SOCI 1001 Lecture Notes - Institutional Racism, Ethnocentrism
Document Summary
Racism: attitudes, beliefs, and practices that are used to justify the belief that one racial category is somehow superior or inferior to other. Physical differences (seen as racial) are said to influence behavior, intelligence, or character. Thus, they are seen as inherent and irreversible. Institutionsl racism: patterns of discrimination based on race or ehnicity that have become structured into existing social institutions. Racist structures may be passed down through history. Ethnocentrism: an attitude based on a belief in the cultural superiority of one"s own ethnic group above all others. Often involves naturalization of one"s own culture when diminishing the culture of others. Ethnic identity always carrier an in-group/out-group awareness. Ideas of superiority/inferiority turn the awareness into ethnocentrism. Nativism: a form of ethnocentrism held by native-born populations toward immigrants. Newcomers are often seen as a threat. Take our jobs, disease, going to take over, security threat, etc . Newcomers are often seen as inherently different.
