Question 1

The current argument over whether to build a wall between Mexico and the United States reflects, in part, what long-standing aspect of how race is constructed and managed in the United States?

Accepted Answer

Nativism refers to the belief that the native-born citizens of a country are superior to immigrants, and it has been a long-standing aspect of how race is constructed and managed in the United States. The debate over building a wall is rooted in nativist arguments about protecting American jobs and keeping out criminals, which are often directed at Mexican immigrants in particular.

Question 2

Chinese immigrants to the United States were quickly separated according to an arbitrary set of characteristics, including slight differences in skin color. The Irish immigrants were similarly segregated, despite having white skin. What was one of the bases on which the Irish were segregated and racialized?

Accepted Answer

One of the bases on which the Irish were segregated and racialized was religion. They were predominantly Catholic, while the dominant religion in the United States was Protestantism. This difference in religion resulted in discrimination and prejudice against the Irish people.

Question 3

What do we call the idea that government policies should favor people born in the United States over immigrants such as Mexicans or Canadians (legal or otherwise)?

Accepted Answer

Nativism is the idea that government policies should favor native-born citizens over immigrants. This can include legal or illegal immigrants, and can target specific nationalities, such as Mexicans or Canadians. It is based on the belief that native-born citizens are more deserving of benefits, services, and opportunities than immigrants, and often includes a suspicion or dislike of foreigners. Genotype refers to the genetic makeup of an individual, and racial ideology is a belief system that assigns value or superiority to different racial groups. Microaggression refers to subtle or indirect verbal or nonverbal actions that can be perceived as discriminatory.

Question 4

Three hundred years of forced transport of millions of Africans to North and South America resulted in ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Three hundred years of forced transport of...

Question 5

President Barack Obama's mother was a white woman from Kansas and his father was a black man from Kenya. What deeply embedded concept of racial division is revealed by the way people regard his race and even debate his birthplace?

Accepted Answer

Hypodescent is the concept that explains the societal tendency to classify a person with mixed racial heritage into the racial category of the minority or socially subordinate group. This concept is evident in how President Obama is often identified primarily as African American, despite his biracial heritage.

Question 6

A person may inherit a genetic pattern for above-average height, but may only reach average height due to poor nutrition. What is this an expression of?

Accepted Answer

Phenotype refers to the observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism, which can be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. In this example, the genetic pattern for above-average height is the genotype, while the actual height achieved is the phenotype, which is affected by poor nutrition as an environmental factor. The concept of a cline refers to gradual variation of a trait across geographic or environmental gradients and is not relevant in this scenario. Poverty is not a scientific concept and is not a relevant factor in describing genetic or environmental influences on height.

Question 7

In the period between 1933 and 1936, the Nazi regime implemented laws that defined who was and was not Jewish according to ancestry. Any person with three or four Jewish grandparents was considered a "full-blooded" Jew. This approach to dividing and categorizing people relies on the assumption that:

Accepted Answer

The Nazi regime's approach to categorizing people based on ancestry in order to determine their "Jewishness" relied on the assumption that race is a biological reality. This approach is rooted in eugenics, the belief that certain races are inherently superior to others, and that genetic traits such as intelligence, moral character, and physical appearance are passed down through bloodlines. The concept of race as a biological reality has been widely discredited by modern science, which recognizes that race is a social construct with no basis in genetics.

Question 8

What example does Jonathan Marks use as a useful way to consider the inherent problem of racially dividing people?

Accepted Answer

Marks uses the example of children sorting according to block size as a way to illustrate the problem with categorizing people based on racial characteristics. This analogy helps to demonstrate how arbitrary and simplistic such classifications can be, emphasizing the complexity and diversity of human beings beyond superficial traits.

Question 9

What rule assigns the children of racially mixed unions to the subordinate group?

Accepted Answer

Hypodescent is a rule that assigns the children of racially mixed unions to the subordinate group. This means that if one parent belongs to a dominant racial group and the other belongs to a subordinate group, the offspring will be assigned to the subordinate group. This rule reinforces the social hierarchy and maintains racial inequality.

