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Race, ethnicity and racism Minority Group ○ (As seen in previous session) ○ A group of people in a Society who, due to their physical, ethnic or cultural characteristics, are in a position of disadvantage and inequity in relation to the dominant...

Race, ethnicity and racism Minority Group ○ (As seen in previous session) ○ A group of people in a Society who, due to their physical, ethnic or cultural characteristics, are in a position of disadvantage and inequity in relation to the dominant group of that Society Race ○ A category rooted in the belief that there are fundamental differences between human beings associated with ancestral elements Black, White, Asian, Hispanic... Ethnicity ○ A type of social identity related to ancestral and cultural elements. (Deeper/ Micro Concept of Race) ○ Cultural values and norms that distinguish members of a group from others Language, History, Religion, Clothing … Mayan, Aztec, Caucasian, Hutu, Tutsi Session 16 Americanity as a concept What is America? What is Americanity? ○ Concept which implies a new world system based on a “new world” as different from the “old” european world “Newness” ○ Coloniality ○ Ethnicity ○ Racism ○ Concept of newness itself Coloniality State hierarchies or ranks (traditional colonialism) ○ Top = world leaders, empires… ○ Bottom = colonies Does the end of traditional colonialism end these hierarchies?  ○ They continue in the form of a socio-cultural hierarchy of European and non-European. ➔ A subordination mindset based on stigmas and stereotypes that has been perpetuated over time and that we aren’t usually aware of ➔ Residue of Colonialism (believing / behaving like we are inferior) Do independences end coloniality? ○ Independance ends colonialism, NOT coloniality ○ Discourses perpetuate this stigma Franz Fanon Popular misconceptions of ourselves Why does the effort to move from the “bottom rank” leave states behind? ➔ Independences transform coloniality’s outer form Ethnicity - The set of communal boundaries into which in part we are put by others, in part we impose to ourselves, serving to locate our identity and our rank within the state Collective Identity? (Group of people that identify with same things such as ethnicity / interest / age) Imposes categorization ○ Contributes to preserve ranks ○ In conflicts has been used to reduce numbers ○ In expansion, it’s used to fit different groups into a more elaborate division Is ethnicity the “inevitable consequence” of coloniality? Does it create social boundaries? Does it justify categorization of labor control? ○ Slavery for Black Africans ○ Crop labor for Native Americans ○ White to factories Impact on socialization ➔ Could ethnicity maintain the categorical structures? Racism Not new. It was implicit in ethnicity  What is new about this racism forged in the construction of Americanity? (Americanity - The new world after colonization) ○ It will be theorized, justified and therefore more explicit Racism was explained ‘’scientifically’’ because ‘’black people are no humans therefore human rights don't apply’’ ○ Institutionalized (Segregation, ex: Restaurants / toilets based on race) Post WWII? ○ USA as a superpower cannot arguably be racist after WWII ○ Change of approach during cold war, segregation slowly started to become less during the 1960s How to prevent upward mobility of non-white ethnicities? ○ Meritocracy - Economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than wealth or social class How do you feel about meritocracy? Is it fair/just? - The same people will share the privileges to attend certain universities or jobs over others Decoloniality Coloniality - Promotes hierarchies and ranks. Mindset (residue of colonialism) ○ When extrapolated to other areas such as knowledge, politics, economics etcetera, it subordinates the “less ranked” states and therefore discriminates and imposes the values of the ”better ranked states”, usually European Decoloniality - Wants to break with traditional coloniality ○ Analytical and practical perspective that confronts and disengages from the traditional colonial matrix, empowering “less ranked states” and their societies ○ Recognizes, and therefore stands against: That the structure of power was and even continues to be organized around a colonial axis Decolonization did not eliminate coloniality, it just transformed its outer shape That the shape of reason forged by the colonial matrix of power produced distorted paradigms of knowledge and spoiled the liberating promises of modernity Session 18 Managing patriarchy -Gerda Lener (Women and History)-  Exotic Field (unknown and not investigated by other intellectuals) Effects of omission (women and men in history) What female figures do you know of? How can women be compared to other subordinated groups? Why would you say it was taken for granted by the western idea systems? ➔ "Patriarchal culture condemns women to the cyclical immanence of the “natural order” and reserves for men the historicity and the access to “being” as a project of what is authentically human.” - Simone de Beauvo Patriarchy A society controlled by men ○ How? Why? A society where the oldest male is the leader Dominion of men over women (and everything else) ○ What else? Economy Production Earth and environment Basic concepts Intersectionality ○ Sociological perspective that holds that our multiple group memberships affect our lives in ways that are distinct from single group memberships Sex ○ The biological and anatomical differences distinguishing males and females Gender ○ Social expectations about behavior, characteristics and attributes assigned or regarded as appropriate for each biological sex Sexuality ○ Sexual behaviors, attraction, sexual relationships and how we choose to relate to others Gender Inequality ○ Discrimination based on gender or sex  Social role construction (assigned roles at birth) ○ Design of gender roles ○ Makes way with socialization ○ Designed by the moral standards of whoever is in a position of power Gender role socialization (Learning to behave in society based on gender) ○ (Already discussed in class)– The learning of gender roles through social factors such as schooling, the media and family