Ethnicity and Race

1. Ethnicity and Race

2. Who are we? • Where do you come from? • Do people ever ask you where you are from?

3. INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES • Unless you are an indigenous person everyone on this land has an immigration story • What does it therefore mean to be an Australian? • Journey of leaving home land – arrival and experience • Process of feeling on the “outter” when you are new and feeling different • Leaving, journey and arrival • Identity – what does it mean to be an Australian in a culturally diverse Australia? • How do we honour the presence of ourselves in this place? • The complexity of building Australian society

4. Immigration museum – identity and belonging • Go onto ethnicity tab – Pauline Hanson, John Howard Speech, white pickett fence  how can words and speeches be used as tools for both inclusion and exclusion?

5. What do race and ethnicity mean? • Use a range of sources such as a dictionary, encyclopaedia and the internet to examine different definitions of race and ethnicity; consider how the definitions have changed over time and the preferable definitions in sociological study

6. The difference

7. The nature and meaning of the sociological concepts of race and ethnicity • Ethnicity refers to a social group, categorised by a distinctive way of life with set customary values • Race is a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important such as skin colour and facial features

8. RACE • Scientists introduced concept of race more than a century ago as a way to assign ethnic groups into racial ‘types’ • People were categorised in the following • “relatively light skin and fine hair – CAUCASOID • People with darker hair NIGROID and people with yellow or brownish skin and distinctive folds on their eyelids MONGOLOID”

9. Sociological terms.. • Race refers to an ‘ascribed status’ (a label created by those outside of an ethnic group) • People are considered to be similar because they share common physical features

10. RACE • The types of classification systems that assigned individuals and groups to categories were ranked or hierarchical • Racial distinctions rather than specific biological differences were used to maintain patterns of power and inequality within society (Giddens et al 2009)

11. E.g. – the use of Social Darwinist theory to justify the Protection and Segregation policies which has a devastating impact upon Indigenous Australians

12. RACE • Sociologists consider the use of socially-constructed racial categories to be misleading and harmful • Macionis (2010) made the following observations about the use of racial classifications • The meaning and importance of race varies from place to place and over time • Societies use racial categories to rank people in a hierarchy giving some people more money, power and prestige than others • Despite the creation of broad racial categories, scientific method has established that there are no biological ‘pure’ races

13. Watch clips on race and ethnicity and how changed over time

14. Ethnicity • Socially constructed cultural traits that are seen as important to a society • Members of a group can claim an ethnic identity • Or an ethnic category may be assigned to them by others • These characteristics are learnt and passed across generations through the process of socialisation

15. Member of ethnic groups share a common cultural heritage that they believe identifies them as unique • These cultural features help to distinguish ethnic groups from one another

16. Common characteristics include: • National origin • Language • Religion • Food • Styles of dress • Sense of common historical heritage

17. Factors contributing to the formation of ethnicity

18. Ethnicity Vs Race Sociologists prefer to use the concept of ethnicity rather than race BUT • What are the issues related to the study of ethnicity? • What do sociologists need to be aware of? • Ref pg 54-55

19. Concerns include:

20. Revision so far.. • Complete Activity 3.10 pg 55 • Define the concepts of race and ethnicity • Describe the difference between race and ethnicity • When does a person stop being ethnic? • Why do sociologists need to be careful about the label of ethnicity when conducting research?

21. Reading • Consider what are the main points of the article • What is it saying about race and ethnicity? Smiling faces mask an unease about growing ethnic diversity.docx ready to confront your own racism - article.pdf pride dosent run skin deep article.pdf

22. Key concepts My culture and beliefs are the best. I have the tendency to measure all other cultures in relation to my own • Ethnocentrism • Cultural relativism • The “other” I try to understand others and not judge! I attempt to understand a cultures behaviour, customs, religion and language in terms of that cultures set of norms

23. The ‘other’ VS • Refers to the “not self” • Human societies have needed a “them” and “us” as a means to stress the values and characteristics seen as normal • This then acts as a guide for social rules and norms • Categorisation of groups as the “other” is shaped by and measured against the “self”

24. The concept of the “self” is a reflection of the dominant core (centre) of society • From an Australian perspective the self is viewed as white Anglo-Celtic culture. • The beliefs and cultural practices of the dominant culture are reflected in range of social systems such as political institutions, the media and the workplace

25. Notion of “otherness” – has been applied to many ethnic groups within Australian society. • Such as Asians in the 1900s and more recently to individuals and communities who practice the Islamic faith

26. Is it the belief that ‘others’ are those who don’t speak English as a first language or who have values and beliefs that are different to ‘Aussie’ culture (e.g. playing sport, participating in beach culture, BBQ’s and Christianity) • This is of course not a true reflection of values shared by the vast majority of Australians • It is a good example though of how groups seek to label cultural differences as abnormal and threatening

