our surroundings ments around them. NOTE: Herbert Blumer first used the term "symboli micro-level orientation a close-up focus on social interaction in specific sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals symbolic-interaction approach a framework for building theory that situations macro-level orientation a broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole structural-functional approach (p. 11) social-conflict approach (p. 12) W. E. B. Du Bois: A Pioneer in Sociology THINKING ABOUT DIVERSITY: RACE, CLASS, & GENDER that they gave up all ties with the black commu- One of sociology's pioneers in the United nity, which needed their help. States, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois saw Despite notable achievements, Du Bois sociology as a key to solving society's prob- gradually grew impatient with academic study, lems, especially racial inequality. Du Bois which he felt was too detached from the every- earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard Uni- day struggles of people of color. Du Bois versity and established the Atlanta Sociological Laboratory, one of the first centers of sociological wanted change. It was the hope of sparking public action against racial separation that led Du Bois, in 1909, to participate in the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an organization that has been active in supporting racial equal- ity for more than a century. As the editor of the organization's magazine, Crisis, Du Bois worked that deprived African Americans of the tirelessly to challenge laws and social custom Du Bois described race as the maja and opportunities enjoyed by the white maison lem facing the United States in the twente century. Early in his career, as a sociais researcher, he made enormous contribute the study of racial inequality. Later, 352 come deep racial divisions. But by the end life, he had grown bitter, believing that little tra changed. At the age of ninety-three, Du Boise the United States for the African nation activist, he believed political reform mights 10 research in the United States. He helped his col- leagues in sociology-and people everywhere- see the deep racial divisions in the United States. White people can simply be “Ameri- cans," Du Bois explained, but African Ameri- cans have a "double consciousness," reflecting their status as citizens who are never able to escape identification based on the color of their skin. In his sociological classic The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (1899), Du Bois explored Philadelphia's Ghana, where he died two years later. EK African American community, identify- ing both the strengths and the weak- nesses of people wrestling with overwhelming social problems on a day-to-day basis. He challenged the belief-widespread at that time-that blacks were inferior to whites, and he blamed white prejudice for the prob- lems African Americans faced. He also criticized successful people of color for being so eager to win white acceptance WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. If he were alive today, do you think that Du Bois would still consider race a major problem in the twent, first century? Why or why not? 2. How much do you think African Americans today experience "dou- ble consciousness”? 3. In what ways can sociology help us understand and reduce racial conflict? Sources: Based on Baltzell (1967), Du Bois 198 orig. 1899), Wright (2002a, 2002b), and perser communication with Earl Wright ll. ical annroach in and A final criticism of both the structural-functional and social- conflict approaches is that they paint society in broad strokes in terms of "family," "social class," "race society as a whole women and men approach are all examples of social-conflict theory. ender, cation, struc padon TS. going ole- le of y to for We can use the sociological perspective to look at sociology itself. All of the most widely recognized pioneers of the discipline were men. This is because in the nineteenth century, it was all but unheard of for women to be college professors, and few women took a central role in public life. But Jane Addams was an early sociologist in the United States, who founded Hull House, a Chicago settlement house where she spent many hours helping young people. Another contribution of the gender-conflict approach is mak- ing us aware of the importance of women to the development of sociology. Harriet Martineau (1802–1876) is regarded as the first woman sociologist. Born to a wealthy English family, Martineau made her mark in 1853 by translating the writings of Auguste Comte from French into English. She later doc- umented the evils of slavery and argued for laws to protect factory workers, defending workers' right to unionize. She was particularly concerned about the position of women in society and fought for changes in education policy so that women could look forward to more in life than marriage and raising children. . In the United States, Jane Addams (1860–1935) was a 1 sociological pioneer who in 1899 helped found Hull House, a Chicago settlement house that provided assis- tance to immigrant families. Although widely published- Addams wrote eleven books and hundreds of articles—she chose the life of a public activist over that of a university sociol- ogist, speaking out on issues involving inequality, immigration, and the pursuit of peace. Though her pacifism during World War I was the subject of much controversy, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. All chapters of this book consider the importance of gender and gender inequality. For an in-depth look at feminism and the social standing of women and men, see Chapter 10 (“Gender Stratification”). The Race-Conflict Approach Another important type of social-conflict analysis is the race- conflict