RACE AND ETHNICITY
Defining race and ethnicity
Race- socially defined category, based on real or
perceived biological differences between groups of people
Genetically the biological differences between people are
extremely small
Biologically there is one human race- we are more similar than we
are differences
Social differences have real consequences
o Ethnicity- socially defined category based on common language, religion,
nationality, history, or another cultural factor
o Race highlights biology
o Ethnicity emphasizes culture
Historically Jews have been considered a race
Both a religion and an ethnicity
How many races are there?
o There's no real answer!
o At different time different scientists are trying to categorize race but there
is no biological basis
Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity
o Sociologists see race and ethnicity as social constructions because they are
not rooted in biological differences
Change over time
Never have firm boundaries
o "If people define situation as real, they are real in their consequences."
-Thomas Theorem
Ex. If you yell fire in a crowded room, but there is no fire, but
everyone runs out and someone gets trampled, the
consequences are real
Ex. Boarder between United States and Mexico- boarders are
socially constructed but the consequences of being born on
either side are big
Other Terms
o Minority group- category of people that society sets apart and
subordinates
Not always a statistical minority
o Dominant group- a group with more social power than subordinate groups
o Model minority- "stereotype applied to a minority group" viewed as
successful by dominant group
Exemplar for other groups
Ethnic enclaves- rich Cubans moved to U.S. and were given
money and helped set up because they had refugee status
Prejudice and Discrimination
o Prejudice- generalization about an entire category of people
o Discrimination- an act of treating various categories of people unequally
, o Individual discrimination- discrimination carried out by one person against
another
o Institutionalized discrimination- discrimination carried out systematically
by social institutions
Political, economic, educational, and other
Affect all members of a group who came into contact with it
Law or customs- doesn't have to be laws
Social-Psychological Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination
o Scapegoat Theory (Frustration-Aggression Theory)- prejudice springs
from frustration among people who are themselves disadvantaged
A scapegoat- a person with little power whom people unfairly
blame for their own troubles
Biblical origin- if a murder happens outside a town
and you don't know who did it, they would find a
goat and they would put all their sins into it and
they would put it into the wilderness to get rid of
their sins
Goat had nothing to do with the murder but it was
punished
Take out their aggression on some target that can be reached
Outlet for expressing frustrating- displaced because the actual
reason why they aren't doing well is out of their reach
Ex. In the 1980s- economy was changing and manufacturing
jobs were being outsourced and whole sectors of people and
whole towns were feeling the affects
Vincent Shin- walking home in Detroit in the dark-
confronted by two guys who had been fired from
their factory job that day
Said "you're the reason why you're losing our jobs"
and they beat him almost to death
Pushed for modern Asian Rights
movement in U.S.
Ironic part of this- he was not Japanese but was
targeted because he was believed to be
He was not the source of them losing their jobs but
he was a target in reach
Very convenient to political leaders
People want a target when they are frustrated when
times are bad
Knowing when it's a scapegoat is if all the problems seem to go
to them- can't be the source of everything bad
Functionalist Theories
o Focus on the ways that race creates social ties an strengthens group bonds,
though they also acknowledge that such ties can lead to violence and
social conflict
o Culture Theory- extreme prejudice may be embedded in culture
Defining race and ethnicity
Race- socially defined category, based on real or
perceived biological differences between groups of people
Genetically the biological differences between people are
extremely small
Biologically there is one human race- we are more similar than we
are differences
Social differences have real consequences
o Ethnicity- socially defined category based on common language, religion,
nationality, history, or another cultural factor
o Race highlights biology
o Ethnicity emphasizes culture
Historically Jews have been considered a race
Both a religion and an ethnicity
How many races are there?
o There's no real answer!
o At different time different scientists are trying to categorize race but there
is no biological basis
Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity
o Sociologists see race and ethnicity as social constructions because they are
not rooted in biological differences
Change over time
Never have firm boundaries
o "If people define situation as real, they are real in their consequences."
-Thomas Theorem
Ex. If you yell fire in a crowded room, but there is no fire, but
everyone runs out and someone gets trampled, the
consequences are real
Ex. Boarder between United States and Mexico- boarders are
socially constructed but the consequences of being born on
either side are big
Other Terms
o Minority group- category of people that society sets apart and
subordinates
Not always a statistical minority
o Dominant group- a group with more social power than subordinate groups
o Model minority- "stereotype applied to a minority group" viewed as
successful by dominant group
Exemplar for other groups
Ethnic enclaves- rich Cubans moved to U.S. and were given
money and helped set up because they had refugee status
Prejudice and Discrimination
o Prejudice- generalization about an entire category of people
o Discrimination- an act of treating various categories of people unequally
, o Individual discrimination- discrimination carried out by one person against
another
o Institutionalized discrimination- discrimination carried out systematically
by social institutions
Political, economic, educational, and other
Affect all members of a group who came into contact with it
Law or customs- doesn't have to be laws
Social-Psychological Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination
o Scapegoat Theory (Frustration-Aggression Theory)- prejudice springs
from frustration among people who are themselves disadvantaged
A scapegoat- a person with little power whom people unfairly
blame for their own troubles
Biblical origin- if a murder happens outside a town
and you don't know who did it, they would find a
goat and they would put all their sins into it and
they would put it into the wilderness to get rid of
their sins
Goat had nothing to do with the murder but it was
punished
Take out their aggression on some target that can be reached
Outlet for expressing frustrating- displaced because the actual
reason why they aren't doing well is out of their reach
Ex. In the 1980s- economy was changing and manufacturing
jobs were being outsourced and whole sectors of people and
whole towns were feeling the affects
Vincent Shin- walking home in Detroit in the dark-
confronted by two guys who had been fired from
their factory job that day
Said "you're the reason why you're losing our jobs"
and they beat him almost to death
Pushed for modern Asian Rights
movement in U.S.
Ironic part of this- he was not Japanese but was
targeted because he was believed to be
He was not the source of them losing their jobs but
he was a target in reach
Very convenient to political leaders
People want a target when they are frustrated when
times are bad
Knowing when it's a scapegoat is if all the problems seem to go
to them- can't be the source of everything bad
Functionalist Theories
o Focus on the ways that race creates social ties an strengthens group bonds,
though they also acknowledge that such ties can lead to violence and
social conflict
o Culture Theory- extreme prejudice may be embedded in culture
