(Definitions in green are "works in progress" by the Social Issues class)
-A-
African-American (adj) - Relating to the culture of African Americans.
African American (n) - 1. Refers to black individuals living in the United States with African ancestry. 2. Refers to individuals of African heritage living in the United States having similar experiences, culture heritage and ancestry of former slaves.
agism (n) - Discrimination of individuals based on their age, i.e. of the elderly based on the notion that they are incapable of performing certain functions such as driving, or of the young based on the notion that they are immature and therefore incapable of performing certain tasks.
ally (n) - An individual that supports the struggles of a group; not part of the group him/herself.
Asian-American (adj) - Relating to the culture of Asian Americans.
Asian-American (n) - Refers to individuals living in the United States with Asian ancestry.
-C-
class (n) - Category of division based on economic status; members of a class are theoretically assumed to possess similar cultural, political and economic characteristics and principles. Your socio-economic standing (e.g., upper, upper/middle, middle, lower/middle/lower)
classism (n) - Discrimination based on class.
construct (n)- something constructed esp. by mental synthesis (see social constructionism)
Culture: a group of people whose members speak the same dialect and share common activities, values, and interests
Culture:
Dialect: refers to the group’s common use of grammatical structures, slang, idioms, patterns of speech, etc.
diaspora (n) - A historical dispersion of a group of people deriving from similar origins, i.e. the African Diaspora includes African Americans, Africans, Caribbeans, Afro-Russians, Black Brazilians, Afro Latinos, etc...
disadvantaged (adj) - 1. A historically oppressed group having less than sufficient resources to fund all of basic needs; without expendable income. 2. A group characterized by disproportionate economic, social, and political disadvantages.
Discrimination: a restrictive treatment of a person or group based on prejudiced assumptions or group characteristics, rather than on individual merit. Being negative toward people by excluding them based on race, gender, class, ability, sexual orientation or age.
discrimination (n) - A biased decision based on a prejudice against an individual group characterized by race, class, sexual orientation, age disabilities, etc...
Discrimination:
diversity (n) - A situation that includes representation of multiple groups within a prescribed environment, such as a university or a workplace. This word most commonly refers to differences between cultural groups, although it is also used to describe differences within cultural groups, e.g. diversity within the Asian-American culture includes Korean Americans and Japanese Americans.
dystopia (n) - an imaginary place which is depressingly wrteched and whose people lead a fearful existence.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
emigrant (n) - One who leaves his/her country of origin to reside in a foreign country.
essentialism (n) - The practice of categorizing a group based on an artificial social construction that imparts an "essence" of that group, which homogenizes the group and effaces individuality and difference.
ethnicity (n) - A quality assigned to a specific group of people historically connected by a common national origin or language. Ethnic classification is used for identification rather than differentiation. Determined by what a person believes is their true cultural background or heritage.
ethnicity (n) - A quality assigned to a specific group of people historically connected by a common national origin or language. Ethnic classification is used for identification rather than differentiation.
Ethnicity:
ethnocentrism (n) - A practice of unconsciously or consciously privileging a certain ethnic group over others.
Ethnocentrism (n) - The practice of consciously or unconsciously privileging the culture of Europe over other cultures.
European-American (adj) - Relating to the culture of European Americans.
European American (n) - An individual living in the United States with European ancestry.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
feminism (n) - Movement advocating equal rights, status, ability, and treatment of women, based on the belief that women are not in any way inferior to men.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
gender (n) - System of sexual classification based on the social construction of the categories "men" and"women," as opposed to sex which is based on biological and physical differences which form the categories "male" and "female."
glass ceiling (n) - Term for the maximum position and salary some claim minorities and women are allowed to reach without any chances of further promotion or advancement within an employment scenario.
genocide (n)- The systematic elimination of a race.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
Hate - according to Elisabeth Young-Bruehl, there exist 3 typologies of hate:
obsessive hate: Obsessives (e.g., Nazis ) fantasize a threat from a minority, and obsessively try to rid themselves of it. For them, the very existence of the hated group is threatening. They often describe their loathing in almost physical terms; they experience what Patrick Buchanan, in reference to homosexuals, once described as a "visceral recoil" from the objects of their detestation. They often describe those they hate as diseased or sick, in need of a cure. Or they talk of "cleansing" them, as the Hutus talked of the Tutsis, or called them "cockroaches," as Yitzhak Shamir called the Plaestinians.
hysterical hate: a prjudice that a person uses unconciously to appoint a group to act out in the world forbidden sexual and sexually aggressive desires that the person has repressed. Unlike the obsessives, hysterical haters do not want to eradicate the objects of their loathing; rather they want to keep them in some kind of permanent and safe subjugation in order to indulge the attraction of their repulsion
narcissistic hate: (e.g., sexism) rooted in many men's inability even to imagine what it is to be a woman
Hispanic-American (adj) - Pertaining to Americans with direct ancestry from Hispanic, or Spanish speaking, countries.
