Race and Ethnicity: Understanding Human Diversity

• SSF 1044 Introduction to Anthropology & Sociology: Race and Ethnicity

Questions on Race

• What is your race?
• What are some of the different 'races' of people in Malaysia?
• How many races are there in Malaysia?
• What are the characteristics of a 'race' in Malaysia?
• How do we determine if someone is of one race or another?

Questions on Ethnicity

• Consider the same questions, but replace 'race' with 'ethnicity'
• What is your ethnicity?
• What are some of the different 'ethnicities' of people in Malaysia?
• How many ethnicities are there in Malaysia?
• What are characteristics of 'ethnicity' in Malaysia?
• How do we determine if someone is of one ethnicity or another?

Race vs Ethnicity

• What is the difference between race and ethnicity?

The Significance of Race and Ethnicity

• Does race or ethnicity matter?
• How do ethnic groups define themselves?
• Is ethnicity the same as race?

Defining Race

• Race is the assumption that an ethnic group has a biological basis, like shared blood or genetics (Kottak, 1997)
• Race is a social construct
• Social races are groups assumed to have a biological basis, but they are defined culturally rather than scientifically (Kottak, 1997)

Mixed Marriages and Race

• Consider possible races of children in mixed marriages:
• Malay father, Chinese mother
• Chinese father, Indian mother
• Iban father, Malay mother
• Iban father, Bidayuh mother
• White father, Black mother (in America)
• Black father, White mother (in America)

The One-Drop Rule

• A person with any trace of Black ancestry is considered Black

Race: A Discredited Concept in Biology

• Early scholars used phenotypical traits like skin color for racial classification
• Johan Friedrich Blumenbach's (1776) racial classification: white, yellow, brown, black, and red
• Changes in the environment affect individuals during growth and development
• Phenotypical characteristics of a population may change without any genetic change

Racial Classification in Biology

• Racial classification has fallen out of favor in biology
• Scientists have trouble grouping people into distinct racial units
• In biological terms, there are no clear cut "races", only a range of physical human variations

Explaining Skin Colour

• Melanin is a chemical substance manufactured in the epidermis (outer skin layer) and is the primary determinant of human skin color
• The melanin cells of darker-skinned people produce more and larger granules of melanin than lighter-skinned people
• Melanin screens out ultraviolet radiation from the sun, offering protection against sunburn and skin cancer
• Most of the world's dark-skinned population lives in the tropics
• Outside the tropics, skin color tends to be lighter

Race and Power

• Scientists now know that race is no longer a valid biological concept
• Historically, groups with power have used racial ideologies to justify, explain, and preserve their positions
• Examples include the Nazis and the superiority of the "Aryan race," European colonialists and the "white man's burden", and South Africa and the apartheid

Anthropology, Sociology, and Race

• Anthropologists and sociologists know that most of the behavioral human variations rests on culture and not biology
• Performance between ethnic groups reflect different experiences and opportunities than genetic makeup

Defining Ethnicity

• Race mistakenly implies something fixed/biological, but ethnicity is an idea that is purely social in meaning
• Ethnicity = the cultural practices and outlooks of a given community of people that set them apart from others (Giddens 2006)
• Characteristics used to differentiate different ethnicities: language, history & ancestry (real or imagined), religion, style of dress
• Ethnic differences are wholly learned
• Through socialization, young people assimilate the lifestyle, norms and beliefs of their communities
• For many, ethnicity is central to individual and group identity, but its significance may vary among individuals
• Ethnicity provides a continuity with the past and is kept alive through practice of cultural traditions
• Like anthropologists, sociologists also prefer the term "ethnicity" because it is a concept that is completely social in meaning

