Exam 3: Status Section A: Race and Ethnicity

"The 'Morphing' Properties of Whiteness" by Troy Duster Duster takes up the issue of the biological and cultural basis of race and racial classification in American society. Duster advocates that race is complex, structural, and enduring, and, simultaneously, a social/cultural construct that is fluid and subject to change in which its boundaries may fundamentally alter. -Duster maintains that race is fundamentally best thought of as a biologically-based concept.

From Racism without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva Bonilla-Silva explicates an ideology of racism--"color-blind racism"--that is widespread in contemporary American society. Based on four frames-- abstract liberalism, naturalization, cultural racism, and minimization of racism--color-blind racism is a way of appearing normal, moral, and reasonable while propagating beliefs that serve to reinforce the legacy of white racial privilege. The hallmarks of color-blind racism are its pliability, seeming sensibility, and fairness in judging minorities and policies that are appropriate to addressing racial inequality in life-chance opportunities. -Which of the following is not a manifestation of color-blind racism?

"The Complexities and Processes of Racial Housing Discrimination" by Vincent J. Roscigno, Diana L. Karafin, and Griff Tester Roscigno, Karafin, and Tester explore the dynamics of discrimination in the housing market. Their approach is unusually broad in two ways: 1) they focus on both "exclusionary" and "non-exclusionary practices, and 2) they utilize both quantitative and qualitative analytic techniques to meaningfully discuss the causal mechanisms that underlie discrimination in the housing market. Their approach sheds light on the wide range of causes of discrimination that appear to disproportionately handicap African American women. -Discuss the difference between "exclusionary" and "non-exclusionary" forms of housing discrimination.

"A Threat in the Air: How Stereotypes Shape Intellectual Identity and Performance" by Claude M. Steel Steele discusses the dynamics of "stereotypical threat," which is the internalization of negative stereotypes that pose achievement barriers among women in advanced quantitative areas and blacks in school. The author discusses how identification with school and its subdivisions can produce inferior performance pursuant to societal pressures that make domain-identified students conscious and activate the stenotypes. -Stereotypical threat may negatively impact on:

From "Historical Context and Hazard Waste Facility Siting: Understanding Temporal Patterns in Michigan" by Robin Saha and Paul Mohai The authors provide a changing historical account of the development of public environmental concern about hazardous waste sites, delineating three periods characterized by changing public concern, legal standing/responsibility for the siting of hazardous waste, and political participation in movements to structure the siting of hazardous waste. The authors maintain that varying levels of concern and participation in conjunction with changing legal responsibility for siting and the evolving dynamics of deindustrialization led to racial and class discrimination in the siting of waste. -In the post-Love Canal era, how have political and legal factors along with public concern operated to determine the siting of hazardous wastes?

From Multiple Origins, Uncertain Destinies by the National Research Council This chapter from the National Research Council examines four aspects of the Hispanic experience-family and living arrangements, schools and education, employment and economic well-being, and health status and access to care. Overall, trends indicate that Hispanics' integration experiences are as diverse as the eclectic subgroups subsumed under the panethnic identity, but some trends are discernible. Generally, Cubans are in a more stratification-favorable position than either Mexicans or Puerto Ricans. -Among men, which Hispanic group suffers form the highest rate of poverty?

From "Historical Context and Hazard Waste Facility Siting: Understanding Temporal Patterns in Michigan" by Robin Saha and Paul Mohai The authors provide a changing historical account of the development of public environmental concern about hazardous waste sites, delineating three periods characterized by changing public concern, legal standing/responsibility for the siting of hazardous waste, and political participation in movements to structure the siting of hazardous waste. The authors maintain that varying levels of concern and participation in conjunction with changing legal responsibility for siting and the evolving dynamics of deindustrialization led to racial and class discrimination in the siting of waste. -Public concern about environmental issues/hazardous wastes has remained relatively constant between 1970-1990.

"A Threat in the Air: How Stereotypes Shape Intellectual Identity and Performance" by Claude M. Steel Steele discusses the dynamics of "stereotypical threat," which is the internalization of negative stereotypes that pose achievement barriers among women in advanced quantitative areas and blacks in school. The author discusses how identification with school and its subdivisions can produce inferior performance pursuant to societal pressures that make domain-identified students conscious and activate the stenotypes. -Discuss the difference between "domain identification" and "domain unidentification."

From The Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism by Rosalind S. Chou and Joe R. Feagin Chou and Feagin document that model minorities experience great stress with pressure to conform to white-dominated society in the face of very strong racism and discrimination. Using in-depth interviews, the authors give voice to Asian Americans' experience with discrimination and how they cope with it as a model minority that--in the public consciousness--obscures the pressures and discriminatory experiences of model minorities. -According to the authors, model minorities pay an economic and psychological "cost" by virtue of feeling pressure to:

"Globalism's Discontents" by Joseph E. Stiglitz Stiglitz sorts out the different meanings of globalization. He maintains that globalization has brought large benefits to a few with few benefits to the many. The author further argues that issues of control/management and globalization ideology play crucial roles in determining whether globalization is beneficial or detrimental. -Which of the following does Stiglitz believe is a negative effect of globalization?

