Law, Governance, Economy and Society

FOUN 1301
Society
Culture,
Anand

Component

Race, Ethnicity

Rampersad- pastiche6@gmail.com

Understanding Caribbean Society

Historical Analysis

What factors account for the diversity of the region?

- Economic

- Political

- Cultural

Understanding Caribbean Society

Orlando Patterson- Caribbean is an artificially created

region

Sugar and shortage of labour provided the basis for the formation of the Caribbean

Understanding Caribbean Society

Different labour systems were employed to introduce people in the region

Some were through vulgar naked force (slavery) and others more
humane(indentureship)

Yet still others came on their own volition

Understanding Caribbean Society

Tainos and Kalinangos

Europeans
Africans
Indians
Chinese
Portuguese
Syrian/Lebanese
Others

Understanding Caribbean Society

Culture

Culture- total way of life. Provides a sense of belonging and identity

Tangible culture-material-physical products-food, musical instruments etc.

Intangible-immaterial- values, beliefs, ideas

Caribbean Dishes (Material Culture)

cou cou (Barbados)

Barbados' national dish is flying fish and cou cou, traditionally served on Fridays

Ackee Jamaica

resembles scrambled egg when boiled. Jamaicans saut the boiled ackee with saltfish
Grenada- Oil Down onepot meal of salted meat, chicken, dumplings, breadfruit, callaloo - made from young
dasheen leaves and other vegetables
St. Vincent &Grenadines- Roasted Breadfruit and Fried Jack fish
Guyana- Pepperpot is a stewed meat dish, strongly flavored with cinnamon, hot peppers, and Cassareep, a special
sauce made from the Cassava root.

Caribbean Dishes (Material Culture)

St. Lucia- green banana and saltfish.
Antigua and Barbuda-The national dish is fungie (pronounced "foon-jee") and pepper pot. Fungie is a dish that's
similar to Italian Polenta, made mostly with cornmeal.

Cuba- ropa vieja

Cuban dish of ropa vieja (shredded flank steak in a tomato sauce base), black beans, yellow rice, plantains and
fried yuca with beer

St. Kitts/Nevis Stewed Saltfish, Seasoned Breadfruit, Spicy Plantain, Coconut Dumplings

Dominica-callaloo and Mountain Chicken

Trinidad and Tobago?

Attire (Material culture)

Yoruba women

Buba - Yoruba blouse

Iro - a wrap skirt

Gele - head tie

Iborun or Ipele - shawl or shoulder sash

Men-

Dashiki

Ghanaian smock also known as fuguor abatakari

Kufiorkufi cap

Material culture?

Factors changing Caribbean Culture

Endogenous factors:

Interculturation- creolisation

Education

Government policy- eg. Multiculturalism and integration through holidays, funding,

festivals etc.

Regional and International factors:

Globalization- media, travel, economic growth, music

Technology- super information highway- ease of information

Americanization; Westernization; Ethnic Revivalism (Easternism)

Gender, Social Class

Gender relates to the social construction of masculinity and femininity

Social class is based upon ones access to economic wealth, status and power

Understanding Caribbean
Society

Race- physical characteristics that carry social meaning- hair, skin colour eg the
Caribbean during slavery, post slavery

Legal definition- binary between white and black e.g Apartheid-South Africa,
One drop Rule or Hypodescent Rule in Southern US

What race is this man?

ddPaternal
Grandparents
1 White
1 Native American
2 Black

ddMaternal
Grandparents
2 Chinese
2 Thai

Father

Mother

What assumptions
lie behind the
designation of Tiger
Woods as an
African American?
The drop of blood theory
Southern segregation laws: 1/64 black = black
The obsession to classify people by race in the US:
These are social, not biological ideas

There are no races in the biological sense of

distinct divisions of the human species
The physical traits chosen to define race are
basically arbitrary and could be things such as
red hair, or ear or nose shape
terms like Black, White, Asian, and Latino are
social groups, not genetically distinct branches
of humankind.
"Race is a real cultural, political and
economic concept in society

Race is
Categories defined and assigned significance by the society
an ever changing complex of meanings shaped by
sociopolitical conflict
not a fixed, concrete, natural attribute
the institutionalisation of physical appearance
socially or culturally and historically constructed
shaped by those in power.
meaningful
social meaning which has been legally constructed
racial differences exist and are perpetuated because they
have cultural significance

Introduction: What is Racism?