Historical Ethnic Classifications

• 1871: Malay Races, Chinese, Hindus, Bengalees and other Indian Races (not specified), Europeans and Americans (plus 18 subcategories)
• 'MALAY' RACES: Boyanese, Bugis, Dyaks, Javanese, Jawipekans, Malays, Manilamen, Europeans and Americans
• CHINESE : Cantonese, Hokkiens, Hylams, Khehs, Nanyangs, Teo-Chews
• 1891: Malay Races, Chinese 'Races', Tamils and other Indian Races, Europeans and Americans (plus 19 subcategories)
• 'MALAY' RACES: Aboriginies, Achinese, Balinese, Banjarese, Boyanese, Bugis, Dyaks, Javanese, Jawipekans, Malays, Manilamen
• CHINESE 'RACES': Cantonese, Hokkiens, Hylams, Khehs, Nanyangs, Teo-Chews
• TAMILS AND OTHER INDIAN RACES: Bengalees, Burmese, Parsees
• 1911: Malay and other Allied Races, Chinese, Indians, Europeans and Americans (plus 31 subcategories), Straits Settlements (SS)
• 'MALAY AND OTHER ALLIED RACES: Achinese, Balinese, Banjarese, Bantamese, Batak, Borneo, Boyanese, Bugis, Dyaks, Dusuns, Jambi, Javanese, Kadayans, Korinchi, Malays, Rawanese, Sulu, Sundanese, Tutong
• CHINESE : Straits-born, China-born
• INDIANS: India-born, Straits-born, born elsewhere
• 1911: Malay Races, Chinese 'Tribes', Indians by Race, Europeans (plus 17 subcategories), Federated Malay State (FMS)
• MALAY RACES: Malay, Javanese, Boyanese, Bugis, Banjarese, Jawipekans, Kerinchi, Jambi, Achinese
• CHINESE 'TRIBES': Cantonese, Kheh, Tie Chiu Kheh, Hokkien, Hiu Hua, Hok Chiu, Hailam, Kwong Sai
• INDIANS BY RACE: Tamil, Telegu, Punjabi, Bengali, Malayali, Hindustani, Afghan, Gujerati, Maharatta, Burmese
• 1931: Malay Races, Chinese 'Tribes', Indians by Race, Europeans (plus 24 subcategories)
• MALAY RACES: Malays, Javanese, Boyanese, Bugis, Achinese, Dyaks, Bataks, Minangkabaus, Korinchis, Jambis, Palembang, Other, Sumatrans, Riau-Linggans, Banjarese, Dutch Borneo, Sakais, Also natives from Dutch East Indies
• CHINESE 'TRIBES': Hokkien, Tiu Chiu, Hakka (Kheh), Hok Chhia, Cantonese, Hailam, Hok Chiu, Kwongsai
• INDIANS BY RACE: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, United Provinces, Burmese, Bengali, Bombay, Bihar, Nepal

Ethnicity: Concepts

• Involuntary ethnicity: When a government or dominant group creates an umbrella ethnic category, assigning people from different cultures/countries
• Dominant ethnic group: The most advantaged ethnic group in a society, possessing the greatest access to valued resources
• Hidden ethnicity: A sense of self based on little/no awareness of an ethnic identity, because its culture is normative/mainstream

Assimilation Types

• Assimilation: Ethnic and racial distinctions disappear because one group is absorbed into another's culture
• Two cultures blend to form a new one
• Absorption assimilation: Racial/ethnic minorities adapt to the point where they are completely "absorbed" into the dominant culture
• Melting pot assimilation: Cultural blending where groups accept new behaviors/values from one another, blending previously separate systems

Prejudice and Discrimination

• Prejudice = opinions/attitudes held by a group towards another
• Prejudices are often grounded on STEREOTYPES
• Stereotypes = fixed, inflexible characterizations of a group
• Scapegoating is common when two deprived ethnic groups compete for economic rewards
• Discrimination: actual behavior towards another group

Racism Defined

• Racism = prejudice based on socially significant physical distinction
• A racist believes some individuals are superior/inferior based on racialized differences
• Racism is more than just ideas individuals hold
• Institutional racism: Racism pervades all of society's structure in a systematic manner
• Examples include the police, health service, education system, television broadcasting etc.

Sociological Interpretations of Racism

• Ethnocentrism = wherein groups maintain boundaries separating themselves from others
• This includes prohibiting intermarriage, restrictions on social contact or economic relationship, and physical separation of groups
• Ethnocentrism and group closure often go together leading to ethnic group closure
• Group closure sometimes coincides with unequal resource allocation
• Fiercest ethnic conflicts centre along the lines of closure between groups, because these lines signal inequalities in wealth/power/social standing

Explore the concepts of race and ethnicity, examining the differences in melanin production, the sociological preference for 'ethnicity' over 'race,' and the role of socialization. Understand 'racial ideologies,' 'involuntary ethnicity,' and the shift away from racial classification in biology. Examine early racial classifications and their flaws