Deck 15: Brazil: Racial and Ethnic Democracy

Question 1

Some social scientists believe that the Brazilian racial system is slowly becoming more like the American racial system in:

A)giving indigenous people a voice.
B)describing Brazil in bipolar racial terms.
C)enacting laws to counter discrimination.
D)encouraging interracial marriages.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The African slave trade in Brazil developed because:

A)the unwillingness to enslave Indians.
B)of geographical proximity and access.
C)the development of the world market for sugar.
D)conflicts between Portuguese and German settlers.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Classifying Barack Obama as white in the U.S.would be in opposition to the __________ in the United States.

A)rule of hypo-descent
B)rule of hyper-descent
C)whitening ideal
D)blackening ideal

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Brazil essentially has a __________ scheme comprised of __________.

A)biracial; blacks and mulattoes
B)biracial; blacks and whites
C)triracial; European, African, and indigenous Indian peoples
D)triracial; African, indigenous Indian, and Asian peoples

Question 5

The Brazilian expression "money whitens" implies that as people's class status rises:

A)the overall wealth of the society increases.
B)the hypo-descent rule is enforced.
C)they are perceived as lighter in skin color.
D)their offspring become lighter in skin color.

Question 6

A well-known Afro-Brazilian painter is listening to a young black man struggling to rise in a diplomatic up the career ladder.After hearing the young man's complaints of the barriers he faces because of his color, the painter responds, "I understand your case perfectly, my dear boy; I was black once, too" (Ribiera, 2000:157).This story illustrates that Brazilians:

A)view race in a historical perspective.
B)mirror the race that society gives them.
C)do not belong to any race per se.
D)redefine their racial identity to some extent.

Question 7

The largest European immigrant group to arrive in Brazil during the late 19th and early 20th centuries came from:

A)Portugal.
B)Spain.
C)Italy.
D)France.

Question 8

Which factor most distinguishes the different combinations of what Brazilians call tipos?

A)Intelligence
B)Skin color
C)Migration pattern
D)Ancestry

Question 9

Rafi, a Brazilian mulatto, and Sophia, a white Brazilian, just got married.Rafi speaks of "purging his blood" at the post-ceremony festivities.What concept is this phrase associated with?

A)Social distancing
B)Manumission
C)The whitening ideal
D)Cultural assimilation

Question 10

Which social factor is most used to classify people racially in Brazil?

A)Marital status
B)Religious affiliation
C)Political affiliation
D)Social class

Question 11

According to Deglar (1986), what most accounts for the seemingly diminished hostility between blacks and whites in Brazil?

A)The immigration of the Italians
B)The presence of the mulatto
C)The history of laws protecting slaves
D)The sheer vastness of the Brazilian landscape

Question 12

Which statement is one of Tannenbaum's premises in discussing Brazilian slavery?

A)Slavery in Brazil was not inherently cruel or harsh.
B)The church helped to enforce protective slave laws.
C)Slaves had greater opportunities for manumission to full citizenship.
D)The mortality rate among the slave population was relatively low.

Question 13

Ana Julia lives in Southeast Brazil.She is most likely to be ethnically:

A)Indian and living in an agrarian, underdeveloped area.
B)Italian and living in an urban, industrialized area.
C)black and living in an agrarian, underdeveloped area.
D)mulatto and living in an urban, industrialized area.

Question 14

In modern day Brazil, race relations is predominantly one of:

A)rapid ethnic assimilation.
B)partial ethnic assimilation.
C)equalitarian ethnic pluralism.
D)inequalitarian ethnic pluralism.

Question 15

In Brazil, the racial origins of people are thoroughly interwoven in various combinations.As an example, _____________ disproportionately hold society's power, privilege, and prestige.Except for the arenas of sports and entertainment, the bulk of the poor and uneducated are ____________.

A)branca; prêta
B)prêta; branca
C)indígina; parda
D)parda; indígina

Question 16

Brazil was formed through:

A)Italian conquest.
B)British conquest.
C)Portuguese conquest.
D)Spanish conquest.

Question 17

Which of the following is a key difference between the United States and Brazil?

A)Racial divisions are less fixed in Brazil.
B)African cultural influences are more pronounced in the U.S.
C)Racial divisions are more fixed in Brazil.
D)More Africans were brought as slaves to the U.S.

