirming their dignity, humanity, and creative capacity.

Federal Indian Policy

Right for tribes to govern themselves

Sovereignty

Supreme power or authority

Indian Removal Act (1830)

Forced Displacement and Trail of Tears

General Allotment Act (1887)

Land division and assimilation policies

Challenges to Native Sovereignty Today

Federal restrictions and land use.

Andrea Smith’s Three Logics of White Supremacy

Slaveability/Anti-Black Racism, Genocide, Orientalism

Sankofa meaning and significance

To remember and move on.

Transalantic Ensalvement of Africans causes and Consequences

Depopulation and destruction of African communities

“Enslaved Africans” vs. “Slave” language and identity

“Slave” suggests a person has no identity outside of being enslaved. That they are a “slave” by nature, not by social imposition. Suggests a permanent and natural condition.

Enslaved African is to affirm cultural identity and indicate that the African was enslave not simply a slave by birth or being. Suggests an imposition and this, the possibility of it being challenged and ended.

Impact of Enslavement

Depopulation, economic disruption, loss of skilled labor

Day-to-Day Resistance

Acts of defiance including sabotage, suicide, and escape.

Racialization process and effects

The process of assigning racial meanings to a group over time.

Stages of Racialization (Victor Rodriguez Dominguez)

Limiting land access

Ideological Racism

Institutional discrimination

Internalized oppression

Scientific Racism and Popular Culture

It justified discriminatory laws and social hierarchies.

Cultural Citizenship

Latino communities resisting subordination

Chicano Movement Goals

Achieve educational reform and cultural recognition

United Farm Workers Union

Advocacy for worker's’ rights

Immigration & Economic Impact (1840s)

Labor needs vs. Discrimination

Asian immigrant Women

Marginalized roles in society and economy

Relegated to roles like prostitution in bachelor-dominated immigrant communities

14th Amendment & Chinese Exclusion

Granted citizenship to anyone born in the US including former slaves. Despite this, Chinese immigrants were still denied naturalization in 1870

The Chinese Exclusion Act enacted in 1882, was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States.

United States v. Thind (1923)

Supreme Court Ruling on Asian Naturalization

Asian Indians, despite being scientifically caucasian, were barred from naturalization

Immigration Act of 1965

End of overt discrimination, increase in immigration.

St. Louis World’s Fair (1904)

“Ethnographic display” reinforcing colonialism

Japanese American Internment (WWII)

Discrimination against Japanese Americans

Executive Order 9066 by President Roosevelt

Over 110,000 Japanese Americans were interned in 13 concentration camps during the war

Migration

The transfer of populations, which can be voluntary or involuntary, involving immigration (coming to a different country) end emigration (leaving a country)

Modes of Response

The various ways subordinated or dominated groups can respond to domination, including submission, accommodation, and resistance