Exam 6: Ethnicity and Race

An anthropological understanding of ethnicity and race requires exploring how people and institutions define, negotiate, and even challenge their identities in society. One way anthropologists-and social scientists in general-do this is by studying status, which refers to

What is the term for ethnic groups that once had, or wish to have or regain, autonomous political status?

De facto discrimination occurs when laws exist that harm a specific group and its members.

A key element of multiculturalism is its respect for ethnic diversity.

Depending on the situation, the same man might declare "I'm Jimmy's father"; "I'm your boss"; "I'm African American"; or "I'm your professor." This phenomenon, whereby a person's claimed or perceived identity varies depending on context, is called

Which of the following statements about purported attempts to assign humans to discrete racial categories based on common ancestry is true?

In Japan, the burakumin represent an isolated breeding population that is genetically distinct from the rest of the country.

In understanding the problems that have arisen in attempts at human racial classification, why is it important to understand the difference between genotype and phenotype?

When an ethnic identity is flexible and situational, it can become an achieved status.

Host countries that emphasize assimilation tend to encourage minority ethnic groups to retain their identities.

Is it contradictory to say that membership in an ethnic group is an ascribed status while arguing that we negotiate our social identities? Why or why not? How do we occupy multiple social statuses?

What term refers to the destruction of the culture of an ethnic group?

Most Americans are not very precise in distinguishing between the terms race and ethnicity.

Which of the following statements about U.S. racial categories is true?

Racial categories in Japan are more rigid than racial categories in Brazil.

The role of natural selection in producing variation in human skin color illustrates the explanatory approach to explaining human biological diversity.

A plural society is the opposite of a society that forces groups to assimilate.

The term hypodescent refers to individuals who are racially pure.

Which of the following is a major difference between Brazilian and U.S. racial taxonomies?

A nation-state refers to an ethnic group that is not politically autonomous.