Hegemonic masculinity ○ Social norms dictating that men have to be strong, self reliant and unemotional. If not, you are not a man ○ Also known as “toxic masculinity” Biological essentialism (scientific differences in biological sex) ○ The view that gender differences between men and women are natural and inevitable consequences of the intrinsic biological nature of men and women (we should be different and there should be differences / supported by conservatives). Feminism - Sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the uniqueness of the experience of women. Gender Social expectations about behavior, characteristics and attributes assigned or regarded as appropriate for each biological sex Variations ○ Liberal Feminism Gender inequality is produced by unequal access to civil rights and certain social resources Liberal feminists tend to seek solutions through changes in legislation that ensure that the rights of individuals are protected ○ Radical Feminism Gender inequality is produced by male domination They seek solutions throughout radical actions Unresolved issues To this day, there are multiple unresolved debates. Not only because of the divergences within feminism, but also in strategies and struggle targets For instance For some feminist groups, women is only focus of attention For other groups, the full range of gender-subordinate variants is included  Session 21 Basics Global Inequality - Systematic differences in wealth and power among countries Micro: Within Macro: Global ➔ Even the wealthiest countries have growing numbers of poor people How To Compare World Bank Wealth produced by each country for its average citizen Using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ○ Measurement mostly used for countries ○ Measures the income earned, and the total amount spent Classifications (on average for citizens) ○ High income ○ Upper Middle ○ Lower Middle ○ Low Income 16% of world population is considered high income High Income Generally, those countries that industrialized first, process that began in England 250 years ago Middle Income - Upper Middle / Lower Middle: Also oil rich countries in Middle East and North Africa ➔ Although many of its residents are better off than those from low-income countries, many don’t enjoy anything resembling the standards of high-income countries Low Income Mostly agricultural economies  Mostly in Africa Why do you think they industrialized late? Colonization Resources are taken by huge corporations Why is there widespread poverty? No benefit for the people living in those low income areas Theories Market Oriented Theory States that the best economic consequence will result if individuals are free to make their own economic decisions Free from governmental constraints / state leaves economy to private corporations “Laissez-Faire” - Hands off approach from the government and leaving the decisions up to experts in the field “Any country can make it if it does it our way” Modernization theory - Low-income societies can develop economically only if they adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values that emphasize savings and productive investment 4 Economic growth stages (viewed as the journey of an airplane) 1. Traditional stage: Low rate of savings, lack of work ethic, fatalistic value system. When the state has not put ANY practise of high income states into place 2. Takeoff to economic growth: Countries begin to change their values and institutions and start to save and invest money for the future. Wealthy countries facilitate by financing birth-control programs, low-cost loans for electrification, roads, constructions, new industries, etc… Country starts applying concepts of high income states (such as investing / beginning of change) 3. Drive to economical maturity: With the help of money and advice, the “economic airplane” will pick up speed and become airborne. Technological maturity is accomplished. (country’s maturity). It starts to stabilize, the state is beginning to improve 4. High mass consumption: New people can enjoy higher standards of living (people’s maturity). Applied politics and the state has population that has enough income to spend - GDP starts to increase (from lower to lower / middle income) ➔ States that market could improve by putting the same structure into place as high income states Dependency Theory  Poverty of low-income countries stems from their exploitation by wealthy countries and their multinational corporations Exploitation became a major force with colonialism. Powerful nations colonized others to produce raw materials for their factories ➔ Even though colonialism ended after WW2, coloniality still exists Dependent Development: ○ States that poor countries can still develop economically, but only in ways shaped by their reliance on the wealthier countries ○ The world structure is solid, and change seems impossible Wealthy countries are not likely to share wealth Theories World System Theory (Wallerstein) ○ World system is not a collection of independent countries, but rather a single unit system ○ One global economic system (capitalist) since the extension of markets and trade in Europe in the 15th and 16th century (20th century socialism didn’t affect this) 4 overlapping elements shape system: World market for goods Division of population into different economic classes (capitalists and workers) International system of political relations Division of world in 3 unequal economic zones, with wealthier countries exploit the poorer Unequal Economic Zones Core: ○ Most advanced industrialized countries ○ Take greatest profits from the other two zones. Semiperiphery: ○ Semi industrialized, middle income countries that extract profit from peripheral countries and yield profits to core countries ○ Await similar development as core Periphery: ○ Low income largely agricultural countries often manipulated by core countries ○ Natural resources flow from peripheral to core countries (as do profits). Then, core sells finished good to peripheral (also at profit) Conclusion World systems change very slowly  More “multipolar” world today Even though hunger and starvation is still a problem, numbers have actually gone down ○ Source: World Bank There is still much to do