What is the difference between an ethnic group and a race?
Ans: Members of ethnic groups share certain beliefs, values, customs, and norms because of their common background. Such groups may define themselves as different because of language, religion, historical experience, geographic isolation, kinship, or "race." A race is an ethnic group that is assumed to have a biological basis. In the U.S., most people use the terms ethnicity and race interchangeably. Given the lack of a precise distinction between race and ethnicity, it is probably better to use the term "ethnic group" instead of "race" to describe any such social group.

Is the United States a melting pot of cultures like we are taught in elementary school?
Ans: The U.S. used to be a melting pot, but today it is more like a salad. The melting pot model best describes an assimilationist society in which minority groups are incorporated into the dominant culture to the point where they no longer exist as separate cultural units. All of the minority groups are blended into the dominant "flavor" of the melting pot, which represents the dominant culture. Is this what we see in the U.S. today? While minority groups in the U.S. have to adopt some of the cultural standards of the U.S., they are encouraged to maintain their own traditional beliefs, values, customs, language, and history. Multicultural societies socialize people into both the dominant national culture and an ethnic culture. As a result, a salad best represents multicultural societies like the U.S. because in a salad, each ingredient remains distinct, although they are all in the same bowl covered with the same dressing.

What are some of the different ways that societies respond to ethnic diversity?
Ans: Ethnic diversity is generally either embraced and celebrated, or it is discouraged. Multicultural societies view ethnic diversity as desirable and as something to be encouraged. Assimilationist societies tend to view ethnic diversity as disruptive and as something that needs to be controlled. In some cases, a dominant group may try to destroy the cultures of certain ethnic groups (ethnocide) or force them to adopt the dominant culture (forced assimilation or cultural colonialism). It is important to understand that while multiculturalism is generally peaceful, it is not necessarily perfect. In the United States, members of ethnic groups (particularly minority groups) are often the target of prejudice and discrimination and, in certain instances, even violence.

What is race?
Ans: The textbook distinguishes between two kinds of race: biological and social. A biological race is a geographically isolated subdivision of a species that will eventually evolve into a new species if it remains isolated long enough. Some biologists also use "race" to refer to "breeds," as of dogs or roses. Human populations have not been isolated enough from one another to develop into biological races, nor have humans experienced controlled breeding like that which has created various kinds of dogs and roses. As a result, shifts in gene frequencies and physical characteristics between neighboring human groups are gradual (clines), not abrupt.

A social race is a group that is assumed to have a biological basis but is actually defined in a culturally arbitrary, rather than scientific, manner. This means that race is constructed differently in different cultures, as demonstrated in the textbook's discussion of race in the United States, Japan, and Brazil.

What is hypodescent?
Ans: In the United States, racial identity is ascribed at birth according to the rule of hypodescent. This rule automatically places the children of a union between members of different groups in the minority group. It is important to understand that this is not the only way that racial identity is determined in human societies. Different cultures construct "race" in different ways. In fact, the hypodescent rule is rare outside of the contemporary United States.

Are all systems of human racial classification around the world the same?
Ans: No. Because human racial classification is a cultural construction, there is no universal system of classifying race. Rather, each culture has its own way of determining race. Racial identities in the United States and Japan are very rigid and fixed from birth. In contrast, the notion of race in Brazil is fluid and flexible. Individuals' racial identities may change along with their phenotypical characteristics because of environmental factors. The racial labels that people use to describe themselves or others can even vary from day to day.

Why is it important to understand that social race is a cultural construction?
Ans: Since human racial classifications have no basis in biology, they must be cultural constructions. By definition, cultural constructions are arbitrary in that they are created and maintained by individual cultures. As a result, cultural constructions are not fixed; rather, they are dynamic and can vary through time and space. For instance, are the notions of race found in the United States today the same as those that existed 50 years ago? 100 years ago? 200 years ago? Are the notions of race found in urban areas identical to those found in more rural parts of the country? These differences exist because race is a cultural construct. As such, race changes and can be changed. People can actively influence how race is perceived. What role did Martin Luther King, Jr. play in changing American attitudes about race? What about Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson?