Soc 1 Final Review

RACE Definitions/Concepts Racial Formation: idea of how race is created. Race: socially constructed categorization process that describes phenotype, not genotype. Ethnicity: nationality/origin. Whiteness: ideology tied to social status, provides privilege for those labeled white; process by which non-white “other” created for benefit of whites. Racism: about structural advantages/disadvantages placed on people based on perceptions of their race. Can be individual or institutional. Covert: not hiring someone due to skin color. Overt: designated drinking fountains/bathrooms. Ex: Federal Housing Agency in ‘50s, Freddie May/Freddie Mac loans through GI Bill, media/local community demonizes young black men. Larger system that influences individual actions (structure vs agency). Privilege: special advantage/benefit. Can be based on: race, gender, ethnicity, class, ability, sexual orientation, religion. Race as a social construction: changes based on political, economic, cultural, and historical events. No taxonomic significance; rely on “folk” taxonomy: unscientific notion that you can identify someone’s raced based on stereotypical physical features. Ex. Sammy Sosa: black in the US, mulatto (mixed) in Dom Rep, white in Haiti, Taino (indig.) in Puerto Rico. Ex. One Drop Rule: created b/c white slaveowners had children w/ their slaves, wanted them to be slaves (economic purpose). How race impacts people’s outcomes? 2 examples. Takaki Origin of slavery = class conflict. Uprisings, rebellions solidarity among land/slave owners. How white/white class conflict generated led to institutionalization of slavery and a new racial order: many English settlers came as indentured servants. Freemen enacted legislation to lengthen time of servitude, made it harder for servants to become landowners. “Giddy multitude”: discontented class of indentured servants, slaves, landless freemen (white and black). Bacon’s Rebellion exposed volatility of class tensions, accelerated process.