Preview

Define the Relationship Between Ethnicity, Census and Identity Formation

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
757 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Define the Relationship Between Ethnicity, Census and Identity Formation
Define the relationship between Ethnicity, Census and Identity formation

We live in a strongly progressing world and usually from the day we are born, we believe we are free to define our destiny. But is this entirely true if from the very beginning we are defined and included in a society of which we are ignorant? As we grow, so does our erg to find who we are and where we belong, as to say identify ourselves. This willingness to discover “the inner self” leads us to a search of “others like us”. “People who are generally recognized be themselves and/or others as a distinct group, with such recognition based on social or cultural characteristics.” (qtd. In Kertzer and Arel, p.21) – ethnicities, which on the other hand are directly linked to a census – generally viewed as a matter of bureaucratic routine, a necessity of the modern age, a kind of national accounting. By our racial, ethnic, linguistic or religious “marks”, we are a part of a specific society or nation. But it was not always like that. People often had the sense of simply being “from here” and did not realize the complex meaning of “to belong”. History gives us great examples of struggle for identification. In Southeastern Europe, at the turn of the twentieth century, political boundaries were unstable because of the Ottoman Empire. By applying force, the Ottomans influenced several states in terms of language and religion. Bulgaria was in the middle of this fight. Often if Bulgarians refused to accept the new religion and define themselves as Turks they were simply killed. This was a distinctive form of racism and discrimination against free will. For me it is wrong for: multiculturalism: to be restricted, but in the end, from a historical point of view, slavery plays a crucial role in peoples` conceptions of themselves. From the Balkans to Central Africa, ethnic conflict and violence have been interpreted as evidence that peoples` collective identities do not necessarily match national

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Premise 1: • Group identity, indeed all categories, is socially constructed; • There are no ‘naturally given’ categories; • Notions of social class, race, gender, ethnicity, place and social group emerge from human thought and action.…

    • 1660 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    -Race and ethnicity are important features in national identity narratives of who belongs and who doesn’t…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Peoplehood Model

    • 1604 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the United States there are more than 150 ethnic groups that have been physically recorded. However, this number is only an estimate of what the exact number could be because it is exceptionally challenging to pinpoint an exact number in a melting pot country such as the United States. Within each one of these ethnic groups are people who have their own sacred history, where they originate, and what their beliefs are. As a human being, we must take into consideration that not everyone is going to have the same outlook or opinion as we do. For example, even though the land we live on in America unites us as a people, it does not symbolize the same meaning to each of us. My home could easily be a foreign sight to someone who lives in New York. This is just one example of why the United States does not fit each criteria of the peoplehood model.…

    • 1604 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    One of the most promising approaches to the field of multicultural counseling/therapy has been the work on racial/cultural identity development among minority groups. This model acknowledges within groups differences that have implications for treatment. The high failure-to-return rate of many clients seems to be intimately connected to the mental health professional’s inability to assess the cultural identity of clients accurately. The model also acknowledges sociopolitical influences shaping minority identity.…

    • 1560 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Identities are the definition of who we are, our peculiarities which distinguish us from any other entity. Our identities could be extremely complex, processing our ethnic group, cultural background as well as family status. However, it could also be defined in an abstract way, containing all the lived experience we have concealed and our own perspectives. Through the integration with others, based on a derisive self-perception, we may tend to disguise our true selves to search for approval. While we often attain to make a forceful stand for maintaining our own personalities, we are being true to ourselves even to the detriment to our sense of belonging.…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An ethnic group is a social category who shares a common culture, such as common language, a common religion, or common norms, customs, practices and history. Britain is described as a multicultural (existence of two or more distinctive ethnic groups within one society) country due to the integration of a mass of ethnic minority groups. Johal’s (1998) findings show that second and third generation British-Asians have a dual identity. He found that Asian youth was adopting a “white mask” in order to socialise with their white peers at school or college, but stressing their cultural difference when they feel it is necessary. He stated that many British-Asians adopt a hybrid identity and chose aspects of British, Asian and global culture to build their identity. This is a factor that shapes their social identity because they change language, dress, fashion, music and food to ‘fit in’ at school where they may have white peers, but then when they are with their family they have to change back as their family may not be modern. So basically, they are living two lives, where they have multiple identities, which is made up of their ethnicity, where they have lived and their Britishness. This is assimilation, which is the process by which ethnic minorities adopt the mainstream culture. It is also stated by Roger Ballard (1994) that young Asians manage to navigate between them with relative ease, they simply switch codes, in their parent’s home they fit into Asian cultural expectations, but outside of their home they will try to blend into the mainstream. This is known as cultural navigation. The younger generations of the ethnic minority groups may try to mix in more with the mainstream as they have to make friends as they educate, the younger generation like to socialise through being like the mainstream, whereas older generations are used to their birthplace and therefore may try very little to mix in with the mainstream.…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In order to understand how an individual constructs their identity, there has to be uniformity in the measurement of identity development through models. There is a lot of literature that is written on this subject. Biracial identity construct models have changed throughout history, reflecting…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The establishment of identity is an important, complex task for all adolescents, and is considered a major developmental task for all adolescents. It is particularly complicated for adolescents belonging to ethnic and minority groups. Ethnic identity of the majority group of individuals is constantly validated and reinforced in a positive manner where as the minority group is constantly ridiculed and punished in a negative manner. What does this say for those adolescents who are the minority and not the majority? It is important to study or research ethnic identity because it provides better knowledge to help one understand striving for a sense of unity and connectivenesss in which the self provides meaning for direction and meaning of ethnic identity (Spencer, 1990). It is also important to study or research the differences between these groups due to beliefs and values.…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    African American teens tend to racially group amongst themselves because race has been a central theme throughout American history; from the Constitution to the Civil War to the denial of African American citizenship and social participation. Tatum (2003) noted in her essay, “Why are all the Black Children Sitting together in the Cafeteria?” an excerpt from our textbook, From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader (2008), that ‘racial grouping begins by the sixth and seventh grades’ (p. 359). Right about the time puberty begins questions of identity for all teens generally surface. For African American teens, these questions also include ‘Who am I ethnically and racially?’ In addition, Tatum (2003) suggests, “African American teens are forced to look at themselves through a racial lens because the rest of the world does” (p. 360 ). For example, racial profiling sends a very clear message. During adolescence, race becomes more personal and noticeable for the African American student. Finding the answers to questions like, ‘What does it mean to be a young African American?’ ‘How should I act?’ ‘What should I do?’ are all important questions, for Black teens, but the last thing they want to do is ask their parents (pp. 359-364). So, they turn to their peers for the answers. Therefore, African American children resort to self-segregation as a coping mechanism against racism. “They turn to each other for support they are not likely to receive anywhere else. Sometimes their White peers are the perpetrators of racism and if they are not; they are unprepared to respond supportively.” (p. 364). Education in African American studies would be beneficial in helping White teens understand their African American peers. Connecting yourself with people who look like you is only natural; it is a part of growing up and important to your identity development process.…

