race
a group of people who share physical characteristics, such as skin color and facial features, that are passed on through reproduction
ethnic group
a set of people who identify with a common national origin or cultural heritage that includes language, geographic roots, food, customs, traditions, and/or religion
racial-ethnic group
a group of people who have both distinctive physical and cultural characteristics
dominant group
any physically or culturally distinctive group that has the most economic and political power, the greatest privileges, and the highest social status
apartheid
a formal system of racial segregation
minority group
a group of people who may be subject to differential and unequal treatment because of their physical, cultural, or other characteristics, such as gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or skin color
genocide
the systematic effort to kill all members of a particular ethnic, religious, political, racial or national group
internal colonialism
the unequal treatment and subordinate status of groups within a nation
segregation
the physical and social separation of dominant and minority groups
assimilation
the process of conforming to the culture of the dominant group (by adopting its language and values) and intermarrying with that group
pluralism
minority groups retain their culture but have equal social standing in a society
racism
a set of beliefs that one's own racial group is naturally superior to other groups
prejudice
an attitude, positive or negative, toward people because of their group membership
stereotype
an oversimplified or exaggerated generalization about a category of people
ethnocentrism
the belief that ones own culture, society, or group is inherently superior to others
scapegoats
individuals of groups whom people blame for their own problems or shortcomings
discrimination
any act that treats people unequally or unfairly because of their group membership
individual discrimination
harmful action directed intentionally, on a one-to-one basis, by a member of a dominant group against a member of a minority group
institutional discrimination
unequal treatment and opportunities that members of minority groups experience as a result of the everyday operations of a society's laws, rules, policies, practices, and customs
gendered racism
the combined and cumulative effects of inequality due to racism and sexism
contact hypothesis
the idea that the more people get to know members of a minority group personally, the less likely they are to be prejudice against that group
miscegenation
marriage or sexual relations between a man and a women of different races