assimilation
The process by which a minority individual or group takes on the characteristics of the dominant culture.
Assimilation describes the process by which a minority individual or group gives up its own identity by taking on the characteristics of the dominant culture.
conquest
The forcible subjugation of territory and people by military action.
Most First Nations cultures considered the Earth a living entity whose resources they were stewards of; the concepts of land ownership and conquest did not exist in Aboriginal societies.
culture of prejudice
The theory that prejudice is embedded in our culture.
A culture of prejudice refers to the idea that prejudice is embedded in our culture.
discrimination
Prejudiced action against a group of people.
For example, in modern history, the elderly might be considered a minority group due to a diminished status resulting from popular prejudice and discrimination against them.
dominant
Can be used interchangeably with the term majority.
White privilege refers to the fact that dominant groups often accept their experience as the normative (and hence, superior) experience.
dominant group
A group of people who have more power in a society than any of the subordinate groups.
White privilege refers to the fact that dominant groups often accept their experience as the normative (and hence, superior) experience.
ethical relativism
The idea that all cultures and all cultural practices have equal value.
Ethical relativism holds that no culture’s practices can be judged better or worse than another’s.
ethnicity
Shared culture, which may include heritage, language, religion, and more.
While many students first entering a sociology classroom are accustomed to conflating the terms race, ethnicity, and minority group, these three terms have distinct meanings for sociologists.
exogamy
Refers to marriage outside of the group (community, tribe, etc.).
During the late modern era, the trend toward equal rights and legal protection against racism have steadily reduced the social stigma attached to racial exogamy (exogamy refers to marriage outside of one’s core social unit).
expulsion
When a dominant group forces a subordinate group to leave a certain area or the country.
Expulsion refers to a dominant group forcing a subordinate group to leave a certain area or country.
genocide
The deliberate annihilation of a targeted (usually subordinate) group.
Genocide, the deliberate annihilation of a targeted (usually subordinate) group, is the most toxic intergroup relationship.
group-specific rights
Rights conferred on individuals by virtue of their membership in a group.
Multiculturalism implies that protecting cultural difference also depends on protecting group-specific rights.
hybridity
The process by which different racial and ethnic groups combine to create new or emergent cultural forms and practices.
From fusion cuisine to martial arts and yoga, from hip hop to reggae, and including alternative spiritual and healing practices hybridity seems to capture some of the fluidity of contemporary Canadian culture.
institutional racism
When a societal system has developed with an embedded disenfranchisement of a group.
Institutional racism refers to the way in which racial distinctions are used to organize the policy and practice of state, judicial, economic, and educational institutions.
internal colonialism
The process of uneven regional development by which a dominant group establishes control over existing populations within a country by maintaining segregation of ethnic and racial groups.
Modern Canada itself can in fact be described as a product of internal colonialism.
intersection theory
Theory that suggests we cannot separate the effects of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other attributes.
Feminist sociologist Patricia Hill Collins (b. 1948) developed intersection theory, which suggests we cannot separate the effects of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other attributes (1990).
minority group
Any group of people who are singled out from others for differential and unequal treatment.
Visible minority groups will make up 63% of the population of Toronto and 59% of the population of Vancouver (Statistics Canada, 2010).
miscegenation
The blending of different racialized groups through sexual relations, procreation, marriage, or cohabitation.
Prior to the 20th century, racial intermarriage (referred to as miscegenation) was extremely rare, and in many places, illegal.
model minority
The stereotype applied to a minority group that is seen as reaching higher educational, professional, and socioeconomic levels without protest against the majority establishment.
Asian Canadians certainly have been subject to their share of racial prejudice, despite their seemingly positive stereotype today as the model minority.
multiculturalism
The recognition of cultural and racial diversity and of the equality of different cultures.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Aboriginal residential school survivors or the policy of multiculturalism are examples.
prejudice
Biased thought based on flawed assumptions about a group of people.
This does not mean, however, that Canada’s legacy of institutional and individual prejudice and racism has been erased.
racial profiling
The selection of individuals for greater surveillance, policing, or treatment on the basis of racialized characteristics.
In addition blacks are subject to greater degrees of racial profiling than other groups.
racial steering
When real estate agents direct prospective homeowners toward or away from certain neighbourhoods based on their race.
Another example of racist practices is racial steering, in which real estate agents direct prospective homeowners toward or away from certain neighbourhoods based on their race.
racialization
The social process by which certain social groups are marked for unequal treatment based on perceived physiological differences.
However, this typology of race developed during early racial science has fallen into disuse, and racialization (the social construction of race) is a far more common way of understanding racial categories.
racism
A set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices used to justify the belief that one racial category is somehow superior or inferior to others.
This does not mean, however, that Canada’s legacy of institutional and individual prejudice and racism has been erased.
scapegoat theory
A theory stating that the dominant group will displace its unfocused aggression onto a subordinate group.
Scapegoat theory, developed initially from John Dollard’s (1900-1980) frustration-aggression theory, suggests that the dominant group will displace their unfocused aggression onto a subordinate group (1939).
segregation
The physical separation of two groups, particularly in residence, but also in workplace and social functions.
Segregation refers to the physical separation of two groups, particularly in residence, but also in workplace and social functions.
settler society
A society historically based on colonization through foreign settlement and displacement of Aboriginal inhabitants.
Canada is a settler society, a society historically based on colonization through foreign settlement and displacement of Aboriginal inhabitants, so immigration is the major influence on population diversity.
stereotypes
Oversimplified ideas about groups of people.
As stated above, stereotypes are oversimplified ideas about groups of people.
strategy for the management of diversity
The systematic methods used to resolve conflicts, or potential conflicts, between groups that arise based on perceived differences.
Multiculturalism is Canada’s main strategy for the management of diversity.
subordinate
Can be used interchangeably with the term minority.
And minority group describes groups that are subordinate, or lacking power in society regardless of skin colour or country of origin.
subordinate group
A group of people who have less power than the dominant group.
It is the lack of power that is the predominant characteristic of a minority, or subordinate group.
white privilege
The benefits people receive simply by being part of the dominant group.
Discrimination can also involve the promotion of a group’s status, such as occurs with white privilege.
visible minority
Persons, other than Aboriginal persons, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.
In many parts of urban Canada, it is a misnomer to use the term visible minority, as the “minorities” are now in the majority.
These terms were extracted from Introduction to Sociology – 2nd Canadian Edition by William Little, eCampusOntario (originally published by BCcampus, 2016) which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on Introduction to Sociology by OpenStax (© 2013 Rice University), licensed under CC BY 3.0.