27. See Cronulla riots!!! • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYiAAxZWyys

28. A good exam response • Multiculturalism, the coexistence of many cultures in parallel facilitated by overarching respect for societal institutions, shows • the meaning and potential of national culture. Australia was originally a monoculture, a society in which there is a dominant • system of social heritage and learned patterns of thinking, feeling and acting with the expectation that minorities would • assimilate to the dominant set of physical and cultural characteristics. This was embodied through its White Australia Policy and • within that the Immigration Restriction Act, which imposed a dictation test that would deny, unwanted migrants access to • Australia. Australia transitioned over time to a ‘multicultural society’ that is united by ‘respect for each other, our culture of a • fair go, our spirit of equality and our humane commitment to those in strife’. This explains how cultures have the potential to • evolve as a society … exemplified by UsmanKhawaja’s achievement of becoming ‘the first Muslim to represent Australia’

29. National culture refers to the physical characteristics of a nation including: language, lifestyle, events and icons. A controversial • aspect of Australian national culture is multiculturalism, and whether we can manage to have a unifying national culture … As • sociologist, Hugh McKay believes, Australia is a young nation, one which is constantly evolving … Despite racial disparity, the • growth of knowledge and understanding that comes with meeting people from differing backgrounds rewards Australia with a • unifying national culture … Australia [embracing] ‘Harmony Day’ which occurs annually, [reflects that we] embrace diversity • as we are a nation of equality of opportunity for all. • [This diversity can present challenges, such as, racism, including] … the 2005 Cronulla Riots where anyone who did not look • ‘Australian’ was targeted and bashed, and the recent attacks on Indian students in Melbourne.

30. “You’re in Australia…Speak ENGLISH, “Aussie Pride!!!” LOVE IT OR GET OUT!! “learn the Aussie language, Respect our way of life, ITS NOT HARD!!” • Watch racism in Australia – like a disease - SBS

31. YOUR TASK: • Complete Activity 3.11: Cyber Racism within Australia • And 3.12 pg 58

32. What is the representation suggesting?

37. Pauline Hanson

38. The nature and theory of ethnic hybridity – STUART HALL • Stuart Hall – cultural theorist and sociologist • Ethnic hybridity – concept used to describe the experience of people who have multiple ethnic identities • E.g. Greek Australian children who have on set of cultural experiences within their homes and local communities and an entirely different identity within their schools

39. HYBRIDITY • New cultural forms resulting from a mixture of two or more cultural influences • It is common amongst young refugees and second or third generation migrants

40. These multiple identities reflect the idea that the concept of ethnicity is both temporary and evolving • See Greek interview • ..\Sociology university greek interview.doc

41. HALL • Hall suggests hybridity involves a process where individuals develop connections across cultural groups • People identify with and choose elements of more than one culture that then form a blended ethnic identity

42. BHABHA’S THEORY • Bhabha’s theory is informed by the experiences of second generation migrants • He describes ethnic hybridity as being a position of “in-between” • This period of “in-between” relates to the shift from identification with one culture until the complete assimilation into another

43. http://museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/discoverycentre/identity/people-like-me/http://museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/discoverycentre/identity/people-like-me/ • People Like Me • Image: Tony LewisSource: ABC • Desperately wanting to assimilate as a child migrant, I shed everything that made me feel different in my new country. In my 30s I realised that food is the vehicle that can help me keep in touch with my past and have something to hand on to the future, whether it be children or fellow Australians. It is a way I can still bond with the generations before me, even with the loss of traditional values and language.Poh Ling Yeow, Cook, TV Presenter, Artist, 2011We know when we belong. We can see ourselves reflected in others. It might be a community or internet group. It might even be a nation. • Fitting in with other people may not be easy. We start searching. We may need to invent our own club. We seek opportunities to connect with others. • Why do we need to belong? Who do you belong with?

44. I belong do you? Museum Victoria • http://museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/discoverycentre/identity/about-the-exhibition/ • Postcards - http://museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/discoverycentre/identity/i-belong-postcards/

45. Experiences of Hybridity • ZulekaZevallos (2003) interviewed young Latin-American women living in Australia and observed that to some degree their ethnicity was selective. • The young women had the option of seeing themselves as Latin-American or Australian and at times both

46. example of multiple ethnic identities • Sometimes their expressions of their Latin American self were displayed for example through dance, food and dress • There were also times when the women were happy to embrace their Australian identity, particularly when themes of gender relations or sexuality were involved – they preferred to engage with the Australian values of equality and indepndence

47. Not all ethnic groups are able to move freely between cultural identities • Waters (1990) notes that while people of European decent in American society are able to celebrate their ethnic identities others faced a “socially enforced racial identity” – often a society attaches a label to an ethnic group and that group then finds it difficult if not impossible to challenge

48. Challenges young people face • Young Australian migrants face particular challenges as they adjust to a new culture and form adult identities • Some young people struggle to balance their parents/communities expectations of them with the values of their peers and wider society • This is often called “caught between culture”

49. CREATION OF CONFLICT • The experience of cultural adjustment often generates conflict between young people and their families • This originates from families placing a great deal of importance on cultural maintenance, but at the same time expecting young people to succeed in mainstream society

50. RESPONSES BY YOUNG PEOPLE • According to Berry there are 4 common responses by young people to this pressure • Assimilation – adopt new culture and reject old culture • Withdrawal – they reject new culture and preserve of exaggerate old culture • Marginalisation – reject both old and new cultures • Integration or biculturalism – maintain important aspects of their old culture while also adopting parts of their new culture