hat unifies all movements of people from one
place
to another, then, is
not necessarily their causes, but rather the inevitable experiences of
cultural difference that will take place once the migrants arrive and try
to build lives in their new homes. Should they assimilate as quickly as
possible, or is it better to try to retain a separate culture? Is there
even a single, identifiable culture to assimilate into in their new home?
If there is, will newcomers be allowed to take part in that culture as
full members, or will there be segregation and discrimination based on
racial and cultural differences? Of course, these issues have been
debated and contested, often violently, for as long as there have been
human migrations, but here at the end of the twentieth century, with the
sheer increase in the number of people on earth and the rapid
developments in technology enabling communication between these people,
inquiry and debate inspired by intercultural encounters have increased
tremendously. With the concomitant rise in the number of migrants in the
world, moreover, these inquiries and debates seem particularly pertinent
today, and as both scholars and non-academics grapple with applying
lessons of the past to help guide us through the future, we are coming to
the understanding that many of the issues that face migrants today are
the same as those domestic minorities have struggled with for decades and
centuries.
-Net’s discussion networks have been excellent
forums for these debates
since the inception of the organization in the early nineties. Hidden
away in the message logs of the various networks is a great amount of
information, and this website is intended to bring some of that
information out for utilization. The
bulk of discussion threads presented on this site are from H-Ethnic’s
logs. H-ETHNIC
encourages
scholarly discussion of ethnic history;
immigration and emigration studies and makes available diverse
bibliographical, research, and teaching aids. H-Ethnic's moderated
discussion list enables historians to discuss with colleagues their
research interests, teaching methods and views on the state of
historiography. It should be noted, however, that a number of related
threads from other lists are also included.
One of the strengths of H-Net is its interdisciplinarity and its
subscribers’ wide range of specialties and interests, qualities that are
crucial for a comprehensive understanding of the issues involved. It is
furthermore our hope and intention to keep building this site with
contributions from its users, and we have therefore included a section
for comments and responses from you.
ecause of the breadth and interdisciplinarity
of the topic we have
elected to break the site down into several pages that cover different
aspects pertaining to the study of migration and ethnicity. On each of
these pages, which you can reach either by clicking on the buttons on the
left or on the highlighted text below, you will find discussion threads
and scholarly essays dealing with various ideas and issues from different
angles.
n our terminology page you
will find material dealing with how the study of migration and ethnicity
is and has been conceptualized over the years, including threads on the
terms "melting pot" and "model minority."
nother page deals with some of the political, legal, and economic issues
particularly relevant to the field. See for example all the debates
sparked by California’s Proposition 187, and a related discussion of
whether European immigrants to the United States earlier in the nation’s
history were more eager to assimilate than some of the more recent
immigrant groups from other parts of the world.
closely related page treats issues of identity formation. How does
ethnicity relate to personal and group identity? Who gets to decide what
names and labels we use for each other? What, if anything, is gained by
identifying with a particular ethnic group? A growing field of study
looks at "whiteness" as an ethnic category. On this page there are
several discussion threads dealing with names and identifiers, including
recurring debates over the use of the term "Euro-American."
f course, awareness of cultural differences is
not something entirely
new. Under a page we have called ethnicity in history we have collected several
discussion threads that deal with ethnicity in a historical perspective,
including one on nativism and anti-nativism in the American Guilded Age,
and another on the history of ethnic Japanese in Brazil.
ast but not least, on our media and teaching tools page, we have harvested some good bibliographies, course suggestions and syllabi. See also our links page for a list of annotated Internet links to sites providing useful information on the study of migration and ethnicity.