approach, a point of view that focuses on inequality and con- flict between people of different racial and ethnic categories. Just as men have power over women, white people have numerous social advan- tages over people of color, including, on average, higher incomes, more schooling, better health, and longer life expectancy. The race-conflict approach also points out the contributions to the development of sociology made by people of color. Ida Wells Barnett (1862–1931) was born to slave parents but rose to become a teacher and then a journalist and newspaper publisher. She cam- paigned tirelessly for racial equality and, especially, to put an end to the lynching of black people. She wrote and lectured about racial inequality throughout her life (Lengerman & Niebrugge-Brantley, 1998). An important contribution to understanding race in the United States was made by William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868–1963). Born to a poor Massachusetts family, Du Bois enrolled at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and then at Harvard Uni- versity, where he earned the first doctorate awarded by that univer- sity to a person of color. Du Bois then founded the Atlanta Sociological Laboratory, which was an important center of sociological research in the early decades of the last century. Like most people who follow the social-conflict approach (whether focusing on class, gender, or race), Du Bois believed that scholars should not simply learn about society's problems but also try to solve them. He the fore studied the black communities across the United States, point- ing to numerous social problems ranging from educational inequality, a political system that denied people their right to vote, and the terrorist practice of lynching. Du Bois spoke out against racial inequality and participated in the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (E. Wright, 2002, 2002b). The Thinking About Diversity box on page 14 takes a closer look at the ideas of W.E. B. Du Bois. CRITICAL REVIEW The various social-conflict approaches have gained a large following in recent decades, but like other approaches, they have met with criticism. Because any conflict analysis focuses on inequality, it largely ignores how shared values and interdependence can unify members of a society. In addition, say critics, to the extent that it pursues political goals, a social- conflict approach cannot claim scientific objectivity. Supporters of social-conflict analysis respond that all theoretical approaches have political consequences. cally a s more I pop- sures cure, classification allows. This fact is made obvious by trying to place all of the people pictured The range of biological variation in human beings is far greater than any system of racial here into simple racial categories. nents, s dif- omes Today, the Census Bureau allows people to describe themselves and fifty-seven multiracial options). Our society officially recognizes of multiracial people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008). par- ters. ari- der using more than one racial category (offering six single-race options a wide range un- ck, te- Eca eta Overall, the three racial categories differ in just 6 percent of their genes, and there is actually more genetic variation within each cate- gory than between categories. This means that two people in the European nation of Sweden, randomly selected, are likely to have at least as much genetic difference as a Swede and a person in the African nation of Senegal (Harris & Sim, 2002; American Sociolog- ical Association, 2003; California Newsreel, 2003). So just how important is race? From a biological point of view, knowing people's racial category allows us to predict almost nothing about them. Why, then, do societies make so much of race? Such cat- egories allow societies to rank people in a hierarchy, giving some people more money, power, and prestige than others and allowing some people to feel that they are inherently “better” than others. Because race may matter so much, societies sometimes construct racial categories in extreme ways. Throughout much of the twentieth century, for example, many southern states labeled as “colored” any- one with as little as one thirty-second African ancestry (that is, one African American great-great-great-grandparent). Today, the law allows parents to declare the race of a child (or not) as they wish. Even so, most members of our society are still very sensitive to peo- ple's racial backgrounds. es h Racial Types Scientists invented the concept of race more than a century ago as they tried to organize the world's physical diversity into three racial types. They called people with relatively light skin and fine hair Caucasoid, people with darker skin and coarse hair Negroid, and peo- ple with yellow or brown skin and distinctive folds on the eyelids Mongoloid. Sociologists consider such terms misleading at best and harm- ful at worst. For one thing, no society contains biologically "pure” people. The skin color of people we might call “Caucasoid” (or “Indo- European," "Caucasian," or more commonly, “white”) ranges from very light (typical in Scandinavia) to very dark (in southern India). The same variation exists among so-called “Negroids” (“Africans” In fact, many "white" people say, in southern India) actually have e more commonly, “black” people) and “Mongoloids” (“Asians”). darker skin than many "black" people (the Aborigines of Australia). n e each one. trom a macro-level understanding? APPLYING THEORY Major Theoretical Approaches Structural-Functional Approach Social-Conflict Approach Symbolic-Interaction Approach What is the level of analysis? Macro-level Macro-level Micro-level What image of society does the approach have? Society is a system of