Essentials of Sociology: Race, Ethnicity, and Racism

Authors: Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Appelbaum, Deborah Carr
Copyright: © 2019 W. W. Norton & Company

Questions arise regarding the concepts of race and ethnicity and their implications in society.

Definitions:
- Race: A social and political construction; differences in human physical characteristics used to categorize individuals.
- Ethnicity: Cultural values and norms that distinguish members of a given group from others. An ethnic group has a shared awareness of a common cultural identity.
Minority Group: Defined as a group of people who find themselves in a position of inequality within society due to distinct physical or cultural characteristics.
Dominant Group: The group that possesses more wealth, power, and prestige in society.

Key Psychological Theories:
- Prejudice: The holding of preconceived ideas about a group.
- Racism: Attribution of superiority or inferiority characteristics based on physical traits.
- Stereotype: A fixed and inflexible category attributed to certain groups.
Displacement: Transferring ideas/emotions from their true source to another object.
Scapegoats: Individuals or groups unfairly blamed for issues they did not cause.
Discrimination: Behavior that denies resources or rewards to specific groups.
Historical Roots: Emphasis on Western colonial expansion leading to ethnic conflict and the evolution of societal structures contributing to antagonism.
Models for Multiethnic Society: Acknowledgment of various integration frameworks such as assimilation, pluralism, and multiculturalism.

Institutional Racism: Patterns of discrimination embedded within social institutions.
Interpersonal Racism: Includes overt racism— direct acts of discrimination.
Color-blind Racism: A denial of racial discrimination; fails to recognize systemic inequalities.
White Privilege: Unacknowledged and unearned advantages based on being white.
Racial Microaggressions: Subtle, often unintentional, non-verbal insults impacting people of color.

Overview of immigration patterns and how they shaped ethnic relations.
Historical Perspectives: Exploration of early colonization and immigrant contributions across the 20th and 21st centuries.

Educational and Occupational Attainment: Racial and ethnic disparities in education and employment opportunities.
Statistical indicators, such as graduation rates and income levels, reflect systemic inequalities.
Health Disparities: Access to healthcare and differential health outcomes across racial/ethnic lines.
Residential Segregation: Patterns of housing based on race and ethnicity.
Political Power: Representation and influence in political structures.

Leading Theories:
- Cultural explanations: Focus on cultural traits attributed to groups.
- Economic explanations: Examine the role of economic factors in creating disparities.
- Discrimination-based explanations: Analyze how systemic discrimination contributes to inequality.

Definitional Disparities: Comparative analysis of race and ethnicity.
Ethnic Integration Models:
- Overview of assimilation, melting pot, pluralism, and multiculturalism—each model's implications on societal dynamics.
Color Blindness: Examination of its role in perpetuating systemic inequalities.
Contrasting Immigration Experiences: Analyze differing experiences of various ethnic groups—whites, African Americans, Latinos, and Asians.
Model Minorities: Critique of the term as it applies to Asian Americans and its implications.
Root Causes of Inequality: Exploration of cultural versus structural explanations for disparities affecting racial and ethnic minorities.