POSC 421 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide 1 Ethno racial futuresindividual assimilation racial identities become a thing of the past in American society increasingly all Americans would become free to choose whether or not to identify as members of an ethnic or pan ethnic group but in politics and in public policy racial and ethnic identities will play no significant role political pluralism ethno racial identities continuing to play a role in political organization and mobilization so that many Americans see these identities as linked in important ways to their political aims and suspicions Pluralism assumes a relatively even playing field in political and social life so that ethno racial groups are free to associate to form alliances and to influence the outcome of elections governmental appointments and public policy decisions through various forms of political persuasion and pressure This may include the formation of new political identity groups but may also lead to a substantial increase in the size and political clout of organizations that have long sought to represent the interests of ethno racial minority groups In the previous two these are a high degree of ethno racial equality in the United States and a high degree of ethno racial democracy as well The latter two scenarios indicate either biracial or multiracial hierarchy and continuing obstructions to ethno racial democratization in the United States biracial hierarchy over a relatively brief period of time immigrant newcomers will be successfully assimilated politically as individuals and or will be represented increasingly successful and powerful pluralist political organizations Blacks will remain highly disadvantaged The White Black biracial hierarchy will still exist Immigrants from Asian and Latin America will be integrated successfully in American society similar to that of most eastern and southern European immigrants multiracial hierarchy the multiracial pattern of racial hierarchy prevalent since at least the midnineteenth century in the American West and Southwest will be nationalized by contemporary immigration The racial hierarchy will become more complex and multifaceted but the systematic ethno racial inequality will continue to exist in the country s economy society and These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute politics for the foreseeable future It systematically supports various forms of political social and economic advantage for a steadily decreasing White and European origin population need increased political participation increased political representation thus leading to effective influence over governmental decisions through memberships in governing coalitions and lastly the adoption of public policies favored by minority group members and thought to advance toward greater ethno racial equality in the country Claim of continuous evidence of racial hierarchy p 198 in Schmidt Read Chapter 7 Are the policies in place to create pluralistic environments where there aren t hierarchies Schmidt makes it very clear that the hierarchy is going to persist they are arguing for the continuous evidence of a racial hierarchy Should we look forward to more of the same or should we see something different If we changed the composition of the man would it be better 2 Compare the concepts of descriptive and substantive political representation Why are they different and how are they similar Make an argument for which form of representation is best suited for political representation the United States House of Representatives Descriptive political representation is the assumption that in general minority elected officials are more likely to strongly advocate for the interests of the ethno racial communities than are White officials This form of representation is crucial as people of color are left out of politics or even represented by surrogates from outside the excluded ethno racial group Substantive representation is used to vote for candidates that share common views based on their work previously This form of representation is important because it keeps the government elections based primarily on the candidate s platform rather than the color of their skin For example Obama v McCain Different what a person does vs who you are matters One is based on skin color while the other one is based on platform After the Voting Rights Act of 1954 the African Americans elected into the different levels of government increased by fivefold Yet African Americans still are underrepresented in the House of Representatives only having 43 African Americans in the House Latinos have 23 representatives in the House of Republicans Most times these minority representatives are elected from urban rather than rural environments The Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in government seems inflated because of Hawaii as Asian Americans are the majority minority in that state Latinos and African Americans are more likely to hold office s at the county and municipal levels and on school boards than at the national level Ethnic and racial groups have typically aspired to see one of their own heading a municipal government Latino votes have been proved to be diluted in the past Thornburg v Gingles Asian American population is composed of very different ethnic groups that do not have much in common Substantive political representation Congressman Cohen and the Christian community and the Black caucus Make an argument for whether descriptive or substantive political representation is best suited for political representation in the House of Representatives Base elections on the color of one s skin or the platform they are running for Often times though one may share common heritage or features as the voters they may not come from the same financial background and run on a different platform It is not always clear what kinds of political and social distinctions to take under consideration such as race gender religion class or even age Pitting the term substantive representation against descriptive representation is misleading because it implies they are at odds with each other and also that there is nothing substantive about descriptive representation Substantive representation blurs another important distinction over what it is we expect a representative to do 3 What does it mean to be assimilated in the United States