Question 18

Freed Brazilian slaves often found it difficult to experience upward social mobility because they:

A)were under periodic control of indigenous peoples.
B)were not fluent in Portuguese.
C)lacked access to proper training.
D)competed directly with European workers.

Question 19

What does evidence compiled by historians in recent years indicate?

A)The Brazilian slave system was less harse than the American slave system.
B)The Brazilian slave system endured fewer insurrections than the American slave system.
C)Brazilian law made cruelties and brutalities against slaves punishable under law.
D)Brazilian fugitive slaves were less organized than their American counterparts.

Question 20

Because of the imprecise nature of racial classification in Brazil, racial groups tend to:

A)operate by caste as a default mechanism.
B)identify themselves primarily on their ancestry.
C)assume they have some indigenous blood.
D)view racial status as less important than class status.

Question 21

The vertical dimension of race relations would most be reflected by the __________ in a society.

A)impact of education on class
B)level of intermarriage
C)institutional integration
D)amount of social mixing

Question 22

The Afonso Arinos law:

A)has been progressively effective in reducing discriminatory practices in Brazil.
B)is one of the first instances in which Brazilians acknowledged that discriminatory practices existed.
C)was prompted largely by white activists in the Brazilian legislature.
D)has been criticized because of its harsh enforcement strategies.

Question 23

The class system in Brazil may be most reflected in its:

A)lack of industrialization.
B)gender patterns.
C)ethnic hierarchy.
D)miscegenation practices.

Question 24

Brazilians often cite the tradition of __________ as proof of their lack of prejudice toward people of different colors, but some point out that the commonness of this practice may simply be due to __________.

A)miscegenation; accessibility
B)affirmative action; economic need
C)typologies; immigration
D)higher education; class

Question 25

Which characteristic typifies the Brazilian racial system, as opposed to the American system?

A)Brazil utilizes a more simplied set of racial typologies.
B)Brazil has more strongly localized racial terminology.
C)Brazil has a biracial system rather than a triracial system.
D)Brazil has clearer cut boundaries among its racial groupings.

Question 26

In the past decade, racial inequality in Brazil has:

A)been increasingly denied by political leaders.
B)been reduced through a strong affirmative action program.
C)been increasingly recognized by political leaders.
D)decreased substantially in pre-college education.

Question 27

Which statement best describes stereotyping in Brazil?

A)Positive stereotypes about mulattoes are distributed by the media.
B)Negative stereotypes about blacks are more harsh than in the U.S.
C)Positive stereotypes about whites are rarely seen in the media.
D)Negative stereotypes about blacks are widely held by whites, blacks, and mulattoes.

Question 28

Which of the following is an example of a "whitening strategy" in Brazil?

A)Deporting blacks to Africa
B)Introducing the racial group "mulatto"
C)Forbidding miscegenation
D)Encouraging mass immigration from Europe

Question 29

Zara is an Afro-Brazilian looking for work in São Paulo.Which job will she be most likely to obtain?

A)Receptionist
B)Salesperson
C)Restaurant waiter
D)Domestic worker

Question 30

Which component would belong to the horizontal dimension of race relations?

A)Education
B)Occupation
C)Residence
D)Income

Question 31

Xuxa was a Brazilian media superstar of the 1980s and 1990s.As one of the country's most celebrated entertainers, she enjoyed a popularity that at times seemed like idolatry.What were the physical characteristics of Xuxa?

A)Brunette, blue-eyed, and tanned
B)Black hair, black- eyed, and dark-skinned
C)Brunette, brown-eyed, and fair-skinned
D)Blond, blue-eyed, and fair-skinned

Question 32

What is an example of instititional discrimination in Brazil?

A)Writing "good appearance" in an employment want ad
B)Steering blacks towards elevators for service personnel
C)Denying entrance to blacks from hotels and clubs
D)Investing fewer educational resources into black students

Question 33

The fusion of Catholicism and West African religious rituals into cults known as macumba is an example of:

A)racial egalitarianism.
B)structual assimilation.
C)racial pluralism.
D)cultural assimilation.

Question 34

About __________ of all Brazilian marriages are interracial and between __________.

A)10 percent; blacks and mulattoes
B)25 percent; blacks and mulattoes
C)70 percent; whites and mulattoes
D)80 percent; whites and mulattoes