September 27, 2021
not essential: identification
rational/strategic
All of these perspectives presume:
How do these attributes that shape the use of ethnicity constrained/changed?
Identification is only one part of how ethnicity. Helpful to think of ethnicity as a social boundary
As you watch the following, think about the following:
In small groups: share the ways ethnic categories are used
In small groups: share the ways ethnic categories are used
institutional use: the use of ethnic/racial categories by formal institutions to label people (not necessarily in a discriminatory manner)
institutional separation: the presence of distinct formal institutions for people labelled as members of different ethnic/racial categories (not necessarily unequal)
social closure: the use of ethnic/racial categories to separate or organize personal/informal interactions between people (not necessarily unequal)
power disparity: the use of ethnic/racial categories to discriminate in access to goods, services, rights, recognition (e.g. in institutional use, institutional separation, social closure) that enhances/restricts the life choices
legal examples: property rights, marriage/inheritance, education, government jobs, government services, elected representation, criminal law, affirmative action
market: housing discrimination, job discrimination, restricting spaces (e.g. private clubs, gated communities)
interpersonal: employer/employee relations; customer/client relations; formal/informal modes of address; non-reciprocity in forms of interaction; status hierarchy
cultural differentiation: the use of ethnic/racial categories to differentiate cultural practices (food, clothing, traditions), language, and religious belief.
Note: Sometimes cultural difference is used to define category membership. Sometimes cultural difference is a way to use categories:
examples: choice of alphabet/spellings; changing vocabulary (Hindustani vs Urdu vs Hindi)
marking: using category labels for some groups as distinct from a “reference” or “unmarked” category that is the unspoken default (e.g. in Canada, “white” is often an unspoken default)
groupness: using category labels to proclaim or invoke the existence and unity of a group (parades, mass performances, history/schooling)
explain behavior: using ethnic/racial category labels to explain behavior or outcomes (basically, stereotyping)
exemption: use of ethnic/racial categories to claim or identify exemption:
behavioral scripts: use of racial/ethnic categories to differentiate the “proper” or “default” way of interacting with a person
ethnic boundaries are structures in that they
They are often durable because:
But: there is a tension between ethnic boundaries and ethnic identification (Wimmer)
social boundaries are intersubjective
people understand the categories, rules for membership, and how they are used, even if they DO NOT CONSENT/AGREE WITH these practices.
boundaries made up of and reproduced by individual interactions
Because boundaries are made of individual actions, they are changeable
But because they involve understanding and coordination between many people, hard to change (not the same as slow to change)