Topic 4- Ethnicity and Identity

Question 1

Ethnicity

Answer 1

The shared culture a social group belongs to which gives its members a common identity different to other social groups

Question 2

Minority Ethnic group

Answer 2

Is a social group that shares a cultural identity which is different to that of the majority of the population

Question 3

Ethnic identity

Answer 3

Is one in which individuals assert their identity primarily in terms of the ethnic group&culture they belong to.

Question 4

How is a persons ethnic identity formed

Answer 4

from one generation to the next by the agencies of socialisation
e. family, peer groups, education, religious institutions and the mass media

Question 5

How may the education system form ethnic identities

Answer 5

• reinforce ethnic identities through the establishment of ethnic based schools e.g Sikh schools
• through the effect of racism in mainstream schools

Question 6

Sewell (1998):

Example of both peer groups and education can reinforce ethnic identities

Answer 6

• formed peer group related black school subcultures to cope with the racist teacher stereotypes of “black machismo”
• this reinforced black identities

Question 7

How is religion an important socialisation agent in minority ethnic groups
Jacob

Answer 7

-found religion=important source in an individuals identity -Islam particularly among some young British Pakistani Asians as a response to social exclusion, lack of opportunities &racism they encounter

Question 8

Sources of ethnic identity

Answer 8

• Values&beliefs
• Geographical and cultural origins
• shared history
• language
• music
• dress

Question 9

Explanation of multiple identities

Answer 9

• Ethnicity is just one identity.
• e.g individuals may adopt an Asian identity at home and a ‘white mask’ identity at school or in other situations and another identity (multiple identities)
• Multiple identities>hybrid identity

Question 10

White mask identity

Answer 10

Refers to the idea of non white minority ethnic groups seeking to overcome racism&gain acceptance by playing down their ethnic identity&adopting the features of majority white culture

Question 11

Diaspora

Answer 11

is the dispersal of an ethnic population from its original homeland and its spreading out across the world while keeping their cultural ties to its area or nation

Question 12

How does a dispersed ethnic population adopt two ethnic identities

Answer 12

• individuals retain some links to its original culture&heritage
• also adopt elements of the culture of the society they now live in

Question 13

How does globalisation impacting identities

Answer 13

-impact of the global mass media& pop culture means that cultures may be beginning to lose their separate identities

Question 14

What impact do globalisation and diasporas have on culture

Answer 14

different cultures interact and new cultural and ethnic hybrid identities emerge

Question 15

hybrid identity

Answer 15

A hybrid identity is a new identity formed from a mix of two or more identities

Question 16

Hall: Globalisation and diasporas

Answer 16

globalisation and diasporas merge cultures together making ethnic identities harder to identity> create new identities>
e.g African Caribbean music and dress is not popular among Bengali males

Question 17

Another reason why there is no longer a single ethnic identity

Answer 17

• more children born to parents of inter-ethnic partnership, involving a fusion of two ethnic groups
  e. g white and black African parents>difficult for these individuals to identify themselves with one ethnicity or a new hybrid identity

Question 18

Ethnicity as a form of resistance to racism

Answer 18

Ethnicity as an identity is asserted as a way of resisting racism and disadvantage especially among African-Caribbean youth
e.g Sewell anti-school male black subculture as resistance to racism

Question 19

Ethnocentrism

Answer 19

Is a view of the world in which other cultures are seen through the eyes of ones own culture, with a devaluing of the others

Question 20

why are minority ethnic groups limited in their attempts to establish the identity they might want

Answer 20

• may face racist stereotypes by labelling from teachers
• ethnocentric school curriculum
• negative portrayal by the media

Question 21

Ethnic identities in Britain:

White identities

Answer 21

• main agencies of socialisation promote and favour white individuals and their culture
• white British people don’t need to assert their identity as they have the power in society that MEG lack
• Right wing groups e.g British national party aggressively promote a British identity based on ‘pure white britishness’
• some minority ethnic groups may face discrimination e.g immigrants from EU countries like Romania

Question 22

Ethnic identities in Britain:

African Caribbean identities

Answer 22

• Afro Caribbeans who were born in Britain haver certain style of dress, taste in music e.g hip hop (all form a distinctive black identity)
• may be reinforced in black subcultures e.g Sewell anti-school black male subculture

Question 23

Ethnic identities in Britain:

Asian identity

Answer 23

• A diversity of different Asian groups
• largest Asian groups include Indian Asians, Bangladeshi&Pakistanis
• extended families&arranged marriages are common in these groups
• Differences: languages, forms of dress, diets e.g halal food for Muslims, celebrations
• Religion=important Jacobson: Pakistani Muslims: Islam helped them develop a positive identity
• Denied to them by a racist, islamophobic british culture

Question 24

How have Asian identities changed:

Johal

Answer 24

Ermegence of 2 new ethnic identities: British Asians and Brasians

• British Asians: 2 identities: the Asian one they inherit through socialisation from their family& British one from secondary socialisation&living in a British society (Switch between the identities depending on the context their in)
• Brasian Identity: Hybrid identity (elements of both cultures) pick n mix

Question 25

Why has being muslim become a stigmatized identitiy

Answer 25

-the establishment of Islamic law involving legal punishments e.g death by stoning (barbaric to westerners)
-worldwide terrorist networks&media reporting of the activities of a tiny minority of Muslims
-the identity Muslim has become a stigmatised identity
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