SOC 270 Journal Guidelines & Grading Rubric
Each week, you are required to write a journal that connects to the course materials in the
Healey textbook by completing a mini-assignment such as taking an online quiz, interviewing
others in your life, or doing online research. The assignments are structured to connect your
personal experiences to a deeper understanding of racial and ethnic relations concepts. Some of
the assignments may present alternate perspectives and ideas about your own understanding of
race and ethnicity in society, and you will be encouraged to analyze ideas from multiple
perspectives to gain a broader framework of the concepts and how they relate to real world
situations.
Note that during two of the weeks, you will be required to interview people who are in similar
and different racial categories than you. You may want to look ahead at the upcoming journal
assignment prompts in the week folders so you can begin finding people to contact for the short
interviews. These topics touch on sensitive issues, so please keep that in mind while you prepare
for your journal assignments.
This is required during each assigned journal:
During each week, a journal prompt is listed near the bottom of the week page with specific
instructions on how to complete the assignment. Read the prompt, do the assignment tasks,
answer the questions posed in a Word document, and upload the document to the journal
assignment link by the deadline. Each journal assignment should be at least 400 words and must
paraphrase and cite the textbook materials at least three times throughout.
Citing sources in your journals: Cite materials from the relevant textbook chapter(s) using
APA format for in-text citations. Distinguished journals do not use direct quotes (you will
not earn full points if you use straight quotes from the text or other course
materials!), as these take away from the focus on your ability to synthesize and show that you
understand the course materials. Rather, paraphrase and cite the source in parentheses in
the sentence where you use the information. For instance:
Healey and Stepnick explain that race is an ascribed status, which means it is involuntary,
assigned at birth, and membership in the ascribed category is difficult to change (2017, p. 13).
According to “The Social Construction of Race” lecture, the social meaning we place on skin color
is more important than biological differences, and the social importance can change which means
race is a socially constructed concept (Harrison, n.d.).
While APA formatting does not require the use of page numbers when paraphrasing, it is helpful
if you include them. Author and year are always required for in-text citations; page numbers are
not required unless you use a direct quote. See the information in the Project Guidelines section
for more helpful guidelines on APA formatting, and use this helpful resource: Purdue OWL
website - https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/03/
You do not need to include a reference list at the end of your journal if you are simply citing the
course materials. We know where it came from so there is no need to give the full reference as
long as you cite it within the sentences where you use it in assignment. If you use outside
sources in your journal, be sure to include the full reference at the end of your paper. See the
course FAQ for more information on citing sources.
Each weekly journal will be assessed using the grading rubric:
SOC 270 Jennifer L. Harrison, PhD
1
Journal Grading Rubric (20 points possible)
Distinguished
Proficient
Emerging
Unsatisfactory
20 points
15 points
10 points
5 points
Journal is mostly
thorough in its
fulfillment of the
assignment
prompt.
Completion of the
activity and its
connection to the
course concepts is
satisfactory. Cites
course materials
at least 2 times in
the journal and is
substantive. Meets
the 400 word
length.
While the assignment
is completed, it may
not be thorough.
Journal may be
missing a piece of the
assignment such as
evidence of
completing the activity
portion or weakly/not
connecting personal
ideas to the course
concepts. Journal may
not provide enough
detail and may have
fewer than 400 words
in length.
Shows evidence
of lack of
engagement with
assignment by
not following
directions or not
writing
substantive
sentences.
Journal is thoughtful
and thorough in its
fulfillment of the
assignment prompt.
Completion of the
activity and its
connection to the
course concepts is
strong. Paraphrases
and cites the textbook
at least 3 times with
meaningful connection
using APA format.
Meets or exceeds the
400 word length
requirement and is
substantive.
SOC 270 Jennifer L. Harrison, PhD
0 points =
Content is rude,
inappropriate, or
not uploaded by
the deadline.
2
Part 1: Diversity in the United
States: Questions and Concepts
Chapter 1
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Racial and Ethnic Groups 1980-2060
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
A Land of Immigrants
• Since the 1960s, the number of immigrants arriving in the United
States each year has tripled and includes groups, literally, from all
over the globe
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
What is a minority group?