Hispanic American (n) - Individuals living in the United States with ancestry from Hispanic, or Spanish speaking, countries.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
institutional (adj) - A system that unknowlingly promotes privilege through such "isms" as racism, sexism, agism and xenophobia and homophobia
'isms:
The following are some specific forms of prejudice and discrimination:
Racism: a prejudice or discrimination based on the belief that race is the primary factor determining human traits and abilities. Racism holds that genetic, or inherited, differences produce the inherent superiority or inferiority of one race to another.
Religious Bigotry: a prejudice or discrimination against all members of a particular religious group based on negative perceptions of their religious beliefs and practices or on negative group stereotypes.
Anti-Semitism: a prejudice or discrimination against Jews, based on negative perceptions of their religious beliefs or on negative group stereotypes. Anti-Semitism can also be a form of racism, as when Nazis and others consider Jews an inferior “race”.
Sexism: a prejudice or discrimination based on gender
Homophobia: a prejudice against homosexuals (gays and lesbians) which can lead to discrimination and violence against homosexuals or people perceived as homosexual.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
latino/a (n) - Individual living in the United States originating from, or having a heritage relating to Latin America.
immigrant (n) - A person who resides in a nation, country, or region other than that of his/her origin.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
minority (n) - Term used to describe a group that represents a relatively smaller percentage of the overall population of a nation/state/continent etc...
multiculturalism (n) - The practice of acknowledging and respecting the various cultures, religions, races, ethnicities, attitudes and opinions within an environment.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
national origin (n) - System of classification based on nation from which a person originates, regardless of the nation in which he/she currently resides.
Native-American (adj) - Refers to the descendants of the various indigenous populations that occupied the land now designated America.
neo-colonialization (n) - Term for contemporary policies adopted by international and western "1st world" nations and organizations that exert regulation, power and control over poorer "3rd world" nations disguised as humanitarian help or aid. These policies are distinct from but related to the "original" period of colonization of Africa, Asia, and the Americas by European nations.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
oriental (adj) - Relating to or deriving from the language, traditions, or cultures of the peoples of Asian nations in the region designated as "the Orient," or "the East," by Europeans. This term is conspicuously eurocentric as "the East" is constructed as being opposed to a fixed reference point, "the West," or western Europe.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
Pan-Africanism (n) - 1. Describes the theory relating to the desire to educate all peoples of the African diaspora of their common plight and of the connections between them, e.g. a problem faced by one group affects the lives of other groups as well. 2. Theory relating to the desire to link all African countries across the continent through a common government, language, ideology, or belief.
people of color (n) - A term used to describe all non-white racial or ethnic groups.
Prejudice: a negative or hostile attitude toward a person or group formed without just grounds or sufficient knowledge and based on negative stereotypes. Prejudice is the result of “pre-judgment” and can lead to discrimination.
prejudice (v) - Exerting bias and biqotry based on uniformed stereotypes.
Prejudice:
privilege (n) - Power and advantages benefiting a group derived from the historical oppression and exploitation of other groups.
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
Race: refers to a group which has some common biological characteristics that are relevant to the social interactions and lifestyle of that group...The group one associates with because of color or likeness
race (n) - 1. Classification of humans based on genetic characteristics. 2. Classification of people based on common nationality, history, or experiences.
Race:
racism (n) - An act of discrimination based on an ideology of racial superiority.
religion (n) - 1. An organized belief system based on certain tenets of faith. 2. A belief in a supreme supernatural force or god(s).
Segregation:
sexism (n) - Prejudice or discrimination based on gender
Stereotypes: a preconceived or oversimplified generalization about an entire group of people without regard for their individual differences. While often negative, stereotypes may also be complimentary. Yet even positive stereotypes can have a negative impact and can feed into prejudice.
stereotype (v) - To categorize people based on an artificial construction of a certain group designed to impart the "essence" of that group, which homogenizes the group, effacing individuality and difference.
social constructionism (n) - A perception of an individual, group, or idea that is "constructed" through cultural and social practice, but appears to be "natural," or "the way things are."
(*All definitions denoted in green were made by the class.)
tolerance (n) - Acceptance and open-mindedness to different practices, attitudes, and cultures; does not necessarily mean agreement with the differences.