Chapter Main Points

  • Subsistence technology is the most basic force shaping society and group relationships. Agrarian technology created competition for land and labor, resulting in the subjugation of some groups and the near extermination of others. The evolution of subsistence technology through the industrial and postindustrial stages continued to shape the situation of minority groups—including women and LGBTs—and the nature of dominant–minority conflict.
     
  • The contact situation creates dynamics that affect dominant–minority relations for centuries (or longer). We have analyzed these dynamics using Blauner’s distinction between immigrant and colonized minority groups and Noel’s concepts of ethnocentrism, competition, and power. We have seen the numerous ways in which minority groups today continue to be affected by their contact situations.
     
  • Intersectionality reminds us that we are each privileged and disadvantaged in many ways according to our social statuses (e.g., race, gender, class) and how social forces shape our lives. We need to continually recognize the diversity within groups.
     
  • The extent of acculturation and integration is highly variable from group to group. Of the racial and ethnic minority groups, only the descendants of the European immigrant groups have approached full assimilation. Each of the other groups we have considered ranks below white ethnics in terms of accul­turation and integration. Some of these groups (Hispanic and Asian groups in particular) have been affected by high rates of immigration in recent decades. Gender retains significant strength in American culture. Women rank below men on many measures of integration and equality. LGBT minorities seem to be gaining more acceptance, but continue to face significant issues of inequality and marginalization.
     
  • The sociological perspective locates the source of minority problems in the structure and everyday func­tioning of the larger society. It rejects the assumption that mobility and opportunity are equally open to all and thereby counters the individualistic view shared by many Americans. It takes account of the his­tory of dominant–minority relations, the evolving subsistence technology, globalization, and the chang­ing political, cultural, and economic processes that structure modern societies. It provides a broad view of groups and social structures, grounded in evidence and research and guided by critical thinking and careful reflection.