Sociology of Racism

Authors and Source

• Matthew Clair, Harvard University
• Jeffrey S Denis, McMaster University
• Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Overview

• Sociology of racism explores racism, racial discrimination, and racial inequality.
• Past focus: Overtly racist attitudes and policies.
• Contemporary focus: Subtle, diffuse processes and structures reproducing racial inequality.
• Racism is seen as an ideology of racial domination.
  • Justifies inferior treatment of other racial groups.

Key Concepts

Definitions

• Race: Social construct; no biological basis for differences in ability or behavior.
• Racism: Ideological, involves racial domination and hierarchical valuation.
• Distinct from:
  • Racial Discrimination: Unequal treatment based on race.
  • Racial Inequality: Unequal outcomes in various domains (income, health, etc.).

Race vs. Ethnicity

• Race: Assumed biological basis, fixed characteristics.
• Ethnicity: Common ancestry, history, cultural practices, more fluid.
• Socially constructed categories, shaped by social forces and state power.

Intellectual History

• Two phases in sociology of racism:
  1. Late 19th to mid-20th century: Focus on overt attitudes.
  2. Mid-20th century to present: Includes implicit biases, structural/institutional racism.
• Early sociology often maintained racist assumptions.
• Shift post-WWII: From psychology of individual prejudice to systemic social processes.

Contemporary Approaches

• Focus on persistent racial inequality despite declining overt racist attitudes.
• New Racisms: Contextual principles justifying inequalities, e.g., symbolic racism, colorblind racism.
• Implicit Bias: Unconscious attitudes affecting behavior and decision-making.

New Racisms

• Principle-implementation gap: Support for racial equality in principle, resistance to policies.
• Symbolic racism, laissez-faire racism, colorblind racism discussed.

Implicit Bias

• Unconscious biases impacting expectations and actions.
• Measured through Implicit Association Tests (IAT).
• Studies show persistent biases even among minorities about their own groups.

Racism as a Social Process

• Racialization: Constructing racial meaning, signification of categories.
• Macro- and micro-level processes, including historical and interpersonal interactions.

Institutional Racism

• Shift from individual to systemic focus.
• Institutional Racism: Discrimination embedded in organizations, policies, and norms.
• Macrostructural processes provide meaningful explanations of racial inequality.

Responses to Racism

• Internalized racism: Acceptance of dominant ideologies by targets.
• Everyday racism studies illuminate effects and strategies of resistance.
• Comparative studies assess responses and strategies across contexts.

Challenges and Future Directions

• Racial inequalities persist despite being a socially unacceptable topic.
• Need for nuanced understanding and multivalent approaches.
• Scholars urged to continue bridging different levels of analysis to address contemporary racism.

Related Topics

• Crime, Immigration, and Ethnicity
• Discrimination: Racial
• Ethnicity, Sociology of
• Social Inequality
• Race Identity and Racism in the 21st Century

Bibliography

• Extensive list of references including works by W.E.B. Du Bois, Blumer, Bonilla-Silva, and more on various aspects of racism and social inequality.