Race Ethnicity Final Study Guide Part I What does race mean in modern America o race gene does not exist and therefore race doesn t exist AAA o Many characteristics make up our race Thinking about race o Many ancient societies didn t divide people according to physical characteristics Instead by class religion or blood line o Race has not genetic basis o Most genetic variance is within groups o Race is not biological racism is real Modern Definitions of Ethnicity o Self chosen self inscribed o Cist how people view me and how project myself o Religion culture food traditions language o Hobbies music dance clothing What is racism o Standard definition the belief that one race is superior to others o Alternative definition benefitting from your race where others are in a disadvantage Implies we are racist if we aren t actively fighting against it o Subtle racisms covert everyday experiences of racism Work in retail and told to keep an eye on certain people Stereotype that Asians are better at math o Horizontal racism racism from one minority group to another minority group one thinking they are superior over the other minority Black people don t like Haitians hygiene Reading films o Films are statements about contemporary issues they are a product of people interests and the climate of which they re made o Often use history to critique present issues o Show how people remember history o Use stereotypes Native American Stereotypes English Contact Binary stereotypes o Connection to nature of the earth Used to sell the natural products Land o lakes butter 1970s PSA commercial on pollution o Savage brutal violent aggressive Sports teams and logos Two origin stories o Jamestown VA 1607 Capt John Smith is saved by Pocahontas o Plymouth 1620 First Thanksgiving in 1621 Squanto taught pilgrims to survive on land spoke English use fish as fertilizer for corn What do these origin stories have in common o English colonists come to colonies and don t know how to survive communicate or farm o Then one Native American saves the day o Integral to our survival of the colonies and the founding of the country o 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh settled what he called VA for Queen Elisabeth o Americans overcome struggle Arrival of the English Timeline mystery of Roanoke o 1607 Jamestown VA was settled o 1620 Plymouth was settled o 1619 1622 3 500 English settlers migrated English motivation for migration Overcrowding lack of raw materials wanted wealth o Economics o Religion o Adventure Fleeing religious prosecution Sent wild animals back thrill seekers o Competition with Spanish Mostly motivated by Monarchs Spain was ahead of the game with gold and spices Queen Elisabeth paid people to settle America Civilized and Savage o Relationship between English and other people was shaped by the idea of who was civilized and who was savage o Once labeled Savage the Eng felt justification in any treatment to Native Americans and other Europeans Before Indians English and Irish o Queen Elisabeth I sent Brits over to colonize Ireland o Two tiered society developed o Brits labeled Irish as savage The Irish Savage o Catholicism Pagan Idolizers o Eng felt the land wasn t cultivated properly because Irish were lazy and didn t deserve the land o This justified harsh treatment and dispositions of Irish land Indian Savage o Eng thought American land was uncultivated o Religion weren t Christians o savage brutes o Hunting was seen as primitive just domesticate animals o Indian men as lazy Followed herds for months leaving family behind so women took over In end only poor women worked outside Saw this as inversion of gender roles o doesn t have anything to do with violence back then more about pre modern The brits saw Irish and Native Americans as pre modern or under developed less evolved o This factors into why they felt dominant over other races o 3rd world countries were named that for not being a per of the Cold war 2nd world countries were pons in the war o Not in terms of race Eng especially in VA areas saw their treatment of Irish and Natives more so in terms of civilized or savage and less so in terms of one race over another Competition o Over land supplies and resources o Fighting with those that allied with either the French or Spanish o Largely the problem was resolved for the New Englanders Disease ravaged Natives Colonists argued that it was God s Providence Tribes would change Natives allied with other tribes or Europeans Religious Justification o Ministers like Cotton Mather justified Eng violence toward Indians as righteous against the devil o The Doctrine of Special Providence Brits saw Indians dying or fleeing as God rewarding them Made them feel like they were doing worshipping right because they ended up getting the land they wanted o Cotton Mather the Devil decoyed those miserable savages to New England in hopes that the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ would never come here to destroy or disturb His absolute empire over them He thought the devil tricked Indians and hoped the Gospel would never run the devil s empire To be Indianized o Proximity to wilderness o Saw vigilance against Indians as vigilance against sin and vice o To say someone was Indianized could mean they were serving the devil o To New England Puritans Indians personified sexuality sin laziness lack of self control o Indianized counted as slander one could sue Not everyone felt this way though o Some colonists were captured during conflicts and wrote about their stories Captivity narratives Many were positive documented Indians as hospitable and kind The History of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs Mary Rowlandson 1682 Restoration she had to be renewed back into her community Example of a conflicting idea of being Indianized Implies ethnicity can be changed if you become Indianized o I did not see one man woman or child die from hunger Saying God cares for them they aren t the devil o Could also argue Indians could be de Indianized o Colonists worried their skin or hair color would change if they ate or did anything Indians do Identity Clothing Identity o Displays status fashion style o How you wear it accessories hair styles make up o Convenient and immediate way to alter identity or display ethnicity class or o Passing when someone wants to pass as another ethnicity gender or class that gender they aren t Woman dresses as a man o Clothing can display or alter who we are o the past is a foreign country o People were worried their identity
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