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| What is the difference between an ethnic group and a race? Ans: An ethnic group of people share certain beliefs, values, habits, customs, and norms as well as a common language, religion, history, geography, and kinship. A race is an ethnic group that is assumed to have a biological basis. In the U.S., most people use these terms interchangeably, which blurs the important distinction: that a race is believed or assumed to have a biological basis, while an ethnicity does not. For example, we do not think that Italians tend to be good cooks because they have a gene for good cooking. However, statements like "white men can't jump" imply that white males lack some gene for jumping. The difference is due to fact that "Italian" is an ethnic group, while "white" is a racial term, and the qualities that characterize whites are assumed to have a biological basis. Is the U.S. 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 exists 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. In this model, the different ingredients represent different ethnic groups, while the dominant national culture is represented by the dressing and the bowl containing all of the ingredients. What are the different ways that ethnic diversity can be expressed? 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 certain instances, assimilation is de facto in that it is practiced, but not legally sanctioned. In other instances, assimilation is de jure, legally sanctioned or forced upon the minority groups. Examples of this include cultural colonialism, forcing other ethnic groups to participate in a different culture, and ethnocide, the attempt to destroy certain ethnic practices. The most extreme example of this is genocide, which is the deliberate elimination of a group through mass murder. It is important to understand that while multiculturalism is generally peaceful, it is not perfect. In the U.S., ethnic identities are often the target of prejudice and discrimination and, in certain instances, violence. What is hypodescent? Why is it important? Ans: Hypodescent is the rule that automatically assigns the children of a mixed union or mating between members of different socioeconomic groups to the less privileged group. This is important to understand because it is how race is determined in the U.S. Because of hypodescent, race in the U.S. is fixed at birth and does not change. Also, because of the way that hypodescent operates, the number of people classified as "black" or "Native American" is growing faster than the number of people classified as "white," because in order to be classified as "white," both of your parents have to be white. It is important to understand that this is not the only way in which race is assigned. Different cultures determine race in different manners. 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 each culture. As a result, cultural constructions are not fixed forever; rather they are dynamic and change over time and through space. For instance, are the notions of race found in the U.S. today the same as those that were in use 50 years ago? 100 years ago? 200 years ago? Are the notions of race found in urban parts of the U.S. today identical to the notions of race found in more rural parts of the U.S.? These differences exist because race is a cultural construct. The importance lies in the fact that as a cultural construction, race changes and can be changed. People actively use race and people can actively change how race is perceived. What role did Martin Luther King, Jr. play in changing American attitudes about race? What role did Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson play in changing American attitudes about race? |