SOC100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Heredity, Asian Latin Americans, Meritocracy
9 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Ethnic & Race Relations
Introduction
Canada is, demographically, one of the most multicultural countries in the world
With the exception of Aboriginal people, everyone is either an immigrant or a descendant of one
We cannot understand current economic, political, and social relations in Canada without a
comprehensive understanding of ethnic and race relations
Ethnicity versus Race
Race
refers to peoples assued ut soiall sigifiat phsial or geeti harateristis
Ethnicity
refers to social distinctions and relations among individuals and groups based upon their cultural
characteristics
• e.g., language, customs, religion, history
Race and ethnicity are not constant or monolithic concepts
Race and ethnicity are historically specific
Race and ethnicity are central factors in power relations
Race as a Social Construction
Racialization:
processes and practices whereby human biological characteristics are signified in such a way as to define
and construct differentiated social collectivities which then structure social relationships among people
-results in social group labelling and the establishment of a
social hierarchy
-encourages stereotyping
Stereotypes
Unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences
within the group
The ter rae is a a of ategorizig hua populatios
-linked to European colonization, exploitation, domination, and even the extermination of
indigenous populations
-as capitalism spread, a new social dichotomy emerged based on definitions of
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“elf -dominant European populations and cultures; and Other -non-Europeans
-non-Europeans seen as inferior and subordinate
*Genetic variation within any race is much greater than between races
Race & Ethnicity in Canada
Statistics Canada
Visible minority
This category includes persons who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour and who do not
report being Aboriginal
• Black
• South Asian
• Chinese
• Korean
• Japanese
• Southeast Asian
• Filipino
• Arab
• West Asian
• Latin American
Displacement of Canadian Aboriginal Peoples
Until the 1960s, Canada was thought of as a British and French nation
-colonized the country and created laws/rules
-nineteenth and twentieth centuries, promise of free land to culturally compatible
-First atios ieed as uiilized saages Other
-colonization
-deceitful treaties
-residential school system
Truth and Reconciliation
Indian Residential Schools began ~ 1840s; 1920-federal government made it mandatory for children
aged 7-15 to attend residential schools
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The ipetus for the shools: to kill the Indian in the child
The Anglican, United, Presbyterian and Catholic churches were contracted by the government to run the
schools
>130 residential schools in Canada; the last one closed in 1996
>150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were removed from their families and placed in
residential schools
Most of the former students report experiencing intense suffering and emotional, physical and sexual
abuse in the schools
The unresolved trauma suffered by these children has been passed on from generation to generation
(the legacy of the residential school system)
Many children died while attending these schools (over 3,200 known; estimates of 6,000 or more)
Many children tried to run away from their school -at least 33 children died trying to escape Chanie
Charlie Wejak 19-1966)
September 19, 2007: Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement
-Common Experience Payment-all former students eligible
-an independent process established to assess claims of sexual and serious physical abuse
-Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) established
-Commemoration activities
-investment to support healing-e.g., Aboriginal Healing Foundation
June 11, 2008: Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on behalf of the Government of Canada, issued an
apology in the House of Commons to all former students
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The TRC was an independent body charged with overseeing the process of providing former students
and anyone who had been affected by the Residential Schools legacy with an opportunity to share their
individual experiences in a safe place and in a culturally appropriate manner. Its work began in 2008.
Purpose:
-to gather archives
-to educate Canadians
-to inspire reconciliation
Their final report was submitted in 2015 with 94 calls to action
Calls to Action
• Child Welfare
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Document Summary
Canada is, demographically, one of the most multicultural countries in the world. With the exception of aboriginal people, everyone is either an immigrant or a descendant of one. We cannot understand current economic, political, and social relations in canada without a comprehensive understanding of ethnic and race relations. Race refers to people(cid:859)s assu(cid:373)ed (cid:271)ut so(cid:272)iall(cid:455) sig(cid:374)ifi(cid:272)a(cid:374)t ph(cid:455)si(cid:272)al or ge(cid:374)eti(cid:272) (cid:272)hara(cid:272)teristi(cid:272)s. Ethnicity refers to social distinctions and relations among individuals and groups based upon their cultural characteristics e. g. , language, customs, religion, history. Race and ethnicity are not constant or monolithic concepts. Race and ethnicity are central factors in power relations. Racialization: processes and practices whereby human biological characteristics are signified in such a way as to define and construct differentiated social collectivities which then structure social relationships among people. Results in social group labelling and the establishment of a social hierarchy. Unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within the group.