•
•
The members of the group experience a pattern of
disadvantage or inequality.
The members of the group share a visible trait or
characteristic that differentiates them from other groups,
however caution should be taken when naming groups as
their names are social conventions whose meanings change
from time to time and place to place*
• The minority group is made up of people who share some
commonalities but are at the same time different.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Inequality
• Most important defining characteristic of minority groups
• Variable patterns of inequality-exploitation, slavery, genocide
• Minority, or subordinate groups, have less of what society values
• Pattern is a result of actions by the core or dominant group
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Inequality
• Stratification, or the unequal distribution of valued goods and
services, is a basic feature of society.
• Societies are divided into horizontal layers (or strata), often called
social classes, which differ from one another by the amount of
resources they command.
• Minority group status affects access to property, prestige, and power
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
White and Black Americans on Equal
Opportunity 1963-2011
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Theoretical Perspectives
Theories of Inequality
Karl Marx
Class Conflict inevitable
Max Weber
Gerhard Lenski
Patricia Hill Collins
Relationship to the
means of production
Economic Position
Level of development of society
Matrix of domination
Borgeoisie or the ruling class
Prestige
Subsistence technology
Intersecting and mutually
reinforcing inequalities
The proletariat or the working class
Power
Oppressor and oppressed changes
based on changes in
social context
Can oppress and be
oppressed simultaneously
s
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Minority Group Status and Stratification
• Minority groups experience a multiplicity of inequalities
• Minority group status affects access to wealth and income, prestige, and
power.
• Although social classes and minority groups are correlated, they are
separate social realities.
• Struggles over property, wealth, prestige, and power lie at the heart of
every dominant-minority relationship.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Visible Distinguishing Traits
• Visible traits or characteristics that set members of the group apart
and that the dominant group holds in low esteem.
• Racial minority groups differentiated by physical characteristics.
• Ethnic minority groups differentiated by cultural characteristics.
• Categories can overlap.
• Creations of historical and social processes not biological
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Race
• Even though race is not regarded as an important biological
characteristic, it is still an important social concept. It continues to be
seen as a significant way of differentiating among people.
• It is important to cultivate accurate understandings accurate
understandings about race to decrease misunderstandings and
human tragedies.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Distribution of Skin Color
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Race and Western Traditions
• The U.S. concept of race has its origins in Western Europe.
– Developed after European exploration led to contact with Africans, Asians,
and Native Americans.
• Europeans conquered, colonized, and sometimes destroyed those
people they came into contact with.
• This was facilitated and contributed to their linking of differences
between what would come to be seen as races with notions of
inferiority and superiority.
• These notions continue to have significance today.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Race and Biology
• Attempts were made to develop systems of scientifically-based racial
classifications.
– These were limited because dividing lines between the so-called racial
groups are arbitrary and blurred.
• Recent scientific developments show that genetic variation within
the “traditional” racial groups is greater than the variation between
those groups.
– These developments show that the traditional American perception of race
based primarily on skin color, has no scientific validity.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
The
Social
Construction
of
Race
• To sociologists, race is a social construction and its meaning has been
created and sustained not by science but by historical, social, economic,
and political processes.
• The importance of race was socially constructed as the result of
particular historical conflicts and it remains important not because of
objective realities but because of the widespread, shared social
perception that it is important.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Gender
• Like race, women and men in minority groups can be internally
divided by social class and other factors
• Rather than discussing women as a separate group, we need to focus
on the divergent experiences of men and women within each
minority group.
• This approach permits us to analyze the ways in which race, ethnicity,
gender, and class combine, overlap, and crosscut each other to form
a “matrix of domination”
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Social Construction of Gender
• Traits commonly seen as “typical” of men or women are not
disconnected, separate categories
• As with various forms of racism that sought to justify and continue
racial inequality, women have been subjected to sexism, or belief
systems that “explained” inequality based on gender.
• What is thought to be “appropriate” gender behavior varies from
time to time and society to society.
