Do Race and Ethnic Groups Matter?

Main claim Race and ethnicity are social constructions

Chapter Ten,

March 1 2012

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The effects and consequences of such are REAL (racial divisions, stereotypes, racism, marginality and privilege) Outline Conceptualizing Race and Ethnicity Prejudice and Discrimination Focus issue: Difference and Racism Sociological Perspectives on Race and Ethnic Relations Chapter Focus Question: Whats the significance of race in Canadian society? Race is a category of people, singled out as inferior or superior, based on real (or alleged) differences (such as physical characteristics such as skin colour, hair texture, eye shape, or other subjectively selected attributes (p. 267) Ethnicity: An ethnic group isa collection of people, distinguished, by others or themselves, on basis of cultural or nationality characteristics (p. 267) Ethnicity is about shared characteristics: 1. Unique cultural traits (clothing, music, religion) 2. a sense of community 3. a feeling of ethnocentrism 4. ascribed membership from birth 5. territoriality Social Significance? Ethnicity and race form a base of hierarchical ranking - ..illustrated by white privilege (p.268) where dominant group holds power over others; there are strong links between class, ethnicity, & race Most Livable City? http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/06/17/pittsburgh-is-americas-most-livable-city-but-for-whom/ Majority Group = advantaged and has superior resources and rights in a society (p.269)

Minority Groups= (or subordinate group) because of physical or cultural characteristics; disadvantaged and subjected to unequal treatment by the dominant group and regarded as objects of collective discrimination (p. 269) Number or Power? Visible Minority: official government category of nonwhite or non-Caucasian persons (p. 269) examples: Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, and Arabs Numbers: 2006 census, about 5 million or 17% of Canadians Minority does NOT necessarily mean smallrefer to power or the lack thereof Prejudice= a negative attitude based on preconceived notions about members of selected groups (p. 270) Its etymology: Latin: prae (before) and judicium (judgment) Racial Prejudice: beliefs that certain racial groups are innately inferior to others or have a disproportionate number of negative traits (p. 270) Ethnocentrism: regarding ones own culture and group as the standard, and thus superior, whereas all other groups are seen as inferior (p. 270) Stereotypes are overgeneralizations- appearance, behaviour, or other characteristics about members of particular groups (p. 270); they act as fixed sticky labels Etymology of the term: from the Greek stereos (solid) and refers to a fixed mental impression Where from? Media, ethnic jokes, learned attitudes from parents, classmates, fellow workers, and religious associations. Effects? Negative stereotypes result in negative outcomes such as hurt, pain, harm, or anguish to the recipients

Discrimination = actions or practices of dominant group members (or their representatives) that have a harmful impact on members of a subordinate group (p. 271) E.g. refusal to hire, associate with, or become a friend of those of a subordinate group Forms: De jure: legal discrimination which is encoded in laws. Examples: The Chinese Exclusionary Act, parts of the Indian Act and De facto: informal discrimination which is entrenched in social customs and institutions Racism: Together prejudice, ethnocentrism, stereotyping, and discrimination all make-up RACISM *set of ideas that implies the superiority of one social group over another on the basis of biological or cultural characteristics, together with the power to put these beliefs into practice in a way that denies or excludes minority women and men (p. 273) Elements: prejudice, ethnocentrism, stereotyping, and discrimination Examples of types of racism from Table 10.1 (p. 273)

Overt: Removal of children from parents testing racism (2009) Polite: Study in the workplace: members of a particular group are often ignored, assigned unpleasant tasks, turned down interviews, jobs and promotions Subliminal: in the wake of 9/11 terrorist attacks, there were insinuations that Canadas weak immigration policies allowed the terrorist to enter the US Institutional: Needed a university degree for non specialized jobs, employment that requires people work on their sacred days, lack of credentials from other nations Sociological Perspectives Symbolic Interactionist Functionalist Conflict Feminist Postmodern An Alternative Perspective: Critical Race Theory Symbolic Interactionist Theme: an awareness of the importance of intergroup contact and the fact that it may either intensify or reduce racial and ethnic stereotyping and prejudice The contact hypothesis: contact between people from different groups should lead to favourable attitudes and behaviours when certain factors are present Functionalist 1/5 Problem statement: how do members of subordinate racial and ethnic groups become part of the dominant group? Two ways: Assimilation Ethnic Pluralism Functionalist 2/5 Assimilation: a process by which members of subordinate racial and ethnic groups become absorbed into the dominate culture (p. 276) Types:

