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A
African American (adj)
Relating to the culture of African Americans.
African American (n)
1. Refers to Black individuals living in the United States
with African ancestry. 2. Refers to individuals of African
heritage living in the United States having similar experiences,
culture heritage and ancestry of former slaves.
Ageism (n)
Discrimination of individuals based on their age, i.e.
of the elderly based on the notion that they are incapable
of performing certain functions such as driving, or of the
young based on the notion that they are immature and therefore
incapable of performing certain tasks.
Ally (n)
an individual that supports the struggles of a group; not
part of the group him/herself.
Antisemitism (or Anti-semitism) (n)
hatred toward Jews; prejudicial belief in the "racial"
or religious inferiority of Jews. The term itself was first
used in 1879.
Asian American (adj)
Relating to the culture of Asian Americans.
Asian American (n)
Refers to individuals living in the United States with
Asian ancestry.
Anglo American (n)
Most accurately refers to individuals living in the United
States with English ancestry. However, has been used to
refer to all persons of European ancestry living in the
United States.
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B
Bisexual (n)
Individual primarily emotionally, physically, and/or sexually
attracted to members of the same sex, as well as members
of the opposite sex.
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C
Class (n)
Category of division based on economic status; members
of a class are theoretically assumed to possess similar
cultural, political, and economic characteristics and principles.
Classism (n)
Discrimination based on class.
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D
Diaspora (n)
A historical dispersion of a group of people deriving from
similar origins, i.e., the African Diaspora included African
Americans, Africans, Caribbeans, Afro-Russians, Black Brazilians,
Afro-Latinos, etc.
Disadvantaged (adj)
1. A historically oppressed group having less than sufficient
resources to fund all of its basic needs; without expendable
income. 2. A group characterized by disappropriate economic,
social, and political disadvantages.
Discrimination (n)
A biased decision based on prejudice against an individual
group characterized by race, class, sexual orientation,
age disabilities, etc.
Diversity (n)
A situation that includes representation of multiple (ideally
all) groups within a prescribed environment, such as a university
or a workplace. This word most commonly refers to differences
between cultural groups, although it is also used to describe
differences within cultural groups, e.g. diversity within
Asian American culture includes Korean Americans and Japanese
Americans. An emphasis on accepting and respecting cultural
differences.
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E
Emigrant (n)
One who leaves his/her country of origin to reside in a
foreign country.
Essentialism (n)
The practice of categorizing a group based on an artificial
social construction that imparts an "essence"
of that group, which homogenizes the group and effaces individuality
and difference.
Ethnicity (n)
A quality assigned to a specific group of people historically
connected by a common national origin or language. Ethnic
classifications is used for identification rather than differentiation.
Ethnocentrism (n)
The practice of consciously or unconsciously privileging
a certain ethnic group over others. This involves judging
other groups by the value of one’s own group.
Eurocentrism (n)
The practice of consciously or unconsciously privileging
the culture of Europe over other cultures.
European American (adj)
Relating to the culture of European Americans.
European American (n)
An individual living in the United States with European
ancestry.
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F
Feminism (n)
Movement advocating equal rights, status, ability, and
treatment of women, based on the belief that women are not
in any way inferior to men.
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G
Gay (n)
A male homosexual
Gay (adj)
Pertaining to male homosexuality
Gender (n)
System of sexual classification based on the social construction
of the categories "men" and "women,"
as opposed to sex which is based on biological and physical
differences which form the categories "male" and
"female."
Gender identity
Refers to one’s psychological sense of oneself as
a male or a female.
Glass ceiling (n)
Term for the maximum position and salary some claim minorities
and women are allowed to reach without any chances of further
promotion or advancement within an employment scenario.
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H
Heterosexism (n)
Social structures and practices which serve to elevate
and enforce heterosexuality while subordinating or suppressing
other forms of sexuality.
Heterosexual (n)
Social structures and practices which serve to elevate
and enforce heterosexuality while subordinating or suppressing
other forms of sexuality.
Heterosexual (adj)
Pertaining to individuals emotionally, physically, and/or
sexually attracted to members of the opposite sex.
Hispanic American (adj)
Pertaining to Americans with direct ancestry from Hispanic,
or Spanish or Portuguese speaking countries.
Hispanic American (n)
Individuals living in the United States with ancestry from
Hispanic, that is Spanish or Portuguese, speaking countries.
