ethnicity and identity

Question 1

what is ethnicity

Answer 1

• ethnicity refers to the shared culture and history of a social group
• can be established through shared dress, diet, customs and rituals etc.

Question 2

discuss 4 elements of ethnicity and socialisation

Answer 2

primary socialisation- family teaches shared language, customs and dress

secondary socialisation- religious schools can reinforce the religious values or strengthen them

religious festivals- eg ramadan can create stronger connections to ethnic identity

media- eg. bollywood films may strengthen ethnic identity but may be negative and lead to stereotyping

Question 3

name the four theorists linked to the asian identity

Answer 3

• rosemary hill
• modhood et al
• jacobsen

Question 4

what did rosemary hill say about the asian identity

Answer 4

asians have generational conflict the norms and values acquired at home clash with the ones acquired from school and their white peers

Question 5

what did modhood say about the asian identity

Answer 5

asian identities are diverse and they are defined by their differences in language, religion and dress eg. turban is a symbol of ethnic identity

Question 6

what did jacobsen say about the ethnic identity

Answer 6

found religion to be central for example young muslims their religion is very important to them and a very positive influence

Question 7

what was said about african caribbean identities

Answer 7

tony sewell said peer group is very influential in shaping ethnic identity among african caribbeans.
partly responsible for educational underachievement and unemployment
male african caribbean’s identity is focused on being hyper male and “gangster” compensates for lack of father figure link to media and mtv which encourages this and values material culture over education

Question 8

what would postmodernists say about ethnicity and identity

Answer 8

new identities emerging and people can have hybrid identities- individuals can adopt more than one ethnic identity depending on the context that they find themselves in for example asian identity at home but white mask identity at school

Question 9

what did paul say about ethnicity and identity

Answer 9

suggests globalisation and the new media has made it difficult to identify just one different ethnic identity- new identities created through interethnic marriages