Anthropological and sociological approaches
'Ethnic origin' is only one small part of a much broader academic debate about ethnic identity or 'ethnicity'. Most anthropologists and sociologists are more concerned with understanding the boundaries that separate one ethnic group from others in terms of culture and social relationships rather than the narrower definition of 'ethnic origin'. Focusing on the broader concept of ethnicity or ethnic identity makes it apparent that an ethnic group is not just a group of persons defined by reference to their ethnic origin. Factors other than 'origin' come into play when identifying an ethnic group and an individual's place in that group which should to be taken into account.
While there is no clear, universally accepted definition of what constitutes an ethnic group among sociologists and anthropologists, most attempts to define ethnicity focus on one or more of the following issues:
- Who decides
whether a group is 'ethnic' or whether someone is of 'ethnic origin'? Most scholars agree that ethnic identity is shaped by a process of internal
definition and external labeling. That is, people who share the same
ethnic origin define themselves as 'us' and are categorised as 'them'
by people outside the group. [1]
- Are common
ancestry and a shared unique origin in time and place crucial to ethnic
identity? Most contemporary scholars are extremely skeptical of
the essentialist view of ethnicity as some kind of 'natural affinity'
or 'primordial attachment'. Few dispute the idea that a shared, unique
origin in time and place fosters ethnic cohesion. However, most contemporary
sociologists make it clear that the affective tie need not be related
to an actual common, unique origin. Rather, what matters is the belief
on the part of members of an ethnic group that they are descended from
the same ancestors. [2]
- Ethnic identity
is a product of relationships between groups - not groups in isolation. Ethnicity is essentially an aspect of a relationship between groups,
not the property of a single group. [3] For ethnicity
to come about, groups have to have a minimum of contact in order to
create the idea of difference in relation to one another.
- What is the
relationship between ethnicity and broader power structures? Ethnic
sentiment does not arise spontaneously but is related to the struggle
for power between different groups in society. Its appearance is related
to the political and economic interests of those who take the lead in
awakening or maintaining ethnic consciousness or by dominant groups
who wish to create and maintain inequalities and legitimise disadvantage. [4]
- How does culture factor into definitions of ethnicity? Attempts to explain the concept of ethnicity or ethnic origin invariably refer to culture. In defining ethnic culture, most sociologists and anthropologists includes such basic features as: language use, religion, marriage and kinship patterns, education and participation in community institutions and organizations. [5]
This last point is particularly important. For much of the last three decades, the study of ethnicity has been dominated by approaches that regard culture as the key to understanding ethnic group identity. Such approaches focus on the internal constitution and history of separate groups and emphasise the importance of shared fundamental cultural values (which may become manifest in overt signals such as dress and language). Typically, this kind of approach results in studies that use a 'check-list' of cultural essentials against which a specific group can be measured to determine whether it is 'ethnic' or not.
Culture is certainly important. However, to understand ethnic identity, it is not enough simply to investigate a series of fixed cultural essentials. Anthropologist Frederik Barth understood this. In his highly influential study Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, Barth urged anthropologists to place less emphasis on the substance or content of ethnicity. Instead he argued that anthropologists should focus on the social processes which produce, reproduce and organise the boundaries of identification and differentiation between ethnic groups. Barth's emphasis on 'ethnic boundaries' underpins much of the contemporary sociological and anthropological discourse about ethnic identity. [6]
Most contemporary approaches to the study of ethnic identity reject culture as the primary determinant of ethnic identity. Instead, the primary focus is the set of rules that govern inter-ethnic social encounters that allow for the persistence of cultural differences. From this perspective, ethnic groups are what people believe or think them to be; cultural differences mark 'group-ness', they do not cause it or indelibly characterise ethnic identity; and ethnic identification arises out of and by interaction between groups. [7]
1. John E. Zucchi, 'Cultural Constructs or Organic Evolution? Italian Immigrant Settlements in Ontario' in Julius Molinaro & Maddalena Kuitunen (eds) The Luminous Mosaic; Italian Cultural Organizations in Ontario, Editions Soleil, Toronto, 1991. See also Kay Anderson, Vancouver's Chinatown: racial discourse in Canada 1875-1980, McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History, Montreal, 1991.
2. Max Weber, Economy and Society, G Roth & C Wittich (eds), University of California Press, Berkeley, 1978. See also Werner Sollors (ed) The Invention of Ethnicity, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1989.
3. Richard Jenkins, Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations (London: Sage Publications, 1997). See also Frederik Barth (ed) Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organisation of Cultural Difference, Universiteforlaget, Oslo, 1969.
4. Nathan Glazer & Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Ethnicity: Theory and Experience, Harvard University Press, Boston, 1976. See also Marie De Lepervanche, 'From Race to Ethnicity' (1980) Vol 16 Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology.
5. Gill Bottomley, From Another Place: migration and the politics of culture, Sydney: Cambridge University Press, Sydney, 1992. See also Richard Jenkins, Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations, Sage Publications, London, 1997.
7. Frederik Barth (ed) Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organisation of Cultural Difference, Universiteforlaget, Oslo, 1969.
