Aristova I.L.
The
Far Eastern
THEORETICAL
PERSPECTIVES ON ETHNIC IDENTITY
The importance
of the research of ethnic identity has many different roots. Modern world is
characterized by diversity we haven’t experienced never before, and saving of
cultural identity is very acute question for a lot of peoples. Besides, migration
became much more intensive nowadays and made possible to move people of one
identity into another identity. It gives life to many hurtful processes.
The analysis
of recent researches made it possible to speak of main theoretical perspectives
on ethnicity. They are: anthropological perspective (or primordialism
in some variants), sociological perspective, and social-psychological
perspective.
The primordial
perspective emphasizes premigrant ties that are
associated with physical affinity, common language, common religion, and other
cultural and historical commonalities as the basis of ethnicity. So primordialists’ primary focus is on culture and they consider ethnicity as some kind of social
bond “based on commonalities in physical and cultural characteristics and
common historical experiences associated with the place of origin. People have
a natural inclination to seek out others who share ancestry, physical affinity,
language, and/or religion. This primordial bond, which is more emotional than
rational, is the central element of ethnicity” (Min, Pyong
Gap, ed., 2002).
In the
structural perspective the patterns of postmigrant
adjustment to the host society and their effects on the development of a
particular group’s ethnicity are considered. Sometimes the representatives of a
particular ethnicity are forced to accept their ethnic identity by the
expectations from the society.
Like the
structural perspective the social construction perspective considers ethnicity
as fluid and dynamic, socially constructed in people’s concrete social interactions
with others. In multicultural societies minority groups are under influence of
societal expectations and structural barriers. But minority groups are not
passive, they may be considered as social actors, as those who actively
interact with others creating their identity in a particular situation.
According to this perspective people have multiple identity and use one or
another in different situations. This fact produces some methodological
difficulties.
The social
construction perspective pays special attention to the changes in the ethnic
identity and factors of such changes. Not only structural factors, but also ethnic
culture itself makes an important contribution to the development of one’s
ethnicity. Ethnic cultural traditions are not “tinned goods”: they are partly
inherited, partly modified, partly invented. Since social constructionists
interpret ethnic culture as created in the mediation between emigrants and
their descendants transplanted culture and structural conditions in their host
society, they do not make a clear distinction between “primordial” and
“structural” sources of ethnicity.
In spite of
all the differences of the perspectives analyzed there is a general agreement
that ethnicity can better be understood through multiple rather than unitary
factors. The social-psychological perspective is such an approach. It considers
ethnic identity as a specific concept, model, through which a group and its
members understand the role of ethnicity, whereas ethnicity relates to the
structural relationships between ethnic groups.
Tajfel developed one of the most popular psychological theories of social identity.
He hypothesized that individuals will try to find and maintain a positive
social identity. This social identity is always achieved, Tajfel’s
theory suggests, in contradistinction to an outgroup, that is, through the process of social
comparison. Despite the criticism of the unsatisfactory nature of social
identity as a motive force because of the vagueness of the ‘concept of positivity’, this idea nevertheless influenced many
following researches.
So there is no
general theory on ethnic identity and each perspective considers some aspects
of the phenomenon and leaves aside others. But in one way or another
questions of ethnic coping strategies are discussed by many researchers.
To better
understand how individuals and groups deal with changes and tensions in their
identity we should employ the concepts of acculturation and adaptation.
Acculturation is a term which has been defined as a culture change that results
from continuous, first hand contact between two distinct cultural groups
(Berry, John W., 1988, P. 41).Originally it was proposed as a group level
phenomenon, but now it is widely recognized as an individual level phenomenon,
as psychological acculturation. At this level it refers to changes in an
individual whose cultural group is collectively experiencing acculturation.
While the definition implies mutual changes in fact most of them occur in the
non-dominant group.
Individuals
greatly vary in styles of dealing with changes in their lives. Viewing the
acculturation both as a process and an outcome
Classical assimilationists proposed a zero sum model of
acculturation, in which the acculturation of immigrants and their children
involved the gradual replacement of their ethnic culture with a new culture. So
middle-class representatives were expected to be highly assimilated into a new
culture, with little retention of their ethnic cultural traditions. But recent
empirical studies indicate that children of modern immigrants may be highly
assimilated into American culture but still a significant proportion of
second-generation students are bilingual. “…transnational ties and
multicultural policy help immigrant families of all class backgrounds to
transmit their language and culture to their children. Yet middle-class and
professional immigrants with more resources can take greater advantage of these
resources and are better able to take advantage of contemporary technological
advances and multicultural policy more effectively to teach their children ethnic
language and culture” (Min, Pyong Gap, ed., 2002, P.
159).
In other papers we can also find the
discussion on identity tension and the ways to copy with it. So professor Isajiw (Wynnyckyj, Andrij K., 1998) outlined five coping strategies adopted by
Ukrainians when they face identity tension in
If we follow
the analyses of essays made by Asian American professionals (Min, Pyong Gap, ed., 2002), we can conclude that the possibility
to compare the values of two cultures can give the second-generation immigrants
their strength. Most of them experienced prejudice and rejection till college.
But then they grew to appreciate their bicultural heritage. “They
viewed their ethnic values, such as strong work ethic, respect for scholarly
achievements, and esteem for elders, as positive additions to their lives”
(Min, Pyong Gap, ed., 2002, P. 165). The
realization of the fact that they can use the advantages of both cultures gives
them some kind of “the strategy of recognition strategic benefits”.
So ethnic identity is not an entity, but a series of complex processes in
time in which people construct from ‘historical’ facts biographical
continuities between ancestors and their descendants as a group, generally in a
wider social context of other ethnic groups and other social phenomena.
In further
studies and discussions on this issue the role of goal-setting behavior in
acculturative process is shown to be more important. For example, Prof. Wsevolod Isajiw, the Robert F.
Harney Professor of Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies at the University
of Toronto, in a lecture at the St. Vladimir Institute on March 25, 1998 (Wynnyckyj, Andrij K., 1998)
pointed out that though the Ukrainians are one of the largest and most
organized ethnic groups in Canada, they had difficulty in sustaining their
influence on the society as whole, because much of their activity is the
“expressive” rather than “instrumental” mode. He considers the “expressive”
mode of an ethnic identity concentrates on the preservation and promotion of a
given culture through social contacts within an ethnic group, while the
“instrumental” mode prompts individuals to organize in order to achieve
political and economic goals, to claim certain rights and promote policies. He
ties expressive mode of ethnic identity with static components of identity that
are associated with food, dance and so on. Instrumental mode activity is
described as goal-making component of ethnic identity at group level. The
goal-making component is hypothesized to be one of the most important components
for those who achieved a high level of cultural assimilation. It can be
concluded in particular from narratives by Asian American professionals (Min, Pyong Gap, 2002).
So one can see
that ethnic identity is rather complicated phenomenon and it can be analyzed
from different theoretical perspectives.
References:
Min, Pyong Gap, ed., 2002. The Second Generation: Ethnic Identity Among
Asian Americans. Copiright 2002 by
Wynnyckyj, Andrij
K., 1998. ‘Sociologist discusses modes of ethnic identity
in