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Journal ArticleDOI

Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference

01 Jun 1970-British Journal of Sociology-Vol. 21, Iss: 2, pp 231
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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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a sociocognitive approach is presented to explain why a history of prior conflict is likely to increase the likelihood that new conflicts will erupt, and how collective memory sites become activated in such belief formation processes.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to demonstrate the ways in which the past matters for ethnic conflict in the present. More specifically, by presenting a sociocognitive approach to the problem, this article sets out to specify macro-micro bridging mechanisms that explain why a history of prior conflict is likely to increase the likelihood that new conflicts will erupt. People's inclination toward simplified and/or invalid (but often useful) inductive reasoning in the form of analogism, and their innate disposition for ordering events in teleological narratives—to which causality is typically attributed—will be of particular interest for this article. The article will also emphasize the ways in which collective memory sites become activated in such belief formation processes. For instance, the memory biases inherent in analogical reasoning often lead people to overestimate the likelihood of future conflict, which may lead them to mobilize in order to defend themselves, and/or to take preemptive action in ways that foment conflict.

60 citations

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03 Nov 2011
TL;DR: In this paper, Dutceac Segesten et al. examined how history and politics became entangled in Romania and Serbia and found the presence of mythologized versions of the past in the history textbooks of both countries over the entire fifteen-year period studied (1992-2007).
Abstract: in Undetermined Myth, Identity, and Conflict: A Comparative Analysis of Romanian and Serbian Textbooks, by Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, is an examination of how history and politics became entangled in Romania and Serbia. In it, Segesten asks questions like: Is myth present in the history textbooks of Romania and Serbia? If so, are there differences in the ways these myths define the in-group and the relationship with the Other between a country that experienced interethnic conflict (Serbia) and a country that did not (Romania)? Do textbooks affect the odds that conflict will occur? Segesten's findings confirm the presence of mythologized versions of the past in the history textbooks of both countries over the entire fifteen-year period studied (1992–2007), despite claims for professionalization of textbook-making. Myths of noble origins, of heroism and victimhood, appear in both cases. Segesten finds the language to be ideological and in favor of the ethnic majority, even if over time there is a slow tendency towards moderation (especially in Romania), probably due to the influence of the European Union. Ultimately, Myth, Identity, and Conflict, by Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, questions the alleged power of history textbooks to make a difference in ethnically divided societies prone to conflicts. (Less)

60 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper found that stigmatized youths prefer teachers who give personal attention to students, who convey respect for and confidence in students who are socially different from themselves, and who support and elicit student voice and input.
Abstract: Many have described the opposition youths from stigmatized social groups may develop toward school. This study focuses alternatively on interactional, pedagogical, and curricular actions that stigmatized high school students perceive as affecting their willingness to adapt to varied classrooms. Interview, observation, and record data from 49 students illustrate that stigmatized youths prefer teachers who give personal attention to students, who convey respect for and confidence in students who are socially different from themselves, and who support and elicit student voice and input. Youths also express strong distaste for lecturing and seat-work and prefer personally relevant curriculum.

60 citations


Cites background from "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The S..."

  • ...…preclude successful interaction, however, people do develop vested interests in being and acting differently from one another in response to their relative positions in the social order or in order to maximize their economic and political security (Barth, 1969; McDermott & Gospidonoff, 1979)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, human dental enamel samples from the Cuzco Valley site of Chokepukio are analyzed and compared to the local 87Sr/86Sr signature established through faunal specimens.
Abstract: Although Spanish chroniclers referred frequently to coerced migration in the Inca Empire, these migrations have been difficult to document archaeologically. One approach to migration studies, strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis, has emerged as an effective technique. Until now, however, this method has not been applied to the Inca heartland region of Cuzco, Peru. In this study, we use strontium isotope analysis to examine patterns of prehistoric migration in the Cuzco Valley. Human dental enamel samples from the Cuzco Valley site of Chokepukio are analyzed and compared to the local 87Sr/86Sr signature established through faunal specimens. Though tentative due to a small sample size, the isotope results do not provide evidence for migration at this site from the time periods preceding the rise of the Inca Empire (200 B.C. to A.D. 1400). In contrast, there is substantial evidence for migration during the time of Inca imperialism (A.D. 1400–1532). Among these migrants, variation in 87Sr/86Sr values suggests that individuals emigrated from geologically diverse locations, while sex differences in the migrant group include a higher percentage of females and a greater diversity in female 87Sr/86Sr values. These data, along with ethnohistoric evidence, reveal how Inca labor policies reconfigured the composition of populations in the imperial heartland.

60 citations


Cites background from "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The S..."

  • ...Ethnic identity incorporates both self- ascription and ascription by others, influenced by external circumstances and internal agency (Barth 1998; Nagel 1994)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: One factor contributing to the Putin regime's popularity is its remasculinization of Russia by creating attractive images of national masculinity and attributing masculine characteristics to the country, while the opposition seeks to counteract this activity as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: One factor contributing to the Putin regime's popularity is its remasculinization of Russia by creating attractive images of national masculinity and attributing masculine characteristics to the country, while the opposition seeks to counteract this activity.

60 citations


Cites background from "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The S..."

  • ...).(6) based on these ideas, Nira Yuval-Davis suggested that gender symbols should be interpreted as “symbolic border guards....

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