Homosexual (adj)
Pertaining to an individual primarily emotionally, physically,
and/or sexually attracted to members of the same sex.
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I
Immigrant (n)
A person who resides in a nation, country, or region other
that that of his/her origin. Also known as nonnative, outlander,
outsider, alien, etc. …(ant. emigrant).
Indigenous (adj)
Originating from a culture with ancient ties to the land
in which a group resides.
Internalized oppression
A process by which a member of an oppressed group comes
to accept and live out the inaccurate stereotypes applied
to the oppressed group. (Friere, 1970, suggests a liberatory
approach to this phenomenon by establishing a goal for the
oppressed to challenge historical and socially constructed
forces and become actors in his/her own history.
"isms"
Shared and distinctive characteristics of specific forms
of oppression, the patterns that connect and mutually reinforce
different oppressions in a system as well as the dimensions
of experience that connects ‘isms’ in an overarching
system of domination. i.e., racism, sexism, classism, anti-Semitism,
ableism, heterosexism.
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J
Jew(s) (n)
Members of a people based on a background of shared historical
experience and of religious heritage (Judaism). Membership
is through birth or conversion. Not all Jews are religious.
Most North American Jews are descended from immigrants from
Eastern Europe. Jews can be understood in both ethnic and
religious terms.
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K
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L
Latino/a (n)
Inidividual living in the the United States originating
from, or having a heritage relating to Latin America.
Lesbian (n)
Female homosexual.
Lesbian (adj)
Pertaining to female homosexuality.
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M
Minority (n)
Term used to describe a group that represents a relatively
smaller percentage of the overall population of a nation/state/
continent etc. . .
Multiculturalism (n)
The practice of acknowledging and respecting the various
cultures, religions, races, ethnicities, attitudes and opinions
within an environment.
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N
National origin (n)
System of classication bassed on nation from which a person
originates, regardless of the nation in which he/she currently
resides.
Native-American (adj)
Refers to the descendants of the various indigenous populations
that occupied the land now designated America.
Neo-colonialization (n)
Term for contemporary policies adopted by international
and western "1st world" nations and organizations
that exert regulation, power and control over poorer "3rd
world" nations disguised as humanitarian help or aid.
These policies are distinct from but related to the "original"
period of colonization of Africa, Asia, and the Americas
by European nations.
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O
Oriental (adj)
Relating to or deriving from the language, traditions,
or cultures of the peoples of Asian nations in the region
designated as "the Orient," or "the East,"
by Europeans. This term is conspicuously eurocentric as
"the East" is constructed as being opposed to
a fixed reference point, "the West," or western
Europe.
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P
Pan-Africanism (n)
1. Describes the theory relating to the desire to educate
all peoples of the African diaspora of their common plight
and of the connections between them, e.g. a problem faced
by one group affects the lives of other groups as well.
2. Theory relating to the desire to link all African countries
across the continent through a common government, language,
ideology, or belief.
People of color (n)
A term used to describe all non-white racial or ethnic
groups.
Prejudice (v)
Exerting bias and bigotry based on uniformed stereotypes.
Privilege (n)
Power and advantages benefiting a group derived from the
historical oppression and exploitation of other groups.
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Q
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R
Race (n)
1. Classification of humans based on genetic characteristics.
2. Classification of people based on common nationality,
history, or experiences.
Racism (n)
An act of discrimination based on an ideology of racial
superiority.
Religion (n)
1. An organized belief system based on certain tenets of
faith. 2. A belief in a supreme supernatural force or god(s)
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S
Sex (n)
System of sexual classification based on biological and
physical differences, such as primary and secondary sexual
characteristics, forming the categories "male"
and "female" as opposed to gender which is based
on the social constrcution of the categories "men"
and "women."
Stereotype (v)
To categorize people based on an artificial construction
of a certain group designed to impart the "essence"
of that group, which homogenizes the group, effacing individuality
and difference.
Social constructionism (n)
A perception of an individual, group, or idea that is "constructed"
through cultural and social practice, but appears to be
"natural," or "the way things are."
For example, the idea that women "naturally" like
to do housework is a social construction because this idea
appears "natural" due to its historical repetition,
rather than it being "true" in any essential sense.
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T
Tolerance (n)
Acceptance and open-mindedness to different practices,
attitudes, and cultures; does not necessarily mean agreement
with the differences.
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U
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V
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W
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X
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Y
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Z
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