Week 3:

Race, Ethnicity and

Migration
Sarah.kennedy.2009@nuim.ie
Office Hour: Tues @ 10 B2/B4
Sarahkennedytutorials.blogspot.com

Race and Ethnicity

What is race?

What is ethnicity?

Race and Ethnicity

What is race?
o
o
o
o

Shared Physical Characteristics.

Presumption of shared biological or genetic traits.
Has become a polite way of talking about skin colour.
Race as a social construct racial categories are only important because
we deem them so, these categories have changed over time e.g. black
and white.
o Just because race is a social construct does not mean it is not important
to consider.

What is ethnicity?
o Shared Cultural Heritage.
E.g. Language, social cues etc.
o Shared history.
o Presumed shared genealogy.

Hari Kondabolu:
The White Minority

Whats wrong?

Irish Census 2006

Migration

http://www.migrantscontribute.com/what-migrants-bring/understanding-bigger-picture

Perception:

Migrants are poor people from the south moving to rich countries in the north.
The reality is:

Adult migrants moving South to the North represent only 40% of the global total. About 33% of migrants move
between countries in the South, 22% between countries in the North and 5% from the North to the South. Migration
between developing countries is almost equal to migration from developing to developed countries.
Perception:

Migrants steal jobs from their host country.

The reality is:

Migration creates jobs. According to OECD research, migrants expand the domestic market and create a job for every
one they occupy. In the United States, for example, immigrants were responsible for nearly one third of economic
growth in the period from 2007 to 2013.
Perception:

Migrants are welfare cheats and benefit scroungers

The reality is:

Most migrants pay much more into the public purse than they take from it. Research in the UK, Canada, Germany,
Greece, Portugal and Spain shows that migrants are less or equally dependent on public funds than locals.
Perception:

Migration is all about money

The reality is:

The decision to migrate is mostly about lifestyle factors. People move worldwide to pursue an education, gain or share
work experience or be closer to family and loved ones. Economics are important but, in most cases, not the driving
factor.
Perception:

Developed countries are overcrowded and cannot take any more immigrants.
The reality is:

The growth in native population in most developed countries is actually in decline. Migration is key to supporting
population levels and providing a base of working age people to support a growing number of retirees.

Migration
What might help/hinder a migrants chance of success in a host country?

Help

Hinder

Bourdieu & Capital

Capital serves to give some groups more power than others, increasing the
likelihood that they will succeed (Valued/devalued capital).
Economic Capital:
o Money, assets etc.

Social Capital (potential resources):

o Group membership.
o Relationships.
o Social Network.

Cultural Capital:
o Habitus:
The physical embodiment of cultural capital i.e.. dispositions.
o E.g. Street smarts vs. middle-class manners.
o E.g. Womens disposition to lean-back, not negotiate etc.
o Embodied:
Both consciously acquired and passively inherited (socialization)
E.g. linguistic style, self-presentation, taste
o Objectified:
Cultural objects that are owned e.g. art, dictionaries, certain food/wine.
o Institutionalized:
Institutional recognition usually in the form of academic credentials or qualifications.