Paper , Order, or Assignment Requirements

Answer each question below in a small paragraph with reference from the text book: Richard Schaefer, Race and Ethnicity in the US, 8th Edition. Prentice Hall (2015). (978-0205896387).

1. What is a “Social Minority”, according to class and your text? In your own words, describe the four types of minority or subordinate groups.

2. What does it mean to say that race is a “Social Construct”? In other words, what is the “Social Construction of Race”? How do sociologists define Race? Does race have any biological meaning? Why or why not? What is “racial formation”?

3. Describe how sociologists view society through three key theoretical perspectives (functionalism, conflict theory, and labeling theory). Elaborate on each perspective as it relates to minority status in society.

4. How are prejudice and discrimination both related and unrelated to each other? (Be sure to define each concept here before describing their relationship).

5. What is “White Privilege” (define using your own words)? Describe some of the privileges enjoyed by those perceived of as “White” in our society, according to Peggy McIntosh’s research? If White people are privileged, how do we explain the presence of poverty among Whites?

6. Elaborate on the four theories of prejudice highlighted in the powerpoint and discussed in Schaefer.

7. What is the impact of stereotypes on how we interact with others? Describe the process by which someone is “Racially Profiled”.

8. What is “Color-Blind Racism”?

9. Describe the efforts to reduce prejudice through education and the mass media? How about the way that a community or individual might combat prejudice or hatred?

10. Define Discrimination, using the notions of relative and absolute deprivation. How does Devah Pager’s study help us to understand discrimination in practice?

11. What is a Hate Crime, as defined by the US government? According to law enforcement data, what was the apparent motivation in most reported hate crimes? Why are official reports only the tip of the iceberg? Why do hate crimes carry harsher penalties in the US?

12. Define Institutional Discrimination, elaborating on the ways in which institutions discriminate. Why are so-called “Voter ID” laws considered problematic?

13. How much institutional discrimination is there in the US today? Elaborate in terms of income and wealth data. How is wealth inequality considered “discrimination’s legacy”?

14. What is Environmental Racism? Provide example. Environmental Justice?

15. Why is Affirmative Action programs viewed by many sociologists as an important tool in reducing institutional discrimination? Describe the controversy surrounding such programs?

16. Why is Reverse Racism a problematic term? Compare and contrast the school application policies of Harvard and CIT (California Institute of Technology) and describe their respective outcomes.