Week 10 — Readings & Resources · Race & Ethnicity

Course: Introduction to Sociology (SOC 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Adeyemi
Objective covered: Objective 6 — Analyze race and ethnicity as social categories; distinguish prejudice, discrimination, and institutional racism; read demographic data; apply the three perspectives to documented racial inequality.

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser, the same way you'd open a YouTube link. Nothing needs to be downloaded, and there is nothing to buy.

This week's load is a few short videos + brief readings, grouped by the ideas from the lecture. Read or watch one item per group and you're ready for the quiz; do all of them and you'll be very comfortable. Total time is roughly 45–55 minutes if you do everything, far less if you pick one per group.

Reading order that matches the lecture: ① race as a social construction; race vs. ethnicity → ② prejudice, discrimination & racism (the three distinctions) → ③ the three perspectives + Du Bois → ④ reading the Census categories (for the Workshop).

A habit to start now: before you trust any claim about race — in these readings, in the news, or from a chatbot — ask the sociologist's questions from class: Is this about prejudice (attitude), discrimination (action), or institutional racism (a rule)? Is it describing a pattern or asserting a cause? If it cites a number, what's the source and the year, and what does the figure actually measure?

① Race as a Social Construction · Race vs. Ethnicity

Maps to Lecture Segment 2. Race is a socially constructed category built on perceived physical traits; ethnicity is shared culture. "Minority group" (Wirth) is about power and treatment, not head-count.

Video — "Race & Ethnicity: Crash Course Sociology #34"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7myLgdZhzjo
Why it earns the click: a clear ~10-minute treatment of how sociologists define race and ethnicity, why race is a social construction (the categories have changed across time and place), and the minority/dominant group distinction — exactly Segment 2. Hosted by Nicole Sweeney.
⏱ ~10 min

Reading — "Racial, Ethnic, and Minority Groups" (OpenStax, Introduction to Sociology 3e, §11.1)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/11-1-racial-ethnic-and-minority-groups
Why it's assigned: the cleanest plain-language version of the definitions we drew on the board — race (perceived physical traits a society treats as meaningful), ethnicity (shared culture), the social construction of race, and Louis Wirth's definition of a minority group (singled out for unequal treatment — not about being a numerical minority). Free to read online in your browser.
⏱ ~12 min

② Prejudice, Discrimination & Racism — the Three Distinctions

Maps to Lecture Segment 3. The week's signature distinctions: prejudice (attitude, in the head), discrimination (action, in the hands), and institutional/systemic racism (bias in the rules and structures). Merton's typology shows attitude and action can come apart.

Video — "Racial/Ethnic Prejudice & Discrimination: Crash Course Sociology #35"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSddUPkVD24
Why it earns the click: defines prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination, and racism, and (most usefully for the quiz) keeps prejudice (attitude) and discrimination (action) distinct — and gets at individual vs. institutional racism. ~10 minutes, Nicole Sweeney.
⏱ ~10 min

Reading — "Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism" (OpenStax, Introduction to Sociology 3e, §11.3)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/11-3-prejudice-discrimination-and-racism
Why it's assigned: spells out prejudice vs. discrimination, stereotypes, and the difference between individual and institutional racism, the exact distinctions the quiz and assignment turn on.
⏱ ~12 min

③ The Three Perspectives on Race · and Du Bois

Maps to Lecture Segments 5–6. Run racial inequality through functionalist, conflict, and interactionist lenses (the data describe a gap; the perspectives interpret it). Du Bois — the color line, double consciousness — is the founder who anchors the week.

Reading — "Theoretical Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity" (OpenStax, Introduction to Sociology 3e, §11.2)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/11-2-theoretical-perspectives-on-race-and-ethnicity
Why it's assigned: lays out the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic-interactionist views of race one at a time (and touches intersectionality), making the same "each lens reveals something different" point we made in class.
⏱ ~10 min

Video — "DuBois & Race Conflict: Crash Course Sociology #7"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wny0OAz3g8
Why it earns the click: a focused look at W. E. B. Du Bois — "the color line," "double consciousness," and his empirical work — the founder we go deep on this week (you first met him in Week 1). Factual, with his real contributions.
⏱ ~10 min

④ Reading the Census Categories (for the Workshop)

Maps to Lecture Segment 4 + Workshop 10. Before you read any racial demographic number, know what the categories are: the Census measures self-identification, and the categories reflect a social definition of race — "not an attempt to define race biologically."

Reference — "About the Topic of Race" (U.S. Census Bureau)
🔗 https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html
Why it's here: the Census's own statement that its racial categories "generally reflect a social definition of race … and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically," and that responses are based on self-identification. This is the single best primary source for what the Census numbers actually measure — read it before the Workshop.
⏱ ~6 min

Data table — U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States
🔗 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US
Why it's here: the live table you'll read in Workshop 10 — the "Race and Hispanic Origin" rows (self-identified shares). You'll practice reading a population share for what it shows and doesn't. (Open it and find the numbers yourself — that habit is the whole point of the Workshop.)
⏱ ~5 min

Optional one-stop reference (free online text)

If you'd like one optional reference to skim, OpenStax Introduction to Sociology 3e, Chapter 11 ("Race and Ethnicity") covers everything in this week — the social construction of race, race vs. ethnicity, the perspectives, and prejudice/discrimination/racism.
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/11-introduction
Why it's here: a reputable, currently-available reference you can return to — entirely optional this week.

Pick-one quick path (≈22 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these and you'll be ready for the quiz:
1. Watch Crash Course Sociology #34 — Race & Ethnicity (group ①) and #35 — Prejudice & Discrimination (group ②).
2. Skim the Census "About the Topic of Race" page (group ④) for the "social definition / self-identification" point.

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Adeyemi and use the OpenStax Chapter 11 reference above in the meantime. These links are provided for access only — no claim is made about their licensing or reuse terms.