    • 2397 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    CONCLUSION. Ethnicity still source of social identity. Active, politicised identity (Bradley). Still discrimination but recently celebration of diversity. Blurring – perhaps. Ethnicities may well be evolving. Not completely free choice.…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethnic Boundary Analysis

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In many ways ethnic boundary markets and the categorization of race can be seen as a very similar to one another. On page 158 of the text we are presented with the definition of ethnic boundary markers, is an attempt to signify who is in a particular group and who isn’t. These may include a collective name, shared cultural practices such as food, clothing, and architecture; a belief in a common ancestors; association with a particular territory; a shared language or religion; and an imagination of shared physical characteristics. These ethnic boundaries are not clearly defined and can change just a frequently as they are made up. The movement of groups of people through marriage, migration and adoption all contract this set notion of ethnic…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Defining your Identity

    • 806 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Through three various texts: ‘America’ by Claude MaKay, ‘Identity: How I Define Mine’ by Althea Samuels, and ‘Cultural Baggage’ by Barbara Ehrenriech it is presented that one can have very different experiences when trying to identify themselves and their heritage. In these texts it is shown that society can be very judgemental of immigrated cultures and should be more accepting so that one can feel a sense of belonging, and should also discourage forward racism, whilst giving people the choice of deciding one’s own identity. In order to live harmoniously and avoid conflict because of cultural differences, one should be allowed to determine their own identity and culture, while living by their own values.…

    • 806 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This article were written by: Deborah Rivas-Drake, Carol Markstrom, Moin Syed, Richard M. Lee, Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor, Tiffany Yip, Eleanor K. Seaton, Stephen Quintana, Seth J. Schwartz, and Sabine French studied four different races, African American, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Native American, to understand their outlook on their race according to their culture. Their outlook of their culture was described as the Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI). This article was prepared as part of the Ethnic and Racial Identity in the 21st Century working group. The actual study focused three different factors: psychosocial functioning and mental health, academic outcomes, and health risk outcomes as the result of ERI.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Deadly Identities

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The notion of nation was perceived by people in order to determine belonging of certain country yet Maalouf vehemently stand against this notion. Since he had two nations on his soul, he could not choose one of them. Nowadays, because of the politic or social reasons, people cannot understand that they may belong to two or more country deep inside of them. But it became very controversial issues. Maybe countries cannot share their successful citizen, maybe other reason; these kind of people force to choose one side. This would be an easy choice for those who cannot feel belonging to one particular country. On the other hand there are ones who cannot choice even deep inside of them. How can societies expect from such people to turn their “other” nation’s back on. They manipulate us that as if the belonging is just come from the nation or the race. By contrast, that kind of people may be fed by various culture effects. There are many things to live for same reason absent the nation or race uniform.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Maxwell, Rahsaan. National and Minority Identification among Non-whites in Britain: Where Is the Tradeoff? Publication. University of Massachusetts, Amherst Department of Political Science, n.d. Web. 26 July 2012. <http://www.ecprnet.eu/MyECPR/proposals/reykjavik/uploads/papers/1008.pdf>.…

    • 1553 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays