Chapter 8 Summary

Chapter 8 discusses the concepts of racialization and ethnicity. Racialization is based in the classification of other people on observable characteristics, and can lead to stratification. Ethnicity is membership in a group based on shared identity. Canada is a diverse country in terms of ethnicity, and it exhibits both the harms of racialization as well as efforts to eradicate those harms.

Functionalism recognizes the solidarity function of ethnicity, whereby identifying with others and shared cultural practices produces cohesion and a strengthened sense of self. Ethnic diversity can contribute to multiple points of view and cultural exchange. Conflict theorists identify the practices of exclusion and stratification enabled by racialization, and how colonialism has led to the harmful subjugation of populations on the basis of racial categories. Symbolic interactionist approaches recognize that it is through symbols that race and ethnicity are constructed, so the symbols used in this fashion can generate solidarity but also label self and other in troubling ways. Feminist theorizing recognizes that, just as gendered categories are heterogenous, so too are ethnic categories, and race and gender intersect in ways which produce distinct experiences.

Globalization and migration lead to diasporas of interconnected ethnic communities. They also lead to increased diversity, bringing questions of social distance and tolerance to the fore. When asked, Canadians report tolerance of migrants and diverse cultures.

However, Canada has also exhibited the harms of racialization practices, as demonstrated in institutional racism, colonialism, eugenics, and systemic racism. Attempts to overcome these harms and to adhere to the principles of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, we have seen efforts such as legal battles to eradicate systemic racism, changes to the Immigration Act, and Truth and Reconciliation Commission.