"Globalism's Discontents" by Joseph E. Stiglitz Stiglitz sorts out the different meanings of globalization. He maintains that globalization has brought large benefits to a few with few benefits to the many. The author further argues that issues of control/management and globalization ideology play crucial roles in determining whether globalization is beneficial or detrimental. -Discuss the operation and ideology of the IMF in structuring globalization.

"A Threat in the Air: How Stereotypes Shape Intellectual Identity and Performance" by Claude M. Steel Steele discusses the dynamics of "stereotypical threat," which is the internalization of negative stereotypes that pose achievement barriers among women in advanced quantitative areas and blacks in school. The author discusses how identification with school and its subdivisions can produce inferior performance pursuant to societal pressures that make domain-identified students conscious and activate the stenotypes. -How does stereotypical threat produce disidentification?

"The 'Morphing' Properties of Whiteness" by Troy Duster Duster takes up the issue of the biological and cultural basis of race and racial classification in American society. Duster advocates that race is complex, structural, and enduring, and, simultaneously, a social/cultural construct that is fluid and subject to change in which its boundaries may fundamentally alter. -Discuss "first order" and "second order" issues regarding racial classification.

From The Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism by Rosalind S. Chou and Joe R. Feagin Chou and Feagin document that model minorities experience great stress with pressure to conform to white-dominated society in the face of very strong racism and discrimination. Using in-depth interviews, the authors give voice to Asian Americans' experience with discrimination and how they cope with it as a model minority that--in the public consciousness--obscures the pressures and discriminatory experiences of model minorities. -What ambivalence do, for example, middle-class Asian immigrants have about "assimilating" into American life?

From Multiple Origins, Uncertain Destinies by the National Research Council This chapter from the National Research Council examines four aspects of the Hispanic experience-family and living arrangements, schools and education, employment and economic well-being, and health status and access to care. Overall, trends indicate that Hispanics' integration experiences are as diverse as the eclectic subgroups subsumed under the panethnic identity, but some trends are discernible. Generally, Cubans are in a more stratification-favorable position than either Mexicans or Puerto Ricans. -Mexican men and women have as high employment rates as, respectively, white men and women.

"The Complexities and Processes of Racial Housing Discrimination" by Vincent J. Roscigno, Diana L. Karafin, and Griff Tester Roscigno, Karafin, and Tester explore the dynamics of discrimination in the housing market. Their approach is unusually broad in two ways: 1) they focus on both "exclusionary" and "non-exclusionary practices, and 2) they utilize both quantitative and qualitative analytic techniques to meaningfully discuss the causal mechanisms that underlie discrimination in the housing market. Their approach sheds light on the wide range of causes of discrimination that appear to disproportionately handicap African American women. -What is "social closure" and how may it cause housing discrimination?

"The Complexities and Processes of Racial Housing Discrimination" by Vincent J. Roscigno, Diana L. Karafin, and Griff Tester Roscigno, Karafin, and Tester explore the dynamics of discrimination in the housing market. Their approach is unusually broad in two ways: 1) they focus on both "exclusionary" and "non-exclusionary practices, and 2) they utilize both quantitative and qualitative analytic techniques to meaningfully discuss the causal mechanisms that underlie discrimination in the housing market. Their approach sheds light on the wide range of causes of discrimination that appear to disproportionately handicap African American women. -How do audit studies work? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

"A Threat in the Air: How Stereotypes Shape Intellectual Identity and Performance" by Claude M. Steel Steele discusses the dynamics of "stereotypical threat," which is the internalization of negative stereotypes that pose achievement barriers among women in advanced quantitative areas and blacks in school. The author discusses how identification with school and its subdivisions can produce inferior performance pursuant to societal pressures that make domain-identified students conscious and activate the stenotypes. -How does stereotypical threat impair the standardized test performance of domain-identified students?

From Racism without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva Bonilla-Silva explicates an ideology of racism--"color-blind racism"--that is widespread in contemporary American society. Based on four frames-- abstract liberalism, naturalization, cultural racism, and minimization of racism--color-blind racism is a way of appearing normal, moral, and reasonable while propagating beliefs that serve to reinforce the legacy of white racial privilege. The hallmarks of color-blind racism are its pliability, seeming sensibility, and fairness in judging minorities and policies that are appropriate to addressing racial inequality in life-chance opportunities. -Describe the abstract liberalism frame of color-blind racism.

From "Historical Context and Hazard Waste Facility Siting: Understanding Temporal Patterns in Michigan" by Robin Saha and Paul Mohai The authors provide a changing historical account of the development of public environmental concern about hazardous waste sites, delineating three periods characterized by changing public concern, legal standing/responsibility for the siting of hazardous waste, and political participation in movements to structure the siting of hazardous waste. The authors maintain that varying levels of concern and participation in conjunction with changing legal responsibility for siting and the evolving dynamics of deindustrialization led to racial and class discrimination in the siting of waste. -What do the authors mean when they say the siting of hazardous waste sites has increasingly become "discriminatory"?