Sections:
erm
usage is a continual source of disagreement and debate in the
academic community. What words or phrases best capture what we are trying
to convey? How do we conceptualize our ideas and theories in a manner that
not only makes sense to ourselves, but to the people we are talking to as
well? Without agreement on term usage any discussion becomes difficult,
but in a field as interdisciplinary and geographically unbounded as that
of migration and ethnicity studies the challenge to find common language
seems particularly daunting.
On this page we have collected some discussions and suggested readings on
terms associated with the study of migration and ethnicity. Note that
these threads deal mostly with general terminology in past and present
usage. For discussions dealing more specifically with terms denoting group
identity see our identity issues page.
Sections:
Query:
1) What are the promising sides of linking caste and race. How has this
analogy played a role in comparative historical scholarship on racial
hierarchies?
2) What are the hazards of this analogy. How has recent historical
scholarship borne on the relative importance of modern ideologies of
biological determinism in the maintenance of racial hierarchies and caste
structures?
Query:
When did "ethnic group" rather than "race" come into use, either academic
or popular?
H-Ethnic members suggest a few readings.
Query:
Does immigration with a specific destination, such as to the United
States, constitute a diaspora? Is there such a thing as the Irish
diaspora, Italian diaspora, or German diaspora? Does the word connote
victimization, or some other aspect of a group identity or mentalite?
Query:
Is diaspora less a sub-category of migrant community and more a subjective
understanding of the experience of migration? Response to H-ethnic re
John Radzilowski's review
of The Penguin Atlas of Diasporas by Gerard Chaliand and
Jean-Pierre Rageau.
Query:
Are there studies that problematize in a more abstract way the relations
between nation- states and diasporas; how the existence of these
communities conflict with our traditional idea about the nation-state and
what efforts sending states make to deal with this?
Query:
What is the origin and original meaning of the term "melting pot"?
Query:
What is the origin and original meaning of the term "model minority"?
H-Ethnic replies and suggests readings.
Query:
Can anyone define "pluralism" and "diversity" and give the difference
implied in the meanings of the two terms?
Query:
Is regionalism related to ethnicity?