• The essentially social nature of gender roles is further illustrated by
the relationship between subsistence technology and gender
inequality.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Gender Development
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Prejudice
• The tendency to think (cognitive) about other groups in a particular
manner and to attach usually negative emotions (affective) to other
groups.
• Stereotypes are generalizations that are thought to apply to all
members of the group.
• Generally the two dimensions of prejudice are highly correlated but
distinct and separate and can vary independently.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Dominant-Minority Relations
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Causes of Prejudice
• Theories that focus on personality needs as a cause of prejudice
• Theories that view prejudice as primarily a result of being raised in a
racist society and interacting in many social situations in which
discrimination is approved
• Theories that view prejudice as arising out of intergroup conflict
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Competition Between Groups and the Origins
of Prejudice
• The one common factor that seems to account for the origin of all
prejudices is competition between groups
• Typically, prejudice is more a result of the competition than a cause
• Muzafer Sherif’s experiment at Robber’s Cave
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Limitations
• Individuals who have no material stake in minority group subordination
can still be extremely prejudiced.
• The sources of prejudice can be found in culture, socialization, family
structure, and personality development, as well as in politics and
economics.
• Prejudice can have important psychological and social functions
independent of group power relationships.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Culture, Socialization, and the Persistence of
Prejudice
• Prejudice originates in group competition of some sort but often
outlives the conditions of its creation
• Gunnar Myrdal proposed the idea that prejudice is perpetuated
through time by a self-fulfilling prophecy or a vicious cycle
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The Vicious Cycle
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The Vicious Cycle
• The idea that prejudice is learned during socialization is reinforced by
studies of the development of prejudice in children.
• Children acquire prejudice even when parents and other caregivers
do not teach it overtly.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
The Vicious Cycle
• Research using social distance scales demonstrates that prejudice
exists apart from individuals and that it is passed from generation to
generation.
• The importance of the social situation in which attitudes are
expressed and behavior occurs is also important as what people think
and what they do is not always the same.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Limitations
• No two people have the same socialization experiences or develop exactly
the same prejudices.
• Socialization is not a passive process; we are not neutral recipients of a
culture that is simply forced down our throats.
• We also learn egalitarian norms and values as we are socialized.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Modern Racism
• The harsh, blatant forms of prejudice present for most of U.S. history have
become muted recently
– This led some to conclude that individual prejudice is no longer a significant
problem in American life.
• However, sociological research clearly demonstrates that prejudice has not
disappeared. Rather, it has assumed a more subtle and indirect form.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
The Sociology of
Individual Prejudice
• Prejudice has its origins in intergroup competition and is more the result of
competition rather than the cause.
• Prejudice is used to justify and rationalize societal inequality that becomes
part of a cultural heritage.
• New forms of prejudice include more subtle forms, but it has not declined.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Discrimination
• Refers to behavior and may be defined as the unequal treatment of a
person or persons based on group membership
• Discrimination and prejudice do not necessarily occur together
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Ideological Racism
• A belief system or a set of ideas that assert that a particular group is inferior and used to
legitimize or rationalize the inferior status of the group.
• Incorporated into the culture of society and can be passed on from generation to generation.
• Do not necessarily need prejudice to have ideological racism--socialization processes.
• The term ideological sexism, analogous to ideological racism but focused on sexual differences,
will be used when we analyze patterns of inequality between males and females.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Institutionalized Discrimination
• Patterns of unequal treatment based on group membership and built
into the institutions and daily operations of society.
• Can be obvious and overt, but usually operate in more hidden and
unintended ways.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Institutionalized Discrimination
• Individual level prejudice and discrimination, and group level racism
and institutional discrimination reinforce each other.
• These relationships are socially negotiated and sustain the respective
positions of dominant and minority groups in the stratification
system.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
A Global Perspective
• It is important to expand our perspective beyond the experiences of
just a single nation and recognize that the dynamics of inter-group
relations in the United States are not unique.
• Group relations in the U.S. are shaped by global economic, social, and
political forces.
• There are complex interconnections between the domestic and the
international.
© 2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.
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