Lecture 21

Question 1

What is the difference between ethnicity and race?

Answer 1

• Ethnicity is more complicated than race.
• Ethnicity involves grouping people who share cultural, linguistic, or ancestral heritage.
• Ethnicity is different than behaviour. People embrace and celebrate ethnicity. Race is often imposed on individuals or groups by others.

Question 2

Which is more positive, race or ethnicity?

Answer 2

Ethnicity.

Question 3

Race

Answer 3

Race is socially constructed divisions of people based on certain physical characteristics.

Question 4

Ethnicity

Answer 4

Ethnicity is a shared cultural heritage.

Question 5

What are the 3 categories of ethnicity?

Answer 5

Majority groups, minority groups, and dominant groups.

Question 6

Majority Group

Answer 6

Majority groups have greater representation in society. Lots of power and privilege. Japanese is an ethnic group in Japan.

Question 7

Minority Group

Answer 7

Minority groups hold less power than the dominant group. In Japan, this might be Koreans.

Question 8

Dominant Group

Answer 8

Dominant groups are groups who discriminate because they have greater power.

Question 9

How can the dominant group be different from the majority group?

Answer 9

Sometimes having a majority is not necessary to wield power or practice discrimination.

Question 10

How is ethnicity identity and feeling?

Answer 10

Those who have ethnic identity are self-consciously ethnic. Embrace that aspect of themselves. View themselves as different from other ethnic groups.

Question 11

Why are some people passionate about their ethnic heritage and others not?

Answer 11

• Relative size of group. The larger the group, the less influence it has on shaping identity.
• Power the group wields in society. Groups that have social power seem to have less influence on identification with an ethnic identity.
• Appearance of members of that group. If the group has a distinguishing mode of dress, it is more likely to be used as a point of identity.
• Discrimination. The more discriminated against the group is, the stronger the influence is on constructing ethnic identity.

Question 12

Identity Work

Answer 12

When you are engaged in identity work or ethnic work, you are involved in a process of identifying and constructing what it is that makes you unique in terms of your ethnic identity.

Question 13

How can individuals shape ethnicity?

Answer 13

Prop up certain aspects over others. Can also not care at all.

Question 14

How does ethnicity create conditions for conflict?

Answer 14

Tribalism.

Question 15

Why does tribalism occur?

Answer 15

Ethnic groups make specific claims to kinship, ancestry, common history, and to specific symbols that capture the group’s identity.

Question 16

Give an example of how it does not matter whether an objective blood-relationship exists. It matters whether poeple perceive these things to be real.

Answer 16

St. Patrick’s Day.

Question 17

How is ethnic identity affected by viewpoints of outsiders?

Answer 17

Attention of outsiders can be good or bad. Can also be criticisms. We construct boundaries for those like us and those not like us.

Question 18

Odinism

Answer 18

Norse mythology. The Vikings. Refers to the modern reconstruction and revival of pre-Christian Germanic religions. Centred on the pantheon of God: Odin, Wotan. More than one God.

Question 19

Parallel religion to Odinism:

Answer 19

Asatru.

Question 20

Odinism and Asatru are associated with ___.

Answer 20

Heathenry.

Question 21

Difference between Odinism and Asatru:

Answer 21

Odinism is associated with white nationalists, while Asatru is viewed as anti-racist.

Question 22

What is the problem with Heathenry?

Answer 22

Problem with Heathenry is that it celebrates whiteness. Viewed as negative and problematic.

Question 23

True or false? White movements are decreasing.

Answer 23

False, these movements are growing.

Question 24

Origins of Odinism:

Answer 24

• German youth started making sacrifices to Odin, and moved into the Nazi party.
• People outside Germany noticed this revival. One of these people was Alexander Rudd Mills. Wrote a book called Odinisim Overcoming Jewish Christianity.

Question 25

Why would Asatru and Odinist groups emerge around the same time with no contact?

Answer 25

General resurgence of new religious groups.

Question 26

Norse Paganism is on a continuum with 3 positions on race and ethnicity:

Answer 26

• First position is anti-racist position. Is the dominant position. Adopt a perspective which they call universalism. Their religion is universal, anyone can join it.
• Radical racist position. Largely made up of Odinists, view their religious practice as an expression of the Aryan race. See it as an exclusively Aryan task.
• Third way takes sociological view. Recognize race is social construct, distinguish between race and ethnicity. Pro-tribalism, but anti-racism. They think it is legitimate for them to celebrate North European ethnicity and cultural heritage, but don’t want to be racist.

Question 27

How to Odinists justify excluding people?

Answer 27

Odinists argue that Heathens should be afforded same consideration of Native Americans, who have to prove ancestry for a card.

Question 28

Odinism is tied up with the baggage of white colonialism. How do Odinists avoid this?

Answer 28

• All cultures in history have baggage.

* Focus on faith instead of ancestral element.