SOC 1101 Lecture Notes - Ethnocentrism, Gender Inequality, De Jure

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1101
• Professor: Stephan Larose

Document Summary

A race is a category of people who have been singled out as socially different often on the basis of real or alleged physical characteristics, such as skin color, hair texture, eye shape, or other subjectively selected characteristics. An ethnic group is a collection of people distinguished, by others or by themselves, primarily on the basis of cultural or nationality characteristics. Race and ethnicity are ingrained in our consciousness. They often form the basis of hierarchical ranking in society and determine who gets what resources; employment, housing, education, and social services. Prejudice is a negative attitude based on preconceived notions about members or selected groups. Prejudice is often reinforced by stereotypes and is present in ethnocentric attitudes. Discrimination involves actions or practices of dominant group members that have a harmful impact on members of a subordinate group. Discriminatory actions range from name calling to violent actions. Discrimination can be either de jure (encoded by law) or de facto (informal).