EXAM STUDY GUIDE
What are minority, racial and ethnic groups?
• Racial groups are socially constructed through a process of racialization,
based on perceived physical differences, whereas an ethnic groups is set
apart primarily because of national origin or distinctive cultural patterns
• When sociologists define a minority group they are primarily concerned
with the economic and political power, or powerlessness, of the groups
• There is no biological nature for the concept of race and there are no
physical traits that can be used to describe one racial group to the exclusion
of all the others
• The meaning that people give to the physical differences between certain
groups gives social significance to race and ethnicity, leading to stereotypes
What are prejudice and discrimination?
• Prejudice often leads to discrimination, but the two are not identical; and
each can be present without the other
• Institutional discrimination results when the structural components of a
society create or foster differential treatment of groups - the denial of
opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the
normal operations of a society
• Example, preferences by law schools and medical schools in the admission
of children who come from a wealthy background, requiring that only
english is spoken at a place of work ect..
How are Race and Ethnicity Studied?
• Functionalists point out that discrimination is both functional and
dysfunctional in society. Conflict theorists explain racial subordination by
exploitation theory- A Marxist theory that views racial subordination such as
that in Canada as a manifestation of the class system inherent in capitalism
• Some feminists point out that gender is not the sole source of
oppression and that gender, race, and class intersect produce multiple
levels of inequality
• Interactionists focus on the micro level of race relations, posing the
contact hypothesis as a means of reducing prejudice and
discrimination.
•Contact hypothesis- An interactionist perspective that states that
interracial contact between people of equal status in cooperative
circumstances will reduce prejudice
What are some patterns of Intergroup Relations?
• After a century and a half of degradation, Canada’s Aboriginal peoples
are poised to reclaim their status as an independent, self determining people
• In Canadian Society the socially constructed category of ‘Asians’
obscures (blurs or confuses) the differences among various groups that are
placed in this broad category
,• Non - white immigrants commonly find themselves stereotyped,
portrayed as the other, and marginalized by mainstream Canadian society
• Porter’s ‘vertical mosaic’ is as accurate portrayal of Canadian
multiculturalism today as it was in 1965; however, race is now more silent
than ethnicity.
Segregation- The act of physically separating two groups; often imposed on a
minority group by a dominant group
Visible minority - Canadians who are non- white or are identified as being
physically different from white Canadians of European descent
Employment Equity- A federal act that attempts to eliminate barriers faced in
the area of employment
Glass ceiling- An invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified
individual in a work environment because of the individual’s gender, race, or
ethnicity.
Topic 4- Mass Media
Media Influences
Media communicate messages on different levels: the pleasurable, the
meaningful, the entertaining, and the informative. Communication entails a
process of representation: Use of language, visual images, and other
symbolic tools to portray something in a coherent meaningful way that
others can understand
Functionalist Perspective
• One obvious function of the mass media is to entertain but has other
important functions
• They socialize us, enforce social norms, confer status, and promote consumption
, Agent of Socialization - increase social cohesion by presenting a common and
standardized view of culture through mass media
- Newspapers helped immigrants adjust to their environment by changing
their customary habits and teaching them the opinions of people in their
new home country
- brings together members of the community by broadcasting
important events ex. Olympics
- Problems in the socialization function of mass media: for example many
people worry about the effect of using television as a babysitter and the
impact of violent programming
- many people hold media accountable for anything that goes wrong in society
Enforcer of Social Norms
-Often reaffirm proper behaviour by showing what happens to people who act
in a way that violates societal expectations
- Messages are conveyed when villains are thrown into jail in cartoons or
in Law and Order
- Media however often glorifies deviant behaviour : disrespecting a
teacher or illegal drugs use
- Decline in anti drug messages and warnings from media, and pro-use
messages from entertainments industry + high levels of tobacco
Conferral of Status
- media confers status on people, organizations and public issues
- single out one story from thousands of others and make that story become
significant
Promotion of Consumption
- young people cannot escape commercial messages
- such product placement is nothing new
- target younger and younger customers
- Media advertising has several clear functions: (1) it supports the economy
(2)provides information about products(3) underwrites the cost of media
- There are dysfunctions: media creates needs and unrealistic expectations of
happiness or satisfaction
- Advertisers influence media content Narcotizing Dysfunction: The Narcotizing
Effect
- refers to the phenomenon in which the media provide such massive
amounts of coverage that the audience becomes numb and fails to
act on the information, regardless of how compelling the issue.
