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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 9 2007, 6:07 PM EST (current) | sengland | 127 words added |
| Jan 9 2007, 6:01 PM EST | sengland | 747 words added, 31 words deleted |
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Please provide definitions for the following terms:
race- the organization of all peoples into a limited number of unequal or ranked categories theoretically based on differences in their biological traits. Races have historically been asumed to consist of mutually discrete categories of biologically different peoples who form an interbreeding population. Today it is understood to be a social construct that gives meaning and social significance to biological (primarily phenotypical traits) in order to make assumptions about culture, character, rights, and so forth. Though it is recognized as a social construct rather than a biological category it continues to have meaning for identity formation and inequality.
ethnicity-the organization of peoples into groups according to culture, language, and national origins. Ethnicity emerged in the 1930s as a replacement for race as it came to be understood that the character and cultures of peoples is learned and therefore not coded in biology, nor is it essential and fixed. Ethnicities are understood as historical rather than timeless categories. For example it is recognized that the category Italian-American has a very recent history and the content of it (what it means to be Italian-American in terms of culture) changes over time. Thus ethnicity is a more flexible category than race.
biracial- a person whose parents come from two categories that are socially recognized as different "races."
multiracial- refering to a person or relationship that includes people from two or more different socially recognized racial groups. Referring to a person whose genotype (ancestors) include peoples of two or more racial categories.
multigenerational mixing- mixing that occurs over several generations rather than in just one generation. A person with such an identity might be different in a biracial person in that their parents might be of the same socially defined race, but may have ancestors of different races in their family history.
interracial- between racial groups.
intraracial- within racial groups.
mixed-may be the same as biracial or multiracial. Does not specify how many races are mixing or when (recent or multigenerational). Also does not necessarily suggest whether the mixture is racial or ethnic though racial is generally implied.
half-caste- a derogatory term used for biracial peoples in the 1800s.
caste- a term that denotes a social arrangement in which groups are separated hierarchically based on the assumption that they carry very distinct and unequal characteristics. Unlike class, caste systems are more rigid and there is theoretically no mobility between them.
monoracial
transracial
hypergamy-marrying up, that is marrying someone of a higher social status, whether racial or class.
hypogamy- marrying down, that is marrying someone of a lower social status.
hypodescent- the rule that says that when two people of different races produce children, the children have the racial identity of the parent from the racial category with the lower social status.
one-drop rule- basically the same as hypodescent but specific to anyone with African-American ancestry. The idea that even one drop of African blood (ie any fraction of African ancestry) makes one legally and socially black.
whitening- the ideology of marrying someone lighter than oneself in order to produce lighter children. Very common in Latin America and the Caribbean. Also know as blanqueamiento in Spanish.
passing
miscegenation- another word for interracial mixing that carries a negative connotation of being deviant, diluting purity.
pigmentocracy- a system by which people of lighter color have higher social status. Racial groups are not clearly divided into discrete groups but rather color is important in determining social status, in other words phenotype is more imoportant than genotype. For example siblings from the same parents may have different social status depending on their color.
eugenics- the theory that all traits are inheritable, even such things as intelligence, morality, and criminality. Eugenicists believed that interracial mixing led to degenerate offspring.
assimilation
color blind
color conscious
Loving vs. Virginia
racialization- a process whereby a person or group of people are primarily identified by their race rather than other characteristics, or where processes that could be explained by other factors (for example rates of poverty) are explained by race.
metissage- French word for mixing.
metis- French word for a mixed person.
mestizo- Spanish word for a mixed person, usually assumed to be of indigenous and Spanish ancestry but could include other mixes.
mulatto- person of white and black ancestry, usually recent.
Amerasian
Hapa
quadroon- person of one-fourth African ancestry.
octaroon- person of one-eighth African ancestry.
castas- categories of mixed persons as defined by the Spanish colonial administration in the Spanish colonies. Each category depended on the particular mix that created it.
zambo- a person of African and indigenous ancestry in Latin America.
blood quantum- the federally recognized amount of blood or fraction of indigenous ancestry that a person must have in order to be federally recongized as a Native American.
polygenesis- belief that all the so-called races were created by God as they are today at the moment of creation.
monogenesis- belief that there is only one origin of the human species, all races descended from Adam and Eve.
phenotype- your phsycial appearance.
genotype- your ancestry, DNA code, etc.
