Race and Ethnicity Concepts Quiz

Race and Ethnicity

• Between 1989 and1992, there were 80 armed conflicts, but only 3 were between countries; the rest were internal conflicts.
• Racial and ethnic tensions often led to violent confrontations and state-sponsored massacres.
• Examples of these conflicts include conflicts between Arabs and Jews, Black and White conflicts, the Turkish state and the Kurdish PKK, conflicts in Sudan, Sri Lanka, and Rwanda, and conflicts in India and Iraq regarding Hindu nationalists and Muslims.
• In 1978, 100 Alevi people were killed in Maraş (Turkey). In 1988, Halabja (Iraq) was attacked against the Kurds. In 1982, Hama (Syria) was attacked against Muslims.
• The 2002 Ahmedabad massacres (Gujarat, India) involved Hindu nationalists massacring thousands of Muslims.

Racism in USA

• Historical images of segregation policies and practices in the US are included (e.g., signs indicating "Colored Serviced in Rear," segregated drinking fountains, lynchings).
• The Ku Klux Klan is mentioned

Fair and Lovely Cream

• An image of a woman with different shades of skin tone appearing next to each other with an arrow showing the different tones. This signifies a product for skin lightening.

Racial, Ethnic, and Minority Groups

• Race is a socially constructed concept, not a biological one and has evolved through different periods/eras.
• Race and ethnicity are often used interchangeably but have different meanings.
• The concept of race came into use in the 18th and mid-19th centuries (e.g., Gobineau's "Essay on the inequality of the human races").

Races... Colors?

• Image shows a collection of people who are of different skin colors

Race

• Race is viewed as a category of people who share biologically transmitted traits, which are deemed socially significant. These traits include skin color, facial features, hair texture, and body shape.
• Intermarriage and migration throughout history have resulted in racial mixing.
• Race is a misleading concept as no society is composed of biologically pure individuals and is often politically dangerous for fueling racism.
• The process of making distinctions or assigning a social status to an individual based on their presumed race is called racialization. This process often leads to a social hierarchy with some racial groups being viewed as better or more intelligent than others.

Ethnicity and Diaspora

• Ethnicity refers to a shared cultural and historical heritage. Common ancestors, language, or religion create distinctive social identities.
• Race and ethnicity can overlap, but ethnicity is more variable than race, with many people belonging to multiple ethnic backgrounds.

Diaspora

• Diaspora refers to the dispersal of a population from a homeland to other areas.

Racial or Ethnic Minority

• Racial or ethnic minorities are categorized by their physical or cultural traits.
• They are typically socially disadvantaged groups compared to the dominant majority group.

Minority

• Two major characteristics of a minority group are a distinctive identity and subordination (e.g., lower income, lower occupational prestige, and limited schooling)
• Other factors, such as race, ethnicity, gender, also interact and reinforce social stratification.

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

• Prejudice involves beliefs, attitudes, and feelings about a group of individuals based on race or ethnicity.
• Stereotyping is a negative or positive generalization about an entire group of people.
• Prejudice/ stereotyping are often applied without considering facts and little regard to the actual individual.
• Discrimination involves acting disproportionately on an attitude, which can be positive (e.g., favoring) or negative (e.g., disadvantaging a group).
• Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination often occur together.

Prejudice and Racism

• Prejudice is not necessarily linked to race but racism is a stronger variety of prejudice as it's used to justify the belief that racial categories are innately superior or inferior relative to one another.
• Racism is institutionalised through social structures (e.g. police).
• Colorism involves beliefs about the superiority or inferiority of one skin tone to another.

Stereotypes

• Stereotypes are created by combining prejudices to form a prejudicial, exaggerated description that is applied to every member in a particular group.
• Stereotypes are deeply rooted in society's culture
• Emotions, such as love/loyalty (in-group) and hate/fear (out-group), come into play.
• They are hard to change, even when contradictory evidence is available, and can distort reality. 

Discrimination

• Discrimination involves unequal treatment of different groups in behaviors.
• Discrimination can be either positive (e.g., preferential treatment) or negative (e.g. obstacles).
• Discrimination and prejudices commonly occur together

Institutional Discrimination

• Discrimination on an institutional level exists in schools, hospitals, police, military, workplaces, and government for various groups.
• Discrimination of minority groups is historically justified in certain societies.
• Practices like separate but equal are examples of how institutional discrimination justified mistreatment.

Ordinary/Banal Racism

• Ordinary racism involves subtle, everyday acts, and may be more insidious than specific racist acts.
• Racial steering and racial composition of communities and neighbourhoods.

Irrationalities

• Examples of messages relating to social and political prejudices

Intergroup Relationships

• Models of intergroup relationships depict a continuum from tolerance to intolerance. Pluralism is one such model: a "salad bowl" where cultures co-exist while retaining their distinct identities.
• Assimilation occurs when minorities adopt dominant cultural patterns, representing a "melting pot."
• Other models include amalgamation. segregation, and genocide.

Genocide

• Genocide is the systematic annihilation of one group of people by another.
• Examples of this include Nazi Germany’s attempts to annihilate Jews and other groups, the mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians, and various historical conflicts.

European Colonization of North America

• Native American populations significantly declined due to European colonization.
• Settlers often displaced Native Americans forcibly, resulting in thousands of deaths.

Race and Ethnicity in Turkey

• The question of who are the "natives" in Turkey is an area of historical and sociological debate.
• Various ethnic groups have migrated or been incorporated into Turkey during its history, creating a diverse population.
•  A history of intergroup relations, including population exchange, ethnic cleansing, massacres, and religious conversion has shaped the cultural landscape.

Copy-Paste Racism

• Images of propaganda used to promote racist ideologies. 

6–7 September 1955

• Images and date relevant to violence against ethnic groups.

Hrant Dink

• Details regarding the killing of an Armenian by a young boy for expressing their view towards the Armenians.

Multiple Identities

• People have mixed or hyphenated identities from varying cultural traditions/backgrounds as part of their cultural identities.

The Basis of “What to Do...”

• A statement claiming that racism is a learned behavior, not inherent.

Theories of Race and Ethnicity

• Functionalism: racial inequalities serve a crucial function in society.
• Conflict Theory: conflicts arise when the dominant group perceives threats from minorities.
• Interactionist Theory: prejudice is shaped by interactions between individuals and groups in daily life. 

Authoritarian Personality

• Extreme prejudice is linked to certain personality traits.
• Individuals with authoritarian personalities rigidly conform to conventional values and exhibit ethnocentric views.

Oppression of Minorities

• Some powerful groups have used prejudice as a strategy to oppress minorities, such as in labor markets.
• Powerful groups may use racism/ethnocentric views to subjugate minorities, and use justifications, to benefit from their oppression.

Intersection Theory

• Different groups like racial, class, gender, sexual orientations have intersecting effects that cannot be studied separately. 

Racism and Rape

• Events of discrimination and rape faced by migrants/refugees.
• Concerns over rights of migrants to be free from violence (sexual and otherwise) and injustice.

Segregation

• Segregation refers to the physical separation of groups, notably in residential areas but also in workplaces and social contexts.
• De jure segregation is legally enforced; apartheid is an example.
• De facto segregation is not legally enforced, but results from other factors.
• Past examples include American segregation, and ongoing events in other locations.

Test your understanding of key concepts related to race, ethnicity, and social stratification. This quiz covers definitions, historical contexts, and the implications of various social constructs such as prejudice and racism. Delve into the complexities of identity and social dynamics through several thought-provoking questions.