A. Referring to Group Membership
ethnos: a social group, an identity.
ethnic: adj. form, used to delineate one group from another, usually refers to cultural differences.
Ethnic groups are not the natural biological divisions of mankind but temporary alignments of people created by communication channels.
ethny: a descent group bounded socially by inbreeding and spatially by territory.
ethnicity: the socially negotiated identity of an individual or group in relation to other individuals or groups based on physical and cultural markers, and political and economic relations.
ethnic identity: a group or personal identity based on group membership out of intra and inter group interaction. Identity of others based on the group they belong to.
ethnocentrism: using your own group as a standard for judging others; an attitude toward difference or sameness, symbolic and cultural interpretations of difference
race: categorizing people on the basis of certain physical characteristics. Three basic categories: Caucasian, Mongoloid, Negroid.
phenotype: anatomical features used to distinguish groups of people.
genotype: genetic features used to distinguish groups of people.
blood type: blood composition as a way to distinguish groups of people.
majority/minority: relationship between groups based on 1) power and opportunities and 2) population.
B. Referring to the Study of People
biological determinism: biological characteristics
determine
human behavior.
biological reductionism: human behavior can best
be explained by their physical characteristics.
typology: process of categorization; constructing
lists and ranking
dicotomization: dividing into categories (usually
2)
polarization: defining the categories as opposites
generalization: applying definitions; universalizing a definition to every member of the group.
scientific method: the process used to do research on race and ethnic relations based on empirical observation.
stereotyping: creating a characterization based
on an individual and letting it represent a group.
social distance: the study of the degrees of intimacy in human relations.
C. Referring to the Relationships of People
acculturation: one group adopts the cultural practices of another (see also cultural assimilation).
amalgamation: a biological merging of formerly distinct groups through the process of intermarriage (see also biological assimilation)
assimilation: a process of boundary reduction where one group is incorporated into another so that there are no longer two distinct groups.
Four types of assimilation: Cultural (one group adopts the cultural traits of another), Structural (members of groups as dispersed throughout the societies institutions), biological (biological merging of groups) and psychological (changes in self identity, individuals feel part of a larger society rather than an ethnic group).
pluralism: groups remain culturally distinct and segregated.
prejudice: feelings or attitudes (usually negative) about a group.
bigotry: acts of hatred and aggression toward a person or group.
discrimination: treating people differently (denying opportunities) on the basis of group membership.
institutionalized discrimination: processes of a society, based on the values and practices of one group, systematically discriminate agianst members of another group and provide preferences for members of the first group, not necessarily intentionally.
segregation: maintaining separate shperes (physical and psychological) between groups. Isolating one group.
genocide: the systematic extermination of one group (physically or culturally) by another.
