Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference
About: This article is published in British Journal of Sociology.The article was published on 1970-06-01. It has received 4205 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Social organization & Ethnic group.
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TL;DR: The final version of this article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the Australian Journal of Education (AJE) as discussed by the authors, which is not a copy of the record.
Abstract: This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the Australian Journal of Education. It is not a copy of the record.
71 citations
Cites background from "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The S..."
...The concept of boundaries is partly drawn from work on collective identities —as explored by Barth (1969) and Jenkins (1996)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, mimesis and mimicry are used as analytical concepts to explore dynamics of state and identity formation in Somaliland and Puntland since the early 1990s.
Abstract: In this article, mimesis and mimicry are used as analytical concepts to explore dynamics of state and identity formation in Somaliland and Puntland since the early 1990s. Mimesis captures endeavours to imitate well-established models of social and political organization. Mimicry involves the deceptive imitation of such models in order to reach a certain aim. In the particular setting of northern Somalia, miming and mimicking in state and identity formation are also related to conflict escalation. The article first presents relevant political and legal positions on state collapse and secession. This helps to grasp the theoretical and policy implications of the empirical material. Then, the establishment of Somaliland and Puntland through mimesis and mimicry is sketched. The outline of the repeated military confrontations between both sides, particularly the last round of fighting in and around the town of Laascaanood in late 2007, indicates the relation of state and identity formation to military conflict. These localized dynamics are embedded into the continuing conflict in southern Somalia that involves a number of internal and external actors. The article concludes that miming and mimicking underlie many of Somaliland's and Puntland's internal developments and their conflictive relationship. Moreover, since the conflict in northern Somalia concerns state formation, it might have far-reaching consequences for the future of Somalia as a whole. This finally leads to the suggestion that the international norms regarding state collapse and secession have to be re-evaluated in the light of the empirical realities at hand. RESUME Dans cet article, le mimetisme et l'imitation sont utilises comme concepts analytiques pour explorer la dynamique de l'Etat et la formation identitaire dans le Somaliland et le Puntland depuis le debut des annees 1990. Le mimetisme traduit les tentatives d'imiter des modeles bien etablis d'organisation sociale et politique. L'imitation designe l'imitation trompeuse de tels modeles dans un but precis. Dans le contexte particulier du Nord de la Somalie, le mimetisme et l'imitation dans la formation de l'Etat et de l'identite sont egalement lits a l'escalade des conflits. L'article commence par presenter les positions politiques et juridiques pertinentes sur l'effondrement de l'Etat et la secession. Ce faisant, il aide a saisir les implications theoriques et politiques du materiel empirique. Il decrit ensuite l'etablissement du Somaliland et du Puntland par le biais du mimetisme et de l'imitation. L'expose des confrontations militaires repetees entre les deux bords, notamment la derniere vague de combats dans la ville de Laascaanood et ses environs fin 2007, montre le lien entre la formation de l'Etat et de l'identite et le conflit militaire. Ces dynamiques localisees se fondent dans le conflit qui persiste dans le Sud de la Somalie et implique un certain nombre d'acteurs internes et externes. L'article conclut que le mimetisme et l'imitation sont a la base d'un grand nombre d'evenements internes au Somaliland et au Puntland et de leur relation conflictuelle. De plus, parce que le conflit du Nord de la Somalie concerne la formation de l'Etat, il peut avoir des consequences considerables pour le futur de la Somalie dans son ensemble. L'article finit en suggerant qu'il conviendrait de reevaluer les normes internationales en matiere d'effondrement d'Etat et de secession, a la lumiere des realites empiriques disponibles. ********** The muddle of Somali statehood reveals the limits of the current international system. (1) The empty shell of the collapsed state of Somalia enjoys international recognition, whereas Somaliland in north-western Somalia, which seceded in 1991 and developed as a de facto state, goes unrecognized. Puntland in the north-east is somewhat in-between. It is part of a future federal Somalia; in the absence of the latter, 'Puntland will exercise within its jurisdiction the rights of the former Somalia' (Charter of the State of Puntland). …
71 citations
Cites methods from "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The S..."