Question 10

All human beings of every race share what percent of their DNA?

Accepted Answer

All human beings of every race share 99.9% of their DNA. This means that the genetic differences among individuals from different racial or ethnic groups are very slight.

Question 11

What comprises all of the inherited genetic factors that provide the framework for an organism's physical form?

Accepted Answer

Genotype refers to the entire set of inherited genetic factors that determine an organism's physical form. It includes all the genes an organism receives from its parents that provide the blueprint for its traits and characteristics.

Question 12

Which term refers to laws implemented after the U.S. Civil War to legally enforce segregation, particularly in the South after the end of slavery?

Accepted Answer

Jim Crow laws were implemented after the U.S. Civil War to legally enforce segregation, particularly in the South after the end of slavery. Civil rights refers to the rights that all citizens should have regardless of their race or gender. Discrimination refers to unfair treatment of individuals or groups based on their characteristics. Racialization refers to the process of categorizing people based on their race, which can contribute to discrimination.

Question 13

After the Civil War, many states passed laws mandating the segregation of American citizens of European and African descent. These laws were the result of what existing beliefs?

Accepted Answer

The segregation laws passed after the Civil War were a result of deeply ingrained beliefs about white superiority and the desire to maintain strict racial hierarchies.

Question 14

What would physical anthropologists be more likely to consider in their work with the physical characteristics of Homo sapiens?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What would physical anthropologists be more likely...

Question 15

If a person inherits genes for a dark complexion and blue eyes from his or her parents, what aspect of inheritance does this refer to?

Accepted Answer

This refers to the genotype of the person, which is the genetic makeup inherited from their parents.

Question 16

Despite the initial racist attitudes directed toward Irish, Jewish, and Italian immigrants, these groups eventually "became white" through:

Accepted Answer

The process of becoming "white" in America involved upward mobility and intermarriage with established white populations. As Irish, Jewish, and Italian immigrants improved their economic status and gained social acceptance, they were able to assimilate into white American culture.

Question 17

We can understand the observable differences in body ratios-height versus width-that anthropologists have documented as a matter of ________, or the way genes are expressed in an organism's physical form.

Accepted Answer

Phenotype refers to the physical characteristics of an organism that are determined by its genes (genotype), as well as its environment. In this case, the observed differences in body ratios are likely due to the expression of certain genes that control height and width. Race and ethnicity are social constructs that are not biologically determined, and inheritance refers to the passing of genes from one generation to the next, rather than their expression.

Question 18

For the seventy years leading up to 1860, the U.S. Census counted enslaved peoples as three-fifths of a person. This was done for what purpose?

Accepted Answer

The purpose behind counting enslaved peoples as three-fifths of a person was to uphold the idea of white supremacy. This decision was made as part of a compromise during the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, where the southern states wanted to count enslaved peoples as full individuals for representation purposes, but not for taxation purposes. By counting them as three-fifths of a person, the southern states were able to gain a greater representation in Congress, while maintaining their economic system based on slavery. This decision laid the foundation for institutional racism and the racialization of African Americans in the United States.

Question 19

What is the name for the flawed system of classification, with no scientific basis, that uses certain physical characteristics to divide the human population into supposedly discrete groups?

Accepted Answer

The flawed system of classification, with no scientific basis, that uses certain physical characteristics to divide the human population into supposedly discrete groups is commonly known as race. Options A, B, and C refer to different concepts -genotype refers to the genetic makeup, miscegenation refers to interracial marriage, and hypodescent refers to the practice of assigning a person with mixed ancestry to the lower social status group.

Question 20

A Saint Bernard and a Chihuahua are of the same species but look very different. It is possible to breed the two and get a puppy that might look like something else entirely but still be a dog. The study of dogs might be of interest to an anthropologist because it:

Accepted Answer

The study of dogs and their ability to produce vastly different phenotypes despite being of the same species can help us better understand the relationship between genotype (genetic makeup) and phenotype (outward appearance and characteristics). This understanding can then be applied to the study of human genetics and how environmental factors can affect the expression of certain genes.

Quiz 5: Race and Racism