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11 - Race and Ethnicity

from II - Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Lisa A. Keister  and
Darby E. Southgate
Lisa A. Keister
Affiliation:
Duke University, North Carolina
Darby E. Southgate
Affiliation:
Los Angeles Valley College
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Summary

Race: A Social Construction

To most people, race is essential – meaning that it is necessary, basic, and defining. We generally speak of race as based on physical characteristics, nationality, and religion. However, as discussed in this chapter, racial categories often are arbitrary in nature and do not precisely describe groups of people. Sociologists often refer to ethnicity rather than race when discussing a nexus of behaviors shared by a particular group of people.

Ethnic groups are those groups in society that are set off from others through unique cultural traits. When members of ethnic groups try to shed their ethnicity, we refer to this as assimilation. Ethnicity eventually fades as progressive generations assimilate to the dominant culture. Assimilation, however, requires that individuals not only shed their ethnicity but also that the dominant group accept them.

Type
Chapter
Information
Inequality
A Contemporary Approach to Race, Class, and Gender
 , pp. 417 - 458
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

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