Ethnic inequalities - functionalism

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What do functionalists believe?
That in a meritocratic society ethnic inequality would decline as immigrants adopted norms & values of mainstream society & climbed their way up the career ladder.
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Which sociologist to use for functionalism and what is their theory called?
Patterson - Host immigration model
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How does the host immigration model explain inequality?
Britain was stable & orderly until 1950s when immigrants who had different norms & values came. This created a culture clash, fears and anxieties from host community as they didn't know how to act.
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What were the 3 causes of ethnic inequality according to Patterson?
fear of cultural difference from immigrants & the social change they bring, host cultures resentment of having to compete for scarce resources such as housing & jobs, failure of immigrants to assimilate/ become 'British'.
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What did Patterson say would happen if ethnic minorities practiced their cultural norms/values in public?
they would experience hostility because cultural strangeness causes anxiety.
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How would immigrants fully assimilate according to Patterson?
By shedding their 'old' ethnic values.
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What are the 3 stages immigrants go through before they are fully assimilated?
Accommodation, integration, assimilation.
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What is accommodation?
minimal adaptation to mainstream society such as finding employment.
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What is integration?
When hosts & immigrants socialise with one another outside of work.
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What is assimilation?
the complete assimilation into mainstream society, complete acceptance of them by the rest of society.
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What can assimilation lead to?
physical amalgamation - interbreeding between races can lead to complete disappearance of distinctive features of immigrants and hosts.
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Give an evaluation intro for Patterson
although her theory emphasises the dynamic nature of ethnic relationships, critics argue she is naive to assume all ethnic minority groups assimilate into ‘British culture’
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Eval: what would postmodernists say?
would argue that Britain is a multicultural society in which diff ethnic cultures co-exist and this should be celebrated
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Eval: what would marxists say?
criticize her for ignoring the significant role that capitalism plays within society and how the division of people by race helps to maintain the capitalist structure. This means assimilation will remain an idealistic goal that is impossible to achieve un
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Card 2

Front

Which sociologist to use for functionalism and what is their theory called?

Back

Patterson - Host immigration model

Card 3

Front

How does the host immigration model explain inequality?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What were the 3 causes of ethnic inequality according to Patterson?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What did Patterson say would happen if ethnic minorities practiced their cultural norms/values in public?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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