Lesson 11: Race and Ethnicity Attention
While this video is just an example of one officer's response to a situation, has our fear begun to create changes in our society as to how we deal with race and ethnicity? What does this video experiment tell us about the status of Muslim Americans in the US. Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:
Teaching Ferguson, MO On August 9, 2014 Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown. Conflicting stories regarding the shooting revealed deep seeded racial issues in Ferguson, MO and engaged the entire country in a heated debate about racial inequality.
Minority It is important at this stage to have a very clear definition of the concept of "minority" Minority, as it is discussed in Sociology, connotes discrimination and a reduction in true power and control. This has less to do with the use of the term to describe a smaller number of people (though it also refers to that as well.) Race, Stereotypes, Prejudice, Discrimination, and White Privilege Race is defined genetically. Race has become more commonly associated with skin color, hair type, eye shape, and various associated ethnic characteristics. Ethnicity is specifically the CULTURAL aspects of a person. Stereotypes develop as we automatically categorize individuals into groups and assume shared characteristics among ALL members of this group. Consider these "stereotypes":
Stereotypes can also apply to other categories of people. Consider what assumptions you make about the following categories:
Prejudice is the application of Stereotypes as we meet people. We "pre judge" them. Discrimination is the application of prejudice in ways that are unfair, create inequality, reduce access, etc. White Privilege is the notion that there is a certain degree of advantage for being white that whites themselves are rarely aware of. Below is an analysis of a clip from a talk show that illustrates how difficult this concept can be to describe.
Check out this website on White Privilege...do the examples of privilege listed on this site make sense:
Check out this link to White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack Assessment Lesson 11 Discussion A lot of the study of Sociology has been focused on the study of inequality. Discuss how topics such as minority (see the true definition of this in the Teaching section of this lesson), stereotypes, and prejudice still play a role in modern society. Consider the different categories explored in the chapter: Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Arab Americans. Lesson 11 Quiz
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