SOCI201 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Polish Americans, Ascribed Status, Asian Americans

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOCI201
• Professor: all

Document Summary

Racial group: describes a group that is set apart from others because of physical differences that have taken on social significance. Ethnic group: set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. Minority group: a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than the members of a dominant or majority group have over theirs. Sociologists have identified five basic properties of a minority group: Racial formation: a sociohistorical process in which racial cateogries are created, inhabited, transformed, and destroyed. Those who have power define groups of people according to a racist social structure. Prejudice: a negative attitude toward an entire category of people. Ethnocentrism: the tendency to assume that one"s own culture and way of life represent the norm and are superior to others. Color-blind racism: the use of the principle of race neutrality to defend a racially unequal status quo.