...These administrations were staffed with locals who 30 This is in accordance with sociological and socio-anthropological perspectives on identity formation in general (Barth 1996; Jenkins 1996: 19–28). received small salaries from either side but remained largely ineffective politically....
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Dissertation•
19 Jul 2011
TL;DR: This paper examined instances of sustained or regular encounter between British and French nationals in the second half of the eighteenth century and considered the evolution and form of a national identification which occurred for the English participants in the light of such contact.
Abstract: This thesis examines instances of sustained or regular encounter between British and French nationals in the second half of the eighteenth century and considers the evolution and form of a national identification which occurred for the English participants in the light of such contact. It is distinguished from previous historical studies of British nationality at this time in several respects. First, it is an approach derived from anthropological studies which have examined episodes of interaction between proximate national groups to consider the impact these have on the development of national awareness or identity. In choosing this approach the thesis, therefore, looks at encounters between people as opposed to between discursive frameworks, so often in the eighteenth century informed by stock and inaccurate stereotypes of the French to be found in British print culture and which constituted a form of 'virtual' encounter between the two nationalities. This study is distinguished in a further capacity in that it uses archival source material that was not produced with the intention of mass publication or readership, but which instead reflects personal or private opinion and identity with respect to the nation.
That the French nation occupied an important and influential position in the development of national identities in Britain at this time is fully recognised. However, the principal argument is that notions of Anglo-French opposition and enmity frequently portrayed in the British press were inevitably modified by the experience of encounter between various respective national groups. As a result, the binary model of a developing British nationality in contrast and opposition to perceived French characteristics must likewise be re-assessed. Instead, this study demonstrates that the form of a national identification and its course of evolution, for those who engaged in regular encounter with the French, was fluid and differentiated for a variety of individuals and groups. Understood in terms of a process, this then has implications for the way in which nationality developed among those individuals and groups who had experienced no direct contact with the French.
71 citations
TL;DR: A survey conducted by as discussed by the authors indicated that 50% of biological anthropologists and 31% of cultural anthropologists accept race as a core anthropological concept, while 42% of the former and 52% of anthropologists reject the concept.
Abstract: Race, once a core anthropological concept, is no longer supported by a majority of members of the discipline. The history of the concept is briefly reviewed. Results of a survey are presented indicating acceptance by 50% of biological anthropologists and 31% of cultural anthropologists, while 42% of the former and 52% of the latter reject the concept. Alternatives for teaching about human biological and cultural variation are discussed. Ethnicity is suggested as an alternative for teaching about folk taxonomies that arose in the colonial era, while cline, or geographic variation, is proposed for human biological variation.
71 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that a dominance of acculturation theories and methodologies has contributed to the marginal position of archaeological research on Overseas Chinese communities, and pointed out that a persistent research focus on the ethnic boundary between Chinese and non-Chinese and the portrayal of overseas Chinese communities as resolutely traditional have curtailed the range of research topics investigated at OCC sites, and suggested that community-focused collaborative research on the Market Street Chinatown in San Jose, California, provides an alternative perspective.
Abstract: Archaeological research on Overseas Chinese communities has expanded rapidly during the last twenty years, yet the subfield still remains marginal within historical archaeology as a whole. This article argues that a dominance of acculturation theories and methodologies has contributed to this marginal position. Further, a persistent research focus on the ethnic boundary between Chinese and non-Chinese and the portrayal of Overseas Chinese communities as resolutely traditional have curtailed the range of research topics investigated at Overseas Chinese sites. Community-focused collaborative research on the Market Street Chinatown in San Jose, California, provides an alternative perspective. Historical and archaeological evidence suggests that the community's residents did not always experience their lives through oppositions between East and West or between tradition and modernity. By embracing a broader research agenda, investigations of Overseas Chinese communities can make significant contributions to archaeological studies of race, ethnicity, gender, immigration, labor and social inequality.
71 citations
Cites background from "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The S..."
...Barth argued that, instead of tending toward assimilation, ethnic groups actively seek to maintain their identities through distinctive traditions and lifeways (Barth 1969; see also Orser 2004: 75–80)....
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