Lecture 21 Flashcards
What is the difference between ethnicity and race?
- 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.
Which is more positive, race or ethnicity?
Ethnicity.
Race
Race is socially constructed divisions of people based on certain physical characteristics.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity is a shared cultural heritage.
What are the 3 categories of ethnicity?
Majority groups, minority groups, and dominant groups.
Majority Group
Majority groups have greater representation in society. Lots of power and privilege. Japanese is an ethnic group in Japan.
Minority Group
Minority groups hold less power than the dominant group. In Japan, this might be Koreans.
Dominant Group
Dominant groups are groups who discriminate because they have greater power.
How can the dominant group be different from the majority group?
Sometimes having a majority is not necessary to wield power or practice discrimination.
How is ethnicity identity and feeling?
Those who have ethnic identity are self-consciously ethnic. Embrace that aspect of themselves. View themselves as different from other ethnic groups.
Why are some people passionate about their ethnic heritage and others not?
- 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.
Identity Work
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.
How can individuals shape ethnicity?
Prop up certain aspects over others. Can also not care at all.
How does ethnicity create conditions for conflict?
Tribalism.
Why does tribalism occur?
Ethnic groups make specific claims to kinship, ancestry, common history, and to specific symbols that capture the group’s identity.
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.
St. Patrick’s Day.
How is ethnic identity affected by viewpoints of outsiders?
Attention of outsiders can be good or bad. Can also be criticisms. We construct boundaries for those like us and those not like us.
Odinism
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.
Parallel religion to Odinism:
Asatru.
Odinism and Asatru are associated with ___.
Heathenry.
Difference between Odinism and Asatru:
Odinism is associated with white nationalists, while Asatru is viewed as anti-racist.
What is the problem with Heathenry?
Problem with Heathenry is that it celebrates whiteness. Viewed as negative and problematic.
True or false? White movements are decreasing.
False, these movements are growing.
Origins of Odinism:
- 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.
Why would Asatru and Odinist groups emerge around the same time with no contact?
General resurgence of new religious groups.
Norse Paganism is on a continuum with 3 positions on race and ethnicity:
- 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.
How to Odinists justify excluding people?
Odinists argue that Heathens should be afforded same consideration of Native Americans, who have to prove ancestry for a card.
Odinism is tied up with the baggage of white colonialism. How do Odinists avoid this?
- All cultures in history have baggage.
* Focus on faith instead of ancestral element.
