American ethnic history : themes and perspectives / Jason McDonald.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McDonald, Jason (Jason J.)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethnology.

History.

Ethnicity.

United States--Ethnic relations.

United States.

Ethnic relations.

Cultural pluralism--United States--History.

Cultural pluralism.

Ethnicity--United States--History.

Ethnology--United States--History.

Minorities--United States--History.

Minorities.

Minorities--United States--Social conditions.

Social conditions.

United States--Social conditions.

Physical Description:

xi, 260 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, 2007.

Summary:

The United States, it is often said, is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world. But what, precisely, do we mean when we speak of "ethnic" groups or "ethnicity"? What is the distinction, for example, between "race" and "ethnicity"? How do various groups meld with the rest of American society? Should we think in terms of assimilation, integration, pluralism, or some other relationship between ethnic groups and the mainstream? It is these and many other questions that Jason J. McDonald tackles in this timely and insightful book. Chapters explore a range of topics, including how different ethnic groups arrived in the United States--whether through violence and coercion or willing immigration; the peculiar identification of Native Americans as "ethnic," despite the fact that they are indigenous to the l∧ whether the American public's attitudes toward and treatment of difference has been consistent with the nation's professed egalitarian ideals; and how factors such as language, religion, class, gender, and intermarriage play in either strengthening or weakening ethnic identity and group solidarity. An engaging and critical look at a term that remains stubbornly ambiguous in both scholarly discussion and the vernacular, this book makes an important contribution to the ongoing debates about "difference" in American society.

Contents:

The origins and nature of ethnic identity

The making of American ethnic diversity

Ethnic adaptation

Ethnicity and the American creed

Ethnic incorporation

Ethnic collective action

Confronting challenges to ethnic allegiance.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [209]-252) and indexes.

ISBN:

9780813542270

0813542278

9780813542287

0813542286

OCLC:

122309312