University of Phoenix Material

Appendix A

Part I

Define the following terms found in Week One and Week Two readings:

|Term |Definition |
|Diversity |The state of being diverse; variety. |
| |A range of different things. |
|Ethnocentrism |the tendency to assume that one’s culture and way of life are superior to |
| |all others. |
|Melting pot |Diverse racial or ethnic groups or both, forming a new creation, a new cultural entity. |
|Minority group |a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or |
| |power over their own lives than do the members of a dominant or majority group. |
|Emigration |Leaving a country to settle in another. |
|Immigration |Coming into a new country as a permanent resident. |
|Culture |The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.|

Part II

Answer each question in 250 to 350 words:

1. What are some of the ways groups of people are identified?

There are four types of minority or subordinate groups. All four, except where noted, have the five properties previously outlined. The four criteria for classifying minority groups are race, ethnicity, religion, and gender. The term racial group is reserved for minorities and the corresponding majorities that are socially set apart because of obvious physical differences. Notice the two crucial words in the definition: obvious and physical. What is obvious? Hair color? Shape of an earlobe? Presence of body hair? To whom are these differences obvious, and why? Each society defines what it finds obvious. Other societies use skin color as a standard but may have a more elaborate system ofclassification. In Brazil, where hostility between races is less than in the United States, numerous categories identify people on the basis of skin color. In the United States, a person is Black or White. In Brazil, a variety of terms such as cafuso, mazombo, preto, and escuro are used to describe various combinations of skin color, facial features, and hair texture.

2. Why do people label and group other people?
We see people around us—some of whom may look quite different from us. Do these differences matter? The simple answer is no, but because so many people have for so long acted as if difference in physical characteristics as well as geographic origin and shared culture do matter, distinct groups have been created in people’s minds. Race has many meanings for many people. Often these meanings are inaccurate and based on theories discarded by scientists generations ago. As we will see, race is a socially constructed concept (Young 2003).