What is the importance of ethnicity?

Ethnic and racial identities are important for many young people, particularly those who are members of minority groups. These dimensions of the self may instill feelings of: Belonging to a particular group or groups. Identification with that group; shared commitment and values.

What is ethnicity according to?

Ethnicity is a broader term than race. The term is used to categorize groups of people according to their cultural expression and identification. Commonalities such as racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin may be used to describe someone’s ethnicity.

How can we define ethnicity?

An ethnic group or ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups such as a common set of traditions, ancestry, language, history, society, culture, nation, religion, or social treatment within their residing area.

What are the perspectives on ethnicity?

We can examine race and ethnicity through three major sociological perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. As you read through these theories, ask yourself which one makes the most sense and why.

What are aspects of ethnicity?

Ethnicity is considered to be shared characteristics such as culture, language, religion, and traditions, which contribute to a person or group’s identity. This shows that ethnicity is not necessarily genetic.

What is the origin of ethnicity?

The word ethnicity derives from the Greek ethnos, a people. Ethnic identity gives a sense of peoplehood to an unique human collectivity.

What is the difference between nation and Nationality?

Nation, nationality. The roots of a nation are to be found in ethnic groups and primordial kinship, and a nation grows by a process of differentiation and opposition, –but a nation is not simply an ethnic group–. A nation is not simply a cultural togetherness.

What are the two essential characteristics of an ethnic group?

The two essential characteristics for an ethnic group are a long shared history and a cultural tradition of its own, which may include a common geographical descent, language, literature or religion; being a minority group; or having a history of being oppressed.

Is it possible for a person to adopt their ethnicity?

Just as nationality can be adopted, so can ethnic origin. It is possible for a person to adopt the ethnic origin of a group as their own and to integrate the culture, history, language, literature and/or religion of that group into their own identity.