Chapter 3:
RACIAL AND ETHNIC INEQUALITY
By the end of this chapter students will be able to:
- Distinguish between the concepts of race and ethnicity and correctly apply each in a sociological context.
- List the main characteristics possessed by members of an ethnic group.
- Determine what constitutes a dominant and subordinate group in a given society.
- Understand and correctly apply the concepts of racism, ethnocentrism, prejudice, discrimination, and stereotype.
- Recognize the differences between individual and institutional discrimination.
- List and discuss the perspectives on racial and ethnic inequality from the social-psychological, functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist perspectives.
- Link the relationship between race and gender and how it affects women of color.
- Discuss the historical and contemporary inequalities among racial and ethnic groups including Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian and Pacific Americans.
- Offer and support an opinion on the future of relationships between dominant and subordinate groups in the 21st century.
- Propose a personal plan of action on how to improve their relationship and understanding of people who are of a different race or ethnic background.