Cultural assimilation: members of an ethnic group adopt dominant group traits such as language, dress, values, and religion Structural assimilation or integration: when members of the subordinate group gain acceptance Functionalist 3/5 Biological or amalgamation: Through inter-marriage. Examples: Mexico, Brazil and Hawaii. Psychological: a change in racial or ethnic self-identification on the part of an individual Ethnic Pluralism the coexistence of a variety of distinct racial and ethnic groups within one society (p.277) Functionalist 4/5 Equalitarian or accommodation: when ethnic/racial groups live together on a equal basis. Example: Switzerland In Canada, the goal of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988 Functionalist 5/5 Segregation: the spatial and social separation of categories of people by race, ethnicity, class, gender, and/or religion (p. 278) Enforced by law (de jure) or by custom (de facto) Examples: Blacks in Nova Scotia; Reserve system for Aboriginal Canadians Conflict 1/3 Theme: a focus on economic stratification and access to power informs our understanding of ethnicity and race Terms: Internal Colonialism: a situation in which members of a racial or ethnic group are conquered or colonized and forcibly placed under the economic and political control of the dominant group (p. 278-279). Example: Aboriginal peoples Conflict 2/3 Internally colonized groups are unique in three ways: 1. they have been forced to exist in a society other than their own 2. they have been kept out of the economic and political mainstream and thus find it difficult for them to compete with dominant group members 3. they have been subjected to severe attacks on their own culture which may lead to its extinction Conflict 3/3

Split-Labour-Market Theory: the division of the economy into two areas of employment: a primary sector or upper tier, composed of higher paid (usually the dominant group) workers in more secure jobs, and a secondary sector or lower tier, made up of lower-paid (often subordinate groups) workers in jobs with little security and hazardous working conditions (p. 279) Feminist 1/2 Theme: minority women are doubly disadvantaged as a result of their gender Term: Gendered racism: the interactive effect of racism and sexism in the exploitation of women of colour (p. 280) Feminist 2/2 Combined with split-labour-market theory to result in a market based on class, race, ethnicity and gender Example: who is more likely to be a nurse or a custodian in a Canadian hospital? Postmodern 1/3 Focus: That ethnic and racial identities are largely the effect of personal choice (agency) and subjective definition these identities are socially constructed and given meaning in our fragmented society Postmodern 2/3 Special Terms: Discourse: refers to the different ways of structuring knowledge and social practice (p. 280) Deconstructing: to analyze the assumptions and meanings embedded in scientific works (p.280) Racist Discourse (Racialized discourse) : an identifiable repertoire of words, images, and practices through which racial power is directed against ethnic and racial minority groups (p.280 ) Postmodern 3/3 Special Terms: Discourse of denial: suggests that racism does not exist in our nation (p. 281) Discourse of colour-blindness: that Caucasians do not recognize skin colour of racial minorities (p. 281) Critique: Very difficult to use in understanding racial and ethnic relationships because the concepts are so abstract An Alternative Perspective: Critical Race Theory 1/3 Origins: From the civil rights movement from such persons as Martin Luther King Jr., W. Du Bois, Malcolm X, and Cesar Chavez Key premises:

Racism is so much part of North America that it appears natural and ordinary Affirmative action helps surface concerns but does not effect ordinary life Critical Race Theory 2/3 Key premises: The best way to learn about racism is to listen to those who have been affected by it Special term: Interest convergence: white elites tolerate or encourage racial advances if the dominate-group members believe that their own self-interest is increased (p.281) Critical Race Theory 3/3 Civil rights laws have typically benefited white North Americans as much as people of colour draws us to the fact that things are not always as they seem Ethnic Groups In Canada Canada is a nation that has become increasingly multi-ethnic Types: Aboriginal Quebecois Multicultural Minorities Aboriginals Theory of origins: Migration from Asia about 40,000 years ago Defined: the original or indigenous occupants of Canada Various terms: Native or First Nations or Aboriginal refers to about 55 sovereign peoples Subtypes: Status Indian: those with legal rights under the Indian Act Non-status Indian: those without legal status Aboriginals Theories of why there was such a drastic depopulation? Genocide

