Race Class Gender 456 Final Exam

Ethnocentrism is defined as the tendency to judge other people and cultures by the standards of one’s own culture and to believe that the behavior, customs, norms, values and other characteristics of one’s own group are natural, valid, and correct while those of other’s are unnatural, invalid and incorrect. For example, in Funny in Farsi Firoozeh experiences ethnocentrism from citizens here

Ever since white Americans colonisation in the United States, African Americans suffered long from the frustration of being discriminated and deprived. African Americans were restricted from associating or mixing

In America, the lives of Africans did not get any easier. Once the demand for labor began increasing dramatically, more and more Africans were imported to America. Originally, white people and black people worked together in the plantations. As a result of the increase in Africans in these British colonies, less white people took jobs on plantations. Eventually, enslavement became based on race. Numerous slave codes were developed, which included denying slaves the right to be out past sunset and denying slaves the right to meet in groups of three or more. These Africans forced to live enslaved in America were treated as if they were inferior to white people. It is discouraging to think about the fact that this country, though it was long ago, once accepted this kind of social injustice.

“We use the term racial formation to refer to the process by which social, economic and political forces determine the content and importance of racial categories, and by which they are in turn shaped by racial meanings.” (Omi and Winant 14) Through observing certain events in the economy, politics, and society, we can understand the unwanted ascribing of racial identities to the minorities that led to their unfair treatment and discrimination. The underlying factors that led to this utilization of racial formation were a scarcity of jobs, political policies to maintain power, and racial division through class differences.

Ethnocentrism is the attitude held by the members of a culture that theirs is the only true, right, and best way to view and act in the world.

Modern day racism and hatred against African-Americans can be traced back to slavery in the Colonial Americas. Over 10 million slaves were taken and brought into the New World. These slaves if they were to survive the way would face a harsh life of servitude to their white masters. Africans slaves were and plentiful and cheap labor source in the 1700’s. Slavery was very controversial in the colonies. The practice had many believers and critics. Slavery was a brutal but big part of American history.

Slavery’s rise as the dominant force of labor in the Virginia colonies allowed for racism to spread and therefore justified the use of Africans for slave labor. Racism came as a direct result of slavery and allowed the divide between the Africans and Europeans to intensify. The profit that came from slavery encouraged many powerful landowners to switch to slavery, and eventually leave indentured servitude behind. In the colonies, slavery became vital to the new colonial society for economic reasons, and brought on a birth of racism that distinguished Africans and Europeans.

While the whites tried to maintain the economic and political oppression of the African Americans, the African American had to take responsibility and

For decades, African Americans have been on a racial discrimination and extremely deadly roller coaster ride for justice and equality. In this new day and age, racial tendencies and prejudice has improved since the 1700-1800s,however, they are slowly going back to certain old ways with voting laws and restaurants having the option to serve blacks or not. It all began with the start of slavery around 1619. The start of the New World, the settlers needed resources England and other countries had, which started the Triangle Trade. The New England settlers manufactured and shipped rum to West Africa; West Africa traded slaves to the West Indies for molasses and money . From the very beginning, they treated African Americans like an object or

This also led to the mistreatment of the Africans and slavery of them. Edmund Morgan mentions in his book his book that if you were a colonist, then you knew that your technology was superior. I think this led to many things. I think that the colonist think they were better all ways, but truly they were the same. The Africans civilization was advanced. They were very skilled in farming and used iron implements. European travelers were impressed and the traveler described them as very civil and good natured people. In reality, the Africans and the Europeans had an advanced civilization, but the Europeans have an upper advantage. Due to that advantage, the early colonist was arrogant. They thought they were better than the minority in various ways, but they were civilized and normal people. The colonist mistreated and were racist Africans and Indians due to this aspect. Also the color black, before 1600, meant “Deeply stained with dirt: soil, dirty, foul. Having dark or deadly purposes, malignant; pertaining to or involving death, deadly; baneful, disastrous, sinister. Foul, iniquitous, atrocious, horribly wicked. Indicating disgrace, censure, liability to punishment, etc”. (Zinn 31). This quote tells how they thought of black and maybe the people. They thought it deadly, dirty and foul. Africans were dying in huge numbers over sea in the ships. Also some Africans jumped out the boats and drowned to death. In one case of a revolt, 25 blacks revolted and killed 9 whites. They then were executed by hanged and burned. In Maryland and other states tried to pass laws to control the African slaves, with being able to cut their ears, or for certain crimes slaves should be hanged. They were treated not like normal humans. When I read this chapter, it made me feel weird and sympathetic towards the Africans. They were taken from their land and

First is the belief that race is central, not peripheral, to American thought and life. Second is the notion that racism is common and ordinary rather than rare and episodic, so that a great deal of Americans’ social life is affected by it. A third strand is material determinism, or interest convergence—the idea that racial relations maintain a white-over-black/brown hierarchy that provides benefits and profits to elite groups in the majority race and are for that reason difficult to reform. A fourth feature is the social construction thesis, according to which races are products of social thought and invention, not objective or biologically real (Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge, 2011, p. 1).

People who are ethnocentric are judging other on the basis of their own culture, especially for language, behavior, customs, and religion.

We must first understand the two distinct theories regarding perception of outside cultures: Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism. Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one's own culture.[1] The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion - these ethnic distinctions and subdivisions serve to define each ethnicity’s unique cultural identity.[2] The logical alternative to ethnocentrism is Cultural relativism, the practice of judging a

Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are two contrasting terms that are displayed by different people all over the world. Simply put, ethnocentrism is defined as “judging other groups from the perspective of one’s own cultural point of view.” Cultural relativism, on the other hand, is defined as “the view that all beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative, depending on the situation, environment, and individual.” Each of these ideas has found its way into the minds of people worldwide. The difficult part is attempting to understand why an individual portrays one or the other. It is a question that anthropologists have been asking themselves for years.

One must also beware of ethnocentrism, or a belief in the superiority of one 's own culture. Individuals who are ethnocentric frequently demonstrate disregard for other cultures.