>>Ethnicity

Ethnicity and Humanity

"Ethnicity refers primarily to social and cultural forms of identification and self-identification… Racial categories appear biological, but their significance is often social. Racial categories in the United States often appear mutually exclusive, but may in fact be overlapping. The 2000 census was the first that allowed individuals to claim multiple racial affiliations-e.g., African-American and Native American".⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾Lawrence M. Hinman Source: Retrieved from the WWW on May 23, 2002 @ http://ethics.acusd.edu/presentations/appliedethics/Race/index_files/frame.html

The history of humankind is rife with tales of misdeeds perpetrated upon those seen as different, and self-serving rationalizations by the perpetrators, for those despicable acts. Characteristics that are obvious physical, religious, or social differences are often touted as justification for the markedly unjust. There are some philosophies that question seemingly obvious differences and decry the consequences of accepting value based on what may be only superficial appearances. Certainly, the subject of what defines ethnicity is open to interpretation and debate.

This web site will explore some common constructs of ethnicity, and many of the likely consequences of various widely accepted value groupings. The goal, of this site, is to assist interested persons in identifying the commonalities and benefits that all inhabitants of the planet should enjoy. We live on a world of unlimited potential, yet this vision of what could be is often blinded by destructive fear and self-interest. I dedicate this site to the dream of a better tomorrow, for all of the earth's inhabitants.

What is ethnicity?
Words such as "ethnic groups", "ethnicity" and "ethnic conflict" are common terms in the current political landscape. In TV news, in political programs, and in casual conversations, these terms are frequently referenced, yet many of us probably find the meaning of these terms to be ambiguous and vague.

"Ethnicity seems to be a new term", according to Nathan Glazer and Daniel Moynihan, who cite the term's earliest dictionary appearance is in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1972. David Riesman, the American sociologist, is credited with first using this word in 1953. The word "ethnic" is a much older word, however. The word "ethnic" is derived from the Greek ethnos (which is in turn derived from the word ethnikos), and originally meant heathen or pagan. In the English language, from the mid-14th century until the mid-19th century, it was used with this meaning.

Gradually, the word "ethnic" began to refer to "racial" characteristics. In the United States, around the Second World War, "Ethnics" came to be used as a polite term referring to Jews, Italians, Irish and other people considered to be inferior to those of British descent.

In everyday language, the word ethnicity still has a ring of "minority issues" and "race relations", but in social anthropology, it refers to aspects of relationships between groups which consider themselves, and are regarded by others, as being culturally distinctive. Although it is true that "the discourse concerning ethnicity tends to concern itself with subnational units, or minorities of some kind or another" (Chapman et al., 1989: 17), majorities and dominant peoples are no less "ethnic" than minorities. ⁽²⁾

⁽²⁾Ethnicity and Nationalism Anthropological Perspectives, by Thomas Hylland Eriksen, London: Pluto Press 1993

Web references:
http://www.smsu.edu/Minority/definitions.htm (Definitions of terms)
http://www.usdoj.gov/kidspage/words.htm (More definitions)
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/legalinfo/nordwg_brochure.html (Brochure: Federal Protection Against National Origin Discrimination)
http://allrelated.syr.edu/ (The Illusion of Race)
http://www.journale.com/withoutsanctuary/main.html (Postcards and Photographs of Lynching in America)
http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/race.html (Race and Ethnicity with Links)