ch 6 ethnicity and nationalism

stateless population

a ethnic/cultural group of individuals that is without a physical territory to accommodate them

ex)Rohingya of Myanmar

minority

a smaller group that differs from the dominant, majority culture in language, food, dress, immigrant history, national origin, or religion

ethnicity

a sense of connection to a group of people whom we believe share a common history, culture, and (sometimes) ancestry and who are distinct from other outside the group

origin myths

a story told about the founding and history of a particular group to reinforce a sense of common identity

ethnicity can be taught and reinforced this way

ethnic boundary markers

a practice or belief used to signify who is in a group and who is not; usually not clearly fixed or defined and may changed over time

ex) collective name, shared cultural practices(food, clothing, and architect), common history/ancestors, particular territory, shared language/religion, shared physical characteristics

situational negotiation of identity

an individual’s self-identification with a particular group that can shift according to social location

groupism

believing that groups will be clearly defined, homoegenous groups with fixed boundaries that will act in a unified fashion

this is not the case!

identity entrepreneurs

political, military, and religious leaders that promote a worldview through the lens of ethnicity

use war, propaganda,and state power to mobilize people against those whom they perceive as dangerous

genocide

the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic or religious group

ex) Hutu and Tutsi of Rwanda

ethnic cleansing

efforts of one ethnic or religious group to remove or destroy another group in a particular geographic area

ex) conflict in former Yugoslavia

melting pot

metaphor used to describe the process of immigrant assimilation into U.S dominant culture

not accurate even for white European immigrants

assimilation

where cultural minorities adopt the patterns and norms of the dominant culture and eventually cease to exist as separate groups

multiculturalism

a patter of ethnic relations in which new immigrants and their children enculturate into the dominant national culture yet retain an ethnic culture

state

regional structures of political,economic, and military rule

Nation-state

a distinct political entity whose population shares a sense of culture, ancestry, and destiny as a people.

citizenship

legal membership in a nation-state

nation

used to describe a group of people who shared a place of origin, but today is used interchangeably with nation-state

nationality

an identification with a group of people thought to share a place of origin

nationalism

when a sense of ethnic community combines with a desire to create and maintain a nation-state in a location where that sense of common destiny can be lived out

imagined community

the invented sense of connection and shared traditions that underlies identification with a particular ethnic group or nation whose members likely will never all meet

can be strong enough to lead people into battle to protect their shared interests

diaspora

a group of people who live outside their ancestral homeland yet maintain emotional and material ties to home