SOCI 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Ethnic Cleansing, Visible Minority, Minority Group
12 Jun 2018
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chapter 9, race and ethnicity
There is confusion about what race and ethnicity mean and they often used interchangeably, but
they are not the same thing
Race: is the socially defined classification of people based on certain physical characteristics
(most prominently, but not exclusively, skin colour)
Ethnicity is the classification of people based on common cultural, linguistics or ancestral
heritage
Aboriginal: is a person who is Indian, Inuit or metis
Minority group: any group that holds less power that the majority group. Can apply to
dimensions other that race and ethnicity e.g. religion, sexuality
Dominant group: the group that has the greatest power but not necessarily the greatest number.
Visible minority: in Canada refers to a person (other than an aboriginal person, which is a
separate category) who is non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour
Racism takes two major forms. Prejudice and discrimination. These are sometimes confused and
used interchangeable, but it is important to understand how they are different
Discrimination: is the unfair treatment of people based on some social category they belong to
rather that their own.
Prejudice: Is an attitude or opinion, discrimination is an action that stems from that attitude
Stereotype: simplified perceptions people have of an entire group, usually based on a false
assumption
movement of people from one society to another
Expulsion or confinement: occurs when the dominant group expels or forcibly confines a
minority group
Genocide: is the attempt to destroy or exterminate peoples based on their race or minority group.
Ethnic cleansing: refers to persecution through imprisonment expulsion, or murder of members
of an ethnic minority by a majority to achieve ethic homogeneity in majority controlled territory
Segregation: is forced separation because of factors such as race, gender or ethnicity
Migrant superordination: is the conquest of a native population by a more powerful group
Indigenous superordination: is the subordination of an immigrant group to a dominant group
Multiculturalism: is a concept that supports the inherent value of different cultures within society
Assimilation: is the processes by which minority groups adopt the patterns of the dominant
culture
Pluralistic minorities: are groups that enter into an area voluntarily but seek to maintain their
own groups culture while also integrating into the dominant group.
Assimilation minorities: are groups that seek to shed their old ways and integrate themselves
into mainstream society
Secessionist minorities: are groups that voluntarily separate themselves from the dominate group
and view the dominant group with disain, believing that it will corrupt the groups belief system
Militant minorities: are groups that seek to overthrow the existing system because they see it as
unjust
Ethnic enclaves: are neighborhoods where people form similar cultures live together and assert
cultural distinction from the dominate group.
Colour- blind racism: is the ideal that racism still exist in society in subtler ways
Double consciousness: is the sense that a person must keep a foot in two worlds, one in the
majority groups world and one in the minority groups world
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
There is confusion about what race and ethnicity mean and they often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Race: is the socially defined classification of people based on certain physical characteristics (most prominently, but not exclusively, skin colour) Ethnicity is the classification of people based on common cultural, linguistics or ancestral heritage. Aboriginal: is a person who is indian, inuit or metis. Minority group: any group that holds less power that the majority group. Can apply to dimensions other that race and ethnicity e. g. religion, sexuality. Dominant group: the group that has the greatest power but not necessarily the greatest number. Visible minority: in canada refers to a person (other than an aboriginal person, which is a separate category) who is non-caucasian in race or non-white in colour. These are sometimes confused and used interchangeable, but it is important to understand how they are different.