Forced Migration Forced Assimilation Aboriginals Genocide Many were actually massacred or died from European diseases Forced Migration Infamous Trail of Tears: in 1832, the Cherokee Nation were forced to leave Southeastern United States to Oklahoma Forced migration of prairie peoples into reserves to make room for European settlers The Indian Act of 1876 gave control of almost every aspect of Indian life by the Canadian Federal State Aboriginals Forced Assimilation: The ideology that Aboriginal peoples were savages or uncivilized and that they would best succeed if they became like Europeans Example: the Residential Schools which were a joint project of the Canadian Government and various Christian Churches Aboriginals Aboriginal Peoples Today: Total: 1,000,000 North American Indian (Status and Non-Status): 698,025 Mtis: 389,785 Inuit: 50, 485 Together: about 4% of population of Canada Aboriginals Aboriginal Peoples Today: Characteristics: Most disadvantaged of all Canadians in terms of income, employment, housing, nutrition, and health Life chances are less (ten years less than others)

Highest infant mortality rate and diseases Limited educational opportunities Aboriginals Aboriginal Peoples Today: Hope for the future: National organizations emerging including womens groups Claiming lands Sovereignty movements: Example: Nunavut. Read about other ethnic groups: Quebecois and French Canadians Multicultural Minorities Chinese Canadians Japanese Canadians South Asian Canadians Jewish Canadians Institutional and Systemic Change: from discrimination (1869)wherein undesirables (like criminals and diseased) where excluded and strict limitations on Japanese, Chinese, and East Asians A preferred category called a racial pecking order resulted in selecting potential immigrants based on race and the capacity for assimilation White ethnics were preferred (those from other European countries other than Great Britain) Opened up to Chinese, Japanese, South Asians and Jews

Chinese Canadians Beginning in 1850s, Chinese men (men only as wives and children were not allowed toe come) came to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway Work was hard and fatal on occasion Nearly 17,000 men came

Were subjected to prejudice and discrimination and called coolies, heathens, and Chinks Chinese Canadians In 1888, in what was termed institutional discrimination, a $50.00 head tax was imposed on all Chinese males In 1903 the tax was raised to $500.00 Law was upheld until 1945 After the 1960s, many came as the second and largest wave from Hong Kong and Taiwan Researchers in the US found that they do very well economically and educationally. Japanese Canadians Much the same prejudice and discrimination as did the Chinese During WW II, 23,000 Japanese were placed in interment camps in remote areas of BC, Alberta and Manitoba Four decades after, the Canadian government issued an apology and gave $20,000 to each person placed in a camp. South Asian Canadians A law of 1907 specified South Asian as only able to immigrate if they came directly from India No ships came directly to Canada from there so few did come Those who came experienced hostile employers and distrustful citizens Jewish Canadians In 1942, Jews escaping the Nazis were refused entry into Canada In the 1930s, Canada admitted the least number compared to other Western nations Those who did come faced prejudice and discrimination Today, they have the highest level of education and more likely to be professionals than other Canadians Immigration Trends from Post WW II to the Present The point system was introduced in1967 that evaluates new immigrants without ethnic, racial, or religious criteria Patterns of Immigration: Prior to 1960, the majority of Canadians were from the United States or Europe Today, about 2/3rds of racial minorities come come from Asia Immigration Trends from Post WW II to the Present

In 2002, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was implemented This act recognizes three classes of immigrants: Economic Family class Refugee A more open policy that includes language skills, employment experience, and adaptability Racial and Ethnic Relations in the Future Diversity in Canada Canada will become more and more ethnically and racially diverse Employment are alleviating some of the effects of past discrimination Widespread movements against racism The challenge is to be able to accommodate reasonable differences as well reducing prejudice and discrimination Racial and Ethnic Relations in the Future People born outside of Canada make up 20% of Canadians Most live in citiesespecially Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver See concentration of visible minorities with graph Visible Minorities in Toronto and Vancouver (from p 289)