the complexity of race, ethnicity and nationality

The Complexity of Race, Ethnicity and Nationality

By Today’s End You Should Know:

What race is and its strengths and limitations What ethnicity is and its strengths and

limitations What nationality is and its strengths and

limitations Which category is best when attempting to

identify/describe a person and why.

The Real WorldCopyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

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Defining Race and Ethnicity

Race is a socially defined category, based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people; typically based on physical appearance. i.e. skin & eye color, hair texture, etc.

Ethnicity is a socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality, history, or other cultural factors.

Nationality is belonging to a particular nation by origin, birth, or naturalization.


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Why Race and Ethnicity Aren’t Scientific

Race and ethnicity are considered social constructions because they are not rooted in biological differences, they change over time, and they never have firm boundaries.


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The Difference between Race and Ethnicity The difference between race and ethnicity is

important because ETHNICITY can be displayed or hidden, depending on individual preferences.

RACIAL identities are always on display. Although RACE is always displayed it is not

always what it seems.

What Race shows/doesn’t show… Race is GREAT at showing what a person

looks like. Race is not so great in the following areas:

Highlighting a person’s language. Highlighting what a person believes.

Religion & personal beliefs cannot be determined by appearance

Highlighting where a person is from. Nationality cannot be determined by appearance.


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What Nationality Shows/Doesn’t Show…

Nationality is GREAT for identifying a person’s country of origin but it too can be problematic in the following areas: People born in a country may choose to identify

or find more connection within another ethnic group.

There are many ethnic groups within a given country.

People move to different countries. The Real World

Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.7

Different ways of Identifying Ethnicity

Categories that are used to identify ethnicity: Country of Birth Nationality Language spoken at home Parents country of birth / respondents country of birth Skin Colour National / Geographical Origin Religion Customs and Traditions


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What is Keanu Reeves? Keanu Charles Reeves was born

on September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon. His father was an Asian American of Chinese and Hawaiian descent and his mother was born in England. There was a move to Australia for a year where Keanu's first sister Kim was born in 1966. Shortly afterward the family headed to New York City. After a few years in New York the family relocated to Canada in 1971 where Keanu spent most of his formative years.


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Which is Arab?


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Which is Black?


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Which is Asian?


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Which is American?


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What Is a Minority? A minority group is made up of members of a

social group that is systematically denied the same access to power and resources available to the dominant groups of a society, but who are not necessarily fewer in number than the dominant group.


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What Is a Minority? (cont’d) Unequal and unfair treatment typically

generates a strong sense of common identity and solidarity among members of minority groups.


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Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination Racism refers to a set of beliefs about the

superiority of one racial or ethnic group, is used to justify inequality, and is often rooted in the assumption that differences between groups are genetic.


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Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination (cont’d) Prejudice is an idea about the characteristics

of a group that is applied to all members of that group and is unlikely to change regardless of the evidence against it.

Discrimination is usually motivated by prejudice and refers to the unequal treatment of individuals because of their social group.


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Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination (cont’d) Individual discrimination is discrimination

carried out by one person against another. Institutional discrimination is discrimination

carried out systematically by social institutions (political, economic, educational, and others) that affect all members of a group who come into contact with it.


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Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Race in America Functionalist theorists focus on the ways that

race creates social ties and strengthens group bonds, though they also acknowledge that such ties can lead to violence and social conflict.


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Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Race in America (cont’d) Conflict theory focuses on the struggle for

power and control over scarce resources. Early conflict theorists tried to explain race as a result of economic oppression.


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Race as an Interactional Accomplishment Symbolic Interactionists focus on the ways

that race, class, and gender intersect to produce an individual’s identity. They see race as an aspect of identity established through interaction. There are several different ways that we project and receive our racial and ethnic identities.


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Race as an Interactional Accomplishment (Cont’d) Racial passing, or living as if one is a

member of a different racial category, has a long history in the United States.


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Race as an Interactional Accomplishment (Cont’d) The way that we are perceived in the physical

world, our embodied identity, historically has been used as a basis for discrimination. This issue becomes particularly interesting today as we examine online communication, where our physical traits often remain hidden from those with whom we interact.


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Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances Race and ethnicity influence all aspects of our

lives, including health, education, work, family, and interactions with the criminal justice system.


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Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d) Health care is an area in which we find

widespread disparity between racial and ethnic groups. Disparities in access to health care may help explain the life expectancy rates for men and women of different races.


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Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d) In U.S. education, the highest high school

dropout rates are associated with those from economically disadvantaged and non-English-speaking backgrounds.


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Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d) Inequality can also be seen in the workplace

and in income distribution. People of color, who are less likely to achieve high levels of education, are more likely to have lower-paying jobs.


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Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d) In 2004, the median income for whites was

$34,164, for Asian Americans $36,816, for African Americans $27,300, and for Hispanics $23,712.


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Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d) Finally, non-whites are more likely to interact

with law enforcement. African Americans and Hispanics are much more likely to go to prison than whites. African Americans are also far more likely to be murdered than whites. Also, more than two-thirds of racially motivated hate crimes in 2003 targeted blacks.


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Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation Interactions between dominant and

subordinate groups can take many different forms. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a racial, ethnic, national, or cultural group. The treatment of Native Americans is an example of population transfer, the forcible removal of a group of people from the territory they have occupied.


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Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation (cont’d) Internal colonialism is the economic and

political domination and subjugation of the minority group by the controlling group within a nation.

Segregation is the formal and legal separation of groups by race or ethnicity.


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Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation (cont’d) Assimilation is a pattern of relations between

ethnic or racial groups in which the minority group is absorbed into the mainstream or dominant group, making society more homogeneous. Racial assimilation is the process by which racial minority groups are absorbed into the dominant group through intermarriage.


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Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation (cont’d) Cultural assimilation is the process by which

racial or ethnic groups are absorbed into the dominant group by adopting the dominant group’s culture. Finally, pluralism (or multiculturalism) is a pattern of inter-group relations that encourage racial and ethnic variation within a society.


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Concept Quiz:1. A socially defined category based on common

language, religion, nationality, history, or another cultural factor is called:

a. ethnicity.

b. symbolic ethnicity.

c. symbolic race.

d. race.


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Concept Quiz:2. The unequal treatment of individuals because of

their social group is called:

a. racism.

b. discrimination.

c. prejudice.

d. institutional racism.


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Concept Quiz: 3. Light-skinned African Americans who attempt to

live as white in order to avoid the consequences of being black in a racist society are practicing:

a. racial passing.

b. social fraud.

c. ethnic cleansing.

d. symbolic racism.


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Concept Quiz: 4. In the early nineteenth century, the U.S. government

forced Native Americans to move onto reservations. This is an example of:

a. population transfer.

b. assimilation.

c. pluralism.

d. genocide.


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Concept Quiz: 5. The pattern of intergroup relations that encourages

racial and ethnic variation within a society is called:

a. pluralism.

b. segregation.

c. population transfer.

d. assimilation.

the complexity of race, ethnicity and nationality

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