What are minority, racial and ethnic groups?
• Racial groups are socially constructed through a process of racialization,
based on perceived physical differences, whereas an ethnic groups is set
apart primarily because of national origin or distinctive cultural patterns
• When sociologists define a minority group they are primarily concerned
with the economic and political power, or powerlessness, of the groups
• There is no biological nature for the concept of race and there are no
physical traits that can be used to describe one racial group to the exclusion
of all the others
• The meaning that people give to the physical differences between certain
groups gives social significance to race and ethnicity, leading to stereotypes
What are prejudice and discrimination?
• Prejudice often leads to discrimination, but the two are not identical; and
each can be present without the other
• Institutional discrimination results when the structural components of a
society create or foster differential treatment of groups - the denial of
opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the
normal operations of a society
• Example, preferences by law schools and medical schools in the admission
of children who come from a wealthy background, requiring that only
english is spoken at a place of work ect..
How are Race and Ethnicity Studied?
• Functionalists point out that discrimination is both functional and
dysfunctional in society. Conflict theorists explain racial subordination by
exploitation theory- A Marxist theory that views racial subordination such as
that in Canada as a manifestation of the class system inherent in capitalism
• Some feminists point out that gender is not the sole source of
oppression and that gender, race, and class intersect produce multiple
levels of inequality
• Interactionists focus on the micro level of race relations, posing the
contact hypothesis as a means of reducing prejudice and
discrimination.
•Contact hypothesis- An interactionist perspective that states that
interracial contact between people of equal status in cooperative
circumstances will reduce prejudice
What are some patterns of Intergroup Relations?
• After a century and a half of degradation, Canada’s Aboriginal peoples
are poised to reclaim their status as an independent, self determining people
• In Canadian Society the socially constructed category of ‘Asians’
obscures (blurs or confuses) the differences among various groups that are
placed in this broad category
,• Non - white immigrants commonly find themselves stereotyped,
portrayed as the other, and marginalized by mainstream Canadian society
• Porter’s ‘vertical mosaic’ is as accurate portrayal of Canadian
multiculturalism today as it was in 1965; however, race is now more silent
than ethnicity.
Segregation- The act of physically separating two groups; often imposed on a
minority group by a dominant group
Visible minority - Canadians who are non- white or are identified as being
physically different from white Canadians of European descent
Employment Equity- A federal act that attempts to eliminate barriers faced in
the area of employment
Glass ceiling- An invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified
individual in a work environment because of the individual’s gender, race, or
ethnicity.
Topic 4- Mass Media
Media Influences
Media communicate messages on different levels: the pleasurable, the
meaningful, the entertaining, and the informative. Communication entails a
process of representation: Use of language, visual images, and other
symbolic tools to portray something in a coherent meaningful way that
others can understand
Functionalist Perspective
• One obvious function of the mass media is to entertain but has other
important functions
• They socialize us, enforce social norms, confer status, and promote consumption
, Agent of Socialization - increase social cohesion by presenting a common and
standardized view of culture through mass media
- Newspapers helped immigrants adjust to their environment by changing
their customary habits and teaching them the opinions of people in their
new home country
- brings together members of the community by broadcasting
important events ex. Olympics
- Problems in the socialization function of mass media: for example many
people worry about the effect of using television as a babysitter and the
impact of violent programming
- many people hold media accountable for anything that goes wrong in society
Enforcer of Social Norms
-Often reaffirm proper behaviour by showing what happens to people who act
in a way that violates societal expectations
- Messages are conveyed when villains are thrown into jail in cartoons or
in Law and Order
- Media however often glorifies deviant behaviour : disrespecting a
teacher or illegal drugs use
- Decline in anti drug messages and warnings from media, and pro-use
messages from entertainments industry + high levels of tobacco
Conferral of Status
- media confers status on people, organizations and public issues
- single out one story from thousands of others and make that story become
significant
Promotion of Consumption
- young people cannot escape commercial messages
- such product placement is nothing new
- target younger and younger customers
- Media advertising has several clear functions: (1) it supports the economy
(2)provides information about products(3) underwrites the cost of media
- There are dysfunctions: media creates needs and unrealistic expectations of
happiness or satisfaction
- Advertisers influence media content Narcotizing Dysfunction: The Narcotizing
Effect
- refers to the phenomenon in which the media provide such massive
amounts of coverage that the audience becomes numb and fails to
act on the information, regardless of how compelling the issue.
