CHAPTER 1
DIVERSITY IN THE UNITED STATES:
Questions and Concepts
Overview
This chapter raises many of the questions and themes that will concern us throughout the text. The chapter begins by examining some contemporary issues and then presents brief biographies of six Americans. The latter are intended to give students personal references for some ideas and concepts; each of the six individuals represents some important features of contemporary group relations and I refer to them later.
This chapter also defines some of the most important concepts in the text, including minority groups, prejudice, discrimination, and racism. Inequality and race are dealt with in some detail. In addition, this chapter introduces the idea of diversity within minority groups, especially in the context of gender differentiation.
Learning Goals
1.
Students will understand that our nation is one
of immigrants. Moreover, they will
understand the ways in which the racial and cultural diversity in
2. Students will understand several theoretical perspectives concerned with stratification, including theories by Marx, Weber, and Lenski.
3. Students will understand the connection between minority group status and stratification. Specifically, they will understand that social classes and minority group status can vary independently, but are correlated.
4. Students will understand both the biological and social dimensions of race and gender and understand how they serve as visible distinguishing traits the denote group membership and affect life chances.
5. Students will explore the social construction of racial identity.
6. Students will understand key concepts related to stratification including but not limited to: minority group, dominant group, ethnic and racial groups, stratification, class, power, prestige, social mobility, gender, patriarchy, matrix of domination, prejudice, institutional and individual discrimination, and ideological racism.
7. Students will examine debates concerning the social construction of gender. Specifically, they will learn arguments from both biological and sociological viewpoints regarding whether gender roles are learned or genetic.
8. Students will explore the relationship between race and sports from two different perspectives.
Outline
I. Chapter Overview
II. Six American Stories - Portraits of what it means to be an American
III. The Increasing Variety of American Minority Groups
A. The Changing Makeup of US Society.
1. Declining predominance of non-Hispanic whites.
2. Increasing predominance of Asian and Pacific islanders as well as Hispanic Americans.
3. Increasing numbers of multiracial and multiethnic people.
IV. What is a Minority Group?
A. Wagley and Harris' (1958) definition focuses on distribution of resources and power:
1. Members experience a patter of disadvantage or inequality.
2. Members share a visible trait or characteristic that differentiates them from other groups.
3. The minority group is a self-conscious social unit.
4. Membership in the group is usually determined at birth,
5. Members tend to marry within the group.
B. Minority groups, also known as subordinate groups, have differential access to what is valued by society (e.g., jobs, housing, police protection).
C. The dominant group, also known as the core group, benefits from existing social arrangements.
V. The Pattern of Inequality
A. Theoretical Perspectives.
1. Karl Marx - Argued that the most important source of inequality in society was the system of economic production.
2. Max Weber - Expanded on Marx by identifying three separate stratification systems: (a) Ownership or control of property, wealth and income; (b) prestige or respect given to us by others; and (c) power or the ability to influence others.
3. Gerhard Lenski - Following Weber, Lenski distinguished between class, prestige, and power. Analyzed stratification in the context of a society's level of development.
VI. Minority Group Status and Stratification
A. Minority group status affects access to wealth and income, prestige and power. It is a powerful determinant of life chances.
B. Social classes and minority groups are correlated, but exist as separate social realities. For example, some groups experience greater social mobility than others.
VII. Visible Distinguishing Traits
A. Race.
1. A recent concern in western European history, primarily since the 1500s during the Age of Discovery.
2. Race has both a biological and social dimension.
3. Racial taxonomies have major limitations, including the ability to identify clear dividing lines between racial groups, primarily since race is ambiguous. At what point, for example, is a person "white"?
4. Skin color is derived from melanin, which is thought to relate to climate and the amount of sunlight in a given ecology. More sunlight à more melaninàdarker skin.
B. Gender.
1. Gender serves as an additional source of social differentiation.
2. Gender roles and relationships vary across time and from society to society. Nevertheless, gender and inequality have usually been closely related with men typically claiming more power, prestige, and property than women.
3. It is important to discuss the divergent experiences of women and men within different minority groups so that we can see the ways race, ethnicity, gender, and class combine to produce a "matrix of domination."
4. Focus on Gender: Are Gender Roles Learned or Genetic?
VIII. Key Concepts in Dominant-Minority Relations
A. Prejudice - The tendency of an individual to think about other groups in negative ways, to attach negative emotions to those groups, and to prejudge individuals on the basic of their group membership.
1. Cognitive or thinking component.
2. Affective or feeling component.
B. Stereotypes - Generalizations thought to apply to all members of a group. Ex: All women are emotional.
C. Discrimination - The unequal treatment of people based on their membership in a group. There are two types:
1. Individual discrimination.
2. Institutionalized discrimination.
D. Ideological Racism - A belief system that asserts that a particular group is inferior. This is the societal equivalent of individual prejudice. Institutional discrimination is the societal equivalent of individual discrimination.
Classroom Activities
and Suggestions for Discussion
1. Have students write anonymously about own prejudices in class or as part of a homework assignment. How did they learn their main forms of prejudice? Who were the agents of socialization who taught them these ideas? Did they hear conflicting messages from different agents of socialization? What do they think the impact of these beliefs have had on their interactions with others? Do they have evidence to support their ideas? If students don't have good evidence to support the particular ideas that they hold, why do they continue to believe them? How do they feel about holding these prejudices? Are there particular costs (to themselves and others) involved? What stereotypes might others have about them, based on their group membership? Have students actively tried to re-socialize themselves to think differently about different types of people? Have they experienced a time when their beliefs changed (e.g., they thought African-Americans were lazy until they had met smart, hardworking African Americans in college)? What are the common themes that emerge from the writings? Discuss them. [NOTE: You may want to collect student papers so that at the end of the semester you can pass them back and students can reflect on how their ideas concerning race, ethnicity, class, and gender have changed.]
2. Have students write about their experiences with race. You might ask how they first became aware of the concept of race. Have they lived and worked in a diverse community? School? Workplace? How has their "race" affected your life or the life of their family members? Have them describe their most positive and negative experiences related to race.
3.
Have students find out about their family's history
of coming to the
4. Have students write/discuss about a time when they tried to assimilate into a new group or situation (e.g., a sorority or fraternity, their college dorm, a new workplace). What was it like for them? What feelings did they have? Did they face any resistance and if so, how did they deal with it? What were their biggest barriers to integration and how did they overcome them? How does their experience provide insight into what it might be like for an immigrant coming to the U.S.?
5. Invite guest speakers to come speak to your class about issues of prejudice and discrimination. For example, you might ask members of the NCAAP to join your class. Or, perhaps there's a local coalition fighting for the rights of fat people, women, gays, Jews, or other minorities. Many groups exist to assist immigrants with their transition into U.S. life. Invite them to speak to your class.
6. Have students role play as if they were different theorists presented in the chapter. For example, what would Marx, Weber, and Lenski say to one another about inequality in the US if they got together for coffee? (NOTE: If you are going to assign role playing activities, it's best to give your students some advance warning so they can prepare key ideas.)
7. Have non-minority students go to a place where they are a minority, ideally in relation to race or ethnicity, but it could be along other lines, too (e.g., at a fraternity party if they are "a goth," at an all-woman gathering if a man). Ask them to stay there for at least one hour. If they want, they can try to "assimilate." Have them reflect on their feelings about the experience. Did they feel comfortable? If so, why? If not, why? How did others respond to them, positively or negatively? Did they see themselves as "other"? How does this relate to issues of race and ethnicity? Discuss.