SOC 2010 1st Edition Exam 3 Study Guide Lectures 14 26 Lecture 14 March 9th RACE THE POWER OF AN ILLUSION RACE ETHNICITY Race social category based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people Ethnicity social category based on common language religion nationality history Minority Group social category whose members suffer from unequal treatment 3 Things Everyone Should Know About Race 1 Biological myth 2 Skin Color is only Skin Deep 3 Definition varies across time and place 1 Biological Myth Race has no genetic basis Humans are 99 9 genetically identical fruitfly penguin Most variation is within not between races Geography is a better way to explain difference 85 of variation occurs within geographically distinct groups 15 occurs between them 2 Skin Color is only Skin Deep Differences are shallow hair texture skin color they mean nothing Melanin determines skin color protects skin from ultra violet rays sunburn and skin cancer Need sun to absorb vitamin D where sun is intense where it isn t Genes for skin color have nothing to do with genes for musical talent forms of intelligence or athletic ability non concordant We share speech abstract thinking physical prowess 3 Definitions Vary Across Place and Time Based on physical traits society choses to value and devalue Race changes its always in a state of flux Before WW2 Jews not white In US Hypo descent one drop rule Brazil a variety of intermediate races British politics black refers to all nonwhites Jamaican student N American Slavery Predates Race 1619 race was not a distinct category religion was more salient protestant catholic Colonization of the new world brings with it intense need for labor and land US founded on the principle that all men are created equal race helped explain why some people could be denied rights and freedoms Racialize and dehumanize Ultimate defense of slavery is that the negro is inferior whites are superior Once slavery is over rationalization continues Racial ideas are used to justify slavery Jim crow mass incarceration RACE IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION REIFICATION Sociology teaches us that we create social reality through reification r e ifi kay shun or the communal process by which we make things real Some classic examples of things that we reify boundaries gendered behavior race Example a boundary between residential properties does not exist in the real world social meaning private action public policy social construction Social meaning Racismideology set of beliefs about the superiority of one racial or ethnic group to another Private Action Prejudice attitude about a group of people and is founded on generalizations and stereotypes Discrimination action or behavior that results in the unequal treatment of individuals because of their membership in a certain social group Public Policy Racial Formation A process by which social political and economic forces determine racial categories and they in turn shape racial meanings Lecture 16 March 11 DOES RACE MATTER Slavery 1865 Jim Crow Segregation 1954 Civil Rights Acts 1964 1965 1968 Socially unacceptable to say denigrating things 80 whites deny racial discrimination exists Believe that reverse discrimination is a problem Majority of blacks say it s a problem US Census Data Occupations Government Leaders Criminal Justice system Health Family Education Income Wealth PRIVILEGE Advantage or benefit given to some people and not others Sociologist created the Invisible Backpack exercise to create awareness of privilege What is it what it does what it means Filled with unearned assets that you can count on cashing in each day These assets are unacknowledged or unrecognized LIST OF PRIVILEGES 1 your father went to college before you started 2 your father finished college before you started 3 your mother went to college before you started 4 your mother finished college before you started 5 you have any relative who is an attorney physician or professor 6 your family was the same or higher class than your high school teachers 7 you had a computer at home when you were growing up 8 you had more than 50 books at home when you were growing up 9 you had more than 500 books at home when you were growing up 10 you were read children s books by a parent when you were growing up 11 You had lessons of any kind as a child or teen 12 you had more than two kinds of lessons as a child or teen 13 the people in the media who dress and talk like you are portrayed positively 14 you had a credit card with your name on it before college 15 you had or will have less than 5000 in student loans when you graduate 16 you had or will have no student loans when you graduate 17 you went to a private high school 18 you went to summer camp 19 you had a private tutor 20 US students only you have been to Europe more than once as a child or teen 21 International question you have been to the US more than once a as a child or teen 22 your family vacations involved staying at hotels rather than at campgrounds or relatives homes 23 all of your clothing has been new 24 your parents gave you a car that was not a hand me down from them 25 there was original art in your house as a child or teen 26 you had a phone in your room 27 your parent owned their own house or apartment when you were a child or teen 28 you had your own room as a child or teen 29 you participated in an SAT ACT prep course 30 you had a cell phone in high school 31 you had your own TV as a child or teen 32 you opened a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college 33 you have ever flown anywhere on a commercial airline 34 you ever went on a cruse with your family 35 your parents took you to museums and art galleries as a child or teen 36 you were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family White Supremacy Belief that white people are superior to those of other races especially blacks and should therefore should dominate society How is white supremacy different from white privilege EX Mike Brown case A white boy can expect to jay walk and even mouth off to the police and NOT get shot dead for it that s white privilege A police officer believes a black boy is dangerous he also sees him as less human and so the officer is more likely to shoot and kill him that is white supremacy Color blindness We are now a colorblind society where race no longer shapes life chances Colorblind Perspective institutional racism and discrimination have been replaced by equal opportunity people are judged by their