interrelated parts that is relatively stable. Each part works to keep society operating in an orderly way. Members generally agree about what is morally right and morally wrong. Society is a system of social inequalities based on class (Marx), gender (feminism and gender-conflict approach), and race (race-conflict approach). Society operates to benefit some categories of people and harm others. Social inequality causes conflict that leads to social change. Society is an ongoing process. People interact in countless settings using symbolic communications. The reality people experience is variable and changing. What core questions does the approach ask? How is society held together? What are the major parts of society? How are these parts linked? What does each part do to help society work? How does society divide a population? How do advantaged people protect their privileges? How do disadvantaged people challenge the system seeking change? How do people experience society? How do people shape the reality they experience? How do behavior and meaning change from person to person and from one situation to another? much in terms of physical attractiveness, intelligence, and social background—as they offer in return. that people construct for themselves as they interact with one another. That is, we human beings live in a world of symbols, and we attach meaning to virtually everything, from the words on this page to the wink of an eye. We create “reality," therefore, as we define our surround- ings, decide what we think of others, and shape our own identities. CRITICAL REVIEW Without denying the existence of macro-level social structures such as the family and social class, sociology group discussion of rac yourself?" concepts is far less clear than most people think. Then he asks, "How do you des Eva Rodriguez leans forward in her chair and is quick to respond. "Who am should I say what am I? This is hard for me to answer. Most people think of race as what? I don't think of myself in that way. I don't think of myself in terms of race a black and white. But it's not. I have both black and white ancestry in me, but you would be better to call me Puerto Rican or Hispanic. Personally, I prefer the term 'Latina.' Calling myself Latina says I have mixed racial heritage, and that's what la wish more people understood that race is not clear-cut.” This chapter examines the meaning of race and ethnicity. There are now millions of people in the United States who, like Eva Rodriguez, do not think of themselves in terms of a single category but as hav- ing a mix of ancestry. The range of biologi classification allows here into simple rac The Social Meaning of Race and Ethnicity As the story that opened this chapter suggests, people often confuse "race” and “ethnicity.” For this reason, we begin with some basic def- initions. Today, the using more thar and fifty-seven wide range of a Race and Ethnicity racial mix in the Middle East (that is, western Asia), historical crossroads of migration, Greater racial uniformity characterizes isolated peoples such as the island-dwelling Japanese. But every ulation has some genetic mixture, and increasing contact ensure even more racial blending of physical characteristics in the final Although we often think of race in terms of biological eleme race is a socially constructed concept. It is true that human being fer in any number of ways involving physical traits, but a“race' come into being only when the members of a society decide that some pa ticular physical trait (such as skin color or eye shape) actually matter Because race is a matter of social definitions, it is a highly able concept. For example, the members of U.S. society conside racial differences more important than people of many other coma tries. We also tend to "see" three racial categories—typically, black, white, and Asian-while other societies identify many more cars gories. People in Brazil, for instance, distinguish between branu (white), parda (brown), morena (brunette), mulata (mulatto), preu (black), and amarela (yellow) (Inciardi, Surratt, & Telles, 2000). In addition, race may be defined differently by various categoria of people within a society. In the United States, for example, resent shows that white people “see” black people as having darker si color than black people do (Hill, 2002). The meaning and importance of race not only differ from pla to place but also change over time. Back in 1900, for example, i common in the United States to consider people of Irish, Italia. Jewish ancestry as “nonwhite. By 1950, however, this was nokone the case, and such people today are considered part of the "white" egory (Loveman, 1999; Brodkin, 2007). Race A race is a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important. People may classify one another racially on the basis of physical characteris- tics such as skin color, facial features, hair texture, and body shape. Racial diversity appeared among our human ancestors as the result of living in different geographic regions of the world. In regions of intense heat, people developed darker skin (from the natural pigment melanin), which offers protection from the sun; in moderate climates, people devel- oped lighter skin. Such traits are literally only skin deep because human beings the world over are members of a single biological species. The striking variety of racial traits found today is also the prod- uct of migration; genetic characteristics once common to a single place are now found in many lands. Especially pronounced is the Racial Type Scientists inve they tried to types. They c Caucasoid, po ple with yell Mongoloid. Sociolo ful at worst people. The European, very light CHAPTER 11 The same or, more c In fact, m darker sk 300
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