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Question 1

'Scientific' theories in the nineteenth century tried to explain race in naturalistic terms. Which of the following ideas was not considered?

a) genetics

b) evolution

c) height

d) brain size

Question 2

Ethnic identity refers to:

a) the objective categories of ethnicity used in the census

b) a felt sense of group membership on the basis of religion, language, or history

c) the imposition of a racial label on a minority by a powerful majority

d) the fragmented and pluralistic nature of ethnicity

Question 3

Warner and Myrdal claimed that black former slaves were not joining the 'ethnic melting pot' of the North American cities because:

a) the white population did not believe in liberty, equality, and democracy

b) they wanted to retain a strong sense of their original ethnic identity

c) they were not prepared to leave the Southern states and move to North America

d) the promise of citizenship was contradicted by continued discrimination

Question 4

Theories of racialized discourse suggest that:

a) race is an objective way of categorizing people on biological grounds

b) the idea of race is socially constructed through powerful ideologies

c) race relations in Britain and America can be traced back to colonial times

d) people choose their racial identity and this becomes fixed

Question 5

After slavery was abolished in the USA and British Empire, policy makers claimed that former slaves migrating to these cities would experience:

a) assimilation

b) adaptation

c) discrimination

d) compensation

Question 6

Warner's study of the city of Natchez in the American Deep South showed that the 'colour line' there was:

a) no longer a powerful influence upon race relations

b) a way of marking out the land so that black people had less space for housing

c) a new policy that had been introduced to assimilate black and white groups

d) a sharp division between black and white castes, underpinned by beliefs about white superiority

Question 7

The 'Great Migration' of 1916-1919 meant that Chicago became an ethnically diverse city. The consequence of this was:

a) assimilation: all racial boundaries were dissolved by the 'ethnic melting pot'

b) multiculturalism: all ethnic identities were celebrated equally

c) most ethnic groups were integrated into mainstream society, but the black population remained in the city's ghettos

d) racism: the white host population were hostile and prejudiced towards migrants

Question 8

In Patterson's study of Brixton, it was found that:

a) black and white residents competed for economic resources

b) African-Caribbean migrants were concentrated in the poorest and most expensive housing

c) white working class communities resented the arrival of black families

d) all of the above

Question 9

The 'new racism' refers to:

a) a subtler form of prejudice, masked by nationalist pride

b) a post-modern deconstruction of racist ideas to reveal their lack of depth

c) racist practices found in newly emerging areas of social life, such as cyberspace

d) an anti-fascist movement which challenges nationalist politics

Question 10

The Macpherson Report highlighted the increasing problem of:

a) hate crimes: violence against ethnic minorities simply because of their race

b) institutional racism: systematic forms of disadvantage built into the routines and practices of social institutions

c) overt racism in the police force that must be tackled by institutional reforms

d) growing numbers of asylum seekers in need of long term accommodation

Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 06.

Chapter 06

Instructions