Amerindian/indigenous/Native American/American/American Indian- all used to refer to the people who inhabited the Americas before the arrival of Colombus.
racial accounting- a system by which someone's ancestry is accounted for in fractions.
limpieza de sangre- the Spanish ideology that first Christian and then white blood must be pure.
romantic individualism-
race- the organization of all peoples into a limited number of unequal or ranked categories theoretically based on differences in their biological traits. Races have historically been asumed to consist of mutually discrete categories of biologically different peoples who form an interbreeding population. Today it is understood to be a social construct that gives meaning and social significance to biological (primarily phenotypical traits) in order to make assumptions about culture, character, rights, and so forth. Though it is recognized as a social construct rather than a biological category it continues to have meaning for identity formation and inequality.
ethnicity-the organization of peoples into groups according to culture, language, and national origins. Ethnicity emerged in the 1930s as a replacement for race as it came to be understood that the character and cultures of peoples is learned and therefore not coded in biology, nor is it essential and fixed. Ethnicities are understood as historical rather than timeless categories. For example it is recognized that the category Italian-American has a very recent history and the content of it (what it means to be Italian-American in terms of culture) changes over time. Thus ethnicity is a more flexible category than race.
biracial- a person whose parents come from two categories that are socially recognized as different "races."
multiracial- refering to a person or relationship that includes people from two or more different socially recognized racial groups. Referring to a person whose genotype (ancestors) include peoples of two or more racial categories.
multigenerational mixing- mixing that occurs over several generations rather than in just one generation. A person with such an identity might be different in a biracial person in that their parents might be of the same socially defined race, but may have ancestors of different races in their family history.
interracial- between racial groups.
intraracial- within racial groups.
mixed-may be the same as biracial or multiracial. Does not specify how many races are mixing or when (recent or multigenerational). Also does not necessarily suggest whether the mixture is racial or ethnic though racial is generally implied.
half-caste- a derogatory term used for biracial peoples in the 1800s.
caste- a term that denotes a social arrangement in which groups are separated hierarchically based on the assumption that they carry very distinct and unequal characteristics. Unlike class, caste systems are more rigid and there is theoretically no mobility between them.
monoracial
transracial
hypergamy-marrying up, that is marrying someone of a higher social status, whether racial or class.
hypogamy- marrying down, that is marrying someone of a lower social status.
hypodescent- the rule that says that when two people of different races produce children, the children have the racial identity of the parent from the racial category with the lower social status.
one-drop rule- basically the same as hypodescent but specific to anyone with African-American ancestry. The idea that even one drop of African blood (ie any fraction of African ancestry) makes one legally and socially black.
whitening- the ideology of marrying someone lighter than oneself in order to produce lighter children. Very common in Latin America and the Caribbean. Also know as blanqueamiento in Spanish.
passing
miscegenation- another word for interracial mixing that carries a negative connotation of being deviant, diluting purity.
pigmentocracy- a system by which people of lighter color have higher social status. Racial groups are not clearly divided into discrete groups but rather color is important in determining social status, in other words phenotype is more imoportant than genotype. For example siblings from the same parents may have different social status depending on their color.
eugenics- the theory that all traits are inheritable, even such things as intelligence, morality, and criminality. Eugenicists believed that interracial mixing led to degenerate offspring.
assimilation
color blind
color conscious
Loving vs. Virginia
racialization- a process whereby a person or group of people are primarily identified by their race rather than other characteristics, or where processes that could be explained by other factors (for example rates of poverty) are explained by race.
metissage- French word for mixing.
metis- French word for a mixed person.
mestizo- Spanish word for a mixed person, usually assumed to be of indigenous and Spanish ancestry but could include other mixes.
mulatto- person of white and black ancestry, usually recent.
Amerasian
Hapa
quadroon- person of one-fourth African ancestry.
octaroon- person of one-eighth African ancestry.
castas- categories of mixed persons as defined by the Spanish colonial administration in the Spanish colonies. Each category depended on the particular mix that created it.
zambo- a person of African and indigenous ancestry in Latin America.
blood quantum- the federally recognized amount of blood or fraction of indigenous ancestry that a person must have in order to be federally recongized as a Native American.
polygenesis- belief that all the so-called races were created by God as they are today at the moment of creation.
monogenesis- belief that there is only one origin of the human species, all races descended from Adam and Eve.
phenotype- your phsycial appearance.
genotype- your ancestry, DNA code, etc.
Amerindian/indigenous/Native American/American/American Indian- all used to refer to the people who inhabited the Americas before the arrival of Colombus.
racial accounting- a system by which someone's ancestry is accounted for in fractions.
limpieza de sangre- the Spanish ideology that first Christian and then white blood must be pure.
romantic individualism-
