Chapter 13

Stratification: “Race” and Ethnicity

Chapter Outline

Racial Stratification Ethnicity and Ethnic Stratification The Nation-State and Ethnicity Ethnicity in the United States

Racial Stratification: Brazil and the United States

Brazil’s race relations are often contrasted with those of the United States. – Both had plantation slave economies.– Slavery in both societies lasted until the

second half of the 19th century. – The legacy of slavery continues in both in

the form of racial inequality.– Unlike the U.S., Brazil never encoded its

racial system into law.

Racial Stratification: Brazil and the United States

The U.S.:– Race is constructed based on skin color

and presumed ancestry.– By the 20th century, the system of race in

the American South was very much like the caste system in India.

Racial Stratification: Brazil and the United States Brazil

– A class-stratified society in which “race” is only one of many criteria, including education, wealth, and land ownership, that govern social status and social mobility.

Question With respect to interracial sexual and marriage

relationships,a) neither Brazil nor the U. S. tolerates racial

mixing.b) the general attitude in Brazil is significantly more

accepting than in the U. S.c) Brazil does allow sexual relationships, but not

marriage.d) they remain illegal in the U. S.e) the general view of disapproval by Brazilian and

American societies is about the same.

Answer: b

With respect to interracial sexual and marriage relationships, the general attitude in Brazil is significantly more accepting than in the U. S.

Question One of the insights gained from looking at racial

categories and racial stratification in the two contemporary states of the U.S. and Brazil isa) that even though race is constructed quite

differently, racial inequalities exist.b) racial inequality is more pronounced in a society

with many racial distinctions.c) a dichotomy of two races leads to more social

inequality than a continuum of perceived races.d) national and local-level policies can significantly

reduce prejudice.e) that the category "mulatto" in Brazil has a higher

status than other defined racial categories.

Answer: a

One of the insights gained from looking at racial categories and racial stratification in the two contemporary states of the U.S. and Brazil is that even though race is constructed quite differently, racial inequalities exist.

Ethnicity

Perceived differences in culture, national origin, and historical experience by which groups of people are distinguished from others in the same social environment.– Ethnic identity - The sense of self one

experiences as a member of an ethnic group.

Ethnic Groups

Categories of people who see themselves as sharing an ethnic identity that differentiates them from other groups.

Ethnic boundaries - Perceived cultural attributes by which ethnic groups distinguish themselves.

Ethnic Conflict

Extreme ethnic conflict is a product of contemporary economic, political, and social conditions.

Ethnic violence, as described for the former Yugoslavia, suggests that political manipulation of cultural differences, not ethnicity per se, is at the root of interethnic violence.

Perspectives in Ethnicity

Essentialism– Ethnicity comes from historical,

demographic, and economic conditions.

Social Constructionalism– Ethnicity comes from responses to

changing realities within the group and in the society of which it is a part.

The Nation-State and Ethnicity

The most important contemporary context for the emergence, change, and disappearance of ethnicity is the nation-state.

Nation-states are governments and territories that are identified with culturally homogeneous populations and national histories.

States construct national identities by drawing boundaries between spatially defined insiders and outsiders.

The Nation-State and Ethnicity

Regardless of their differences, people who live within these boundaries have an identity based on a common language and shared customs and culture.

Nation-states are often in conflict with indigenous peoples, whom they have conquered and deprived of their land, leading to the destruction of indigenous cultures.

Law has been an important tool of modern nation-states in changing the cultures of indigenous peoples.

Nation-States and Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous peoples are small scale societies designated as bands, tribes, and chiefdoms.

These societies are characterized by close identification with their land, relative social egalitarianism, community-level resource management, and high levels of self sufficiency.

U.S. Cultural Diversity

The cultural diversity of the U.S. has largely been framed in terms of ethnicity based on the national origin of immigrants.

From the 1880s through the 1920s, restrictive and racist immigration laws gave preference to immigration from European countries.

In 1965, changes in American immigration laws led to increasing immigration from a wide diversity of nations and “races.”

Models of Adaptation

Assimilation model Melting pot model Mosaic Model

Assimilation Model

Immigrants should abandon traditions and become absorbed in American culture.

Resulted in the building of urban Settlement Houses, designed to teach immigrants “American” ways.

Melting Pot Model

Immigrants will melt together into a new American culture.

By the late 1950s, it was clear that the melting pot theory had only limited application.

Mosaic Model

Cultural diversity is a positive aspect of American national identity.

Arose in response to the swell of immigration in the past 25 years.

Multiculturalism

The view that cultural diversity in the United States is a positive value and makes an important contribution to American national identity.

Quick Quiz

1. Brazil is described as culturally constructing race in a ________ system.

a) dual racial

b) caste-based

c) homogeneous racial

d) Multiracial

e) tri-racial

Answer: c

Brazil is described as culturally constructing race in a homogeneous racial system.

2. Which one of the following immigrant groups has not been viewed as "ethnic" in the U.S.?

a) Samoans

b) Icelanders

c) Irish

d) Germans

e) English

Answer: e

The English immigrant group has not been viewed as "ethnic" in the U.S.

3. The United States government's official category "Hispanic," has lumped groups of people together in government statistics who do not necessarily see themselves as part of the same ethnic group.

a) True

b) False

Answer : a

The United States government's official category "Hispanic," has lumped groups of people together in government statistics who do not necessarily see themselves as part of the same ethnic group.

4. Which model of adaptation suggests that immigrants should abandon traditions and become absorbed in American culture?

a) Assimilation Model

b) Melting Pot Model

c) Mosaic Model

d) Multiculturalism

Answer: a

The Assimilation Model of adaptation suggests that immigrants should abandon traditions and become absorbed in American culture.