race
a socially defined category based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people
ethnicity
a socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality, history, or another cultural factor
symbolic ethnicity
an ethnic identity that is only relevant on specific occasions and does not significantly impact everyday life
situational ethnicity
an ethnic identity that can be either displayed or concealed depending on its usefulness in a given situation
minority group
members of a social group that is systematically denied the same access to power and resources available to society's dominant groups but who are not necessarily fewer in number than the dominant groups
racism
a set of beliefs about the superiority of one racial or ethnic group; used to justify unquality and often rooted in the assumption that differences between groups are genetic
prejudice
an idea about the characteristics of a group that is applied to all members of that group and is unlikely to change regardless of the evidence
discrimination
unequal treatment of individuals based on their membership in a social group; usually motivated by prejudice
individual discrimination
discrimination carried out by one person against another
institutional discrimination
discrimination carried out systematically by insitutions (political, economic, educational, and others) that affect all members of a group come into contact with it
passing
presenting yourself as a member of a different racial or ethnic group than the one you were born into
embodied identity
those elements of identity that are generated through others' perceptions of our physical traits
miscegenation
romantic, sexual, or marital relationships between people of different races
affirmative action
programs or policies that seek to rectify the effects of past discrimination by increasing representation and ensuring equal opportunity for any previously disadvantaged group
genocide
the deliberate and systematic externation of a racial, ethnic, national, or cultural group
population transfer
the forcible removal of a group of people from the territory they have occupied
internal colonialism
the economic and political domination and subjugation of the minority group by the controlling group within a nation
segregation
the formal and legal separation of groups by race or ethnicity
assimilation
a pattern of relations between ethnic or racial groups in which the minority group is absorbed into the mainstream or dominant group, making society more homogenous
racial assimilation
the process by which racial minority groups are absorbed into the dominant group through intermarriage
cultural assimilation
the process by which racial or ethnic groups are absorbed into the dominant group by adopting the dominant group's culture
pluralism
a cultural pattern of intergroup relations that enourages racial and ethnic variation within a society