Starting Question: What comes to your mind when you hear, racism?

Bigotry: An obstinate or blind attachment to a particular belief, unreasonable

enthusiasm in favor of a party, sect or opinion; excessive prejudice or
intolerance (Newman 9).

Bigotry turns to racism

Racism

Any attitude, belief, behavior, or institutional arrangement that tends to favor over
one race or ethnic group over another (Newman and E.N.Layfield, 9).

4 Types of Racism

Attitudinal Racism: General dislike of a certain race or group without

reason

Ideological Racism: Believing some races superior to others. Ex: Adolf

Hitler.

Individual/ Group Racism Ex: KKK.

Institutional Racism: Create patterns of injustice and inequality because

of skin color. Ex: voting (1960), high price of colleges in America.
(Newman 11-15)

Racialism
The belief that differences between human beings are
inherited such that people can be ordered into separate races
where each race shares traits and tendencies not shared by
members of any other race. Each race has an 'essence'.
Race was essentialized i.e. it came to be seen as real,
natural, and unquestionable
All forms of racism build from the premise of racialism.
Notice that racialism is not saying anything 'good' or 'bad'
about races just that mutually exclusive races absolutely exist
and divide the species.

Over the centuries, dominant groups have used racial ideology to justify,

explain, and preserve their privileged social positions

Racism is the socially-organized result of race ranking

I have a Dream
Martin Luther
King:
I have a dream
that my four
children will one
day live in a
nation where they
are not judged by
the colour of their
skin but by the
content of their
character

Racism
The notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a persons
genetic lineage
Which means, in practice, that a person is to be judged, not by their own
character and actions, but by the character and actions of a collective of
ancestors.
Even if it were proved that the incidence of a men of potentially superior brain
power is greater among the members of certain races than among the members
of others, it would tell us nothing about any given individual and it would be
irrelevant to ones judgement of him.
Should a Hitler be raised to superior status because his German race has
produced Goethe, Brahms, Wagner, etc.

Understanding Caribbean Society

Ethnicity-cultural differences among

populations usually based on attributes
such as language, religion, lifestyle, and
cultural ideas about common descent or territory

Ethnic group- a group that shares a culture

Ethnic boundary marker- the distinctions of language, clothing, or other aspects of

culture that emphasizes ethnicity

Ethnicity
Each of us has an ethnicity
- frequently confused with race
Shared cultural characteristics of a group
Includes: national origin, language,
traditions, customs, religious beliefs/practices,
etc. as well as racial category
The American Anthropological Association
has recommended that the Census Bureau
eliminate the term "race" and replace it with
"ethnic origins," noting that many Americans
confuse race, ethnicity and ancestry.

Understanding Caribbean Society

Ethnicity can be based on:

1. Language

2. Religion

3. Geography

4. Tribe

5. Nationality

Understanding Caribbean Society

Ethnic groups around the globe:

Burundi-Hutus, Tutsis, Twa, Europeans

Canada-British and French origin, other Europeans, Amerindians, other-Asians,

Arabs, Africans, mixed

China- Han Chinese (91%), Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao

Understanding Caribbean Society

Cuba-White (65.1%), Mulatto and Mestizo (24.8%), Blacks 10.1%

Jamaica-Black 90.9%, East Indians 1.3%, White 0.2%, Chinese .2%, Mixed 7.3%,
Other 0.1%

Race/Ethnicity/Discrimination interplay

During an appearance on "Meet the Press" Sunday, NBC's Chuck Todd asked
Carson, "Do you believe that Islam is consistent with the Constitution?"

"No, I do not," Carson responded. "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim
in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."

Cultural Diversity possible?

Allowing all cultural groups a socio-economic and political space to exist without fear of discrimination in every
form and fashion.

Is there room for xenophobia, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Ageism in humanity?

Is cultural diversity a worthy human goal?

Can it be achieved in the Caribbean?

What are some of the ways in which it can be achieved?

Next Class
Caribbean

Social Problems