The Elusiveness of the Word Ethnicity - Assignment Example

Culture and Ethni Culture and ethni divergence have drawn attention of the world more than any other societal incident during the late twentieth century. Societies within developed countries such as United States as considered peaceful and rarely resisted conflict resolution even though violence and conflicts occur. Conversely, Culture and ethnicity differences are not properly comprehended by both the intellectuals and the public, which arise due to limited knowledge and background of the whole issue coupled with underlying confusion of terminologies utilized. Nevertheless, culture and ethnicity divergences are the main aspects in demagoguery in mystification of the truth and conflict grouping within the United States due to the constant expression and alterations of issues (Sewell, pp.145-234). This paper aims at explaining the underlying misunderstanding of cultural issues as fundamental information of fully understanding prevailing societal forces. The elusiveness of the word ethnicity and its phenomenon is normally confusing and has numerous problems due to the unclear and continuous expansion trend. Ethnicity is considered as the main linkages via critically different phenomenon and combined societal phenomenon. Moreover, it greatly varies according diverse cases within the prevailing community. For instance, religion is the common resultant of differences within two ethnic groups. Conversely, race different qualities are used to serve the identical purpose. Ethnicity of the certain group normally changes depending on the underlying period. Moreover, most of the groups with cultural distinction do not belong to similar ethnic groups thus making the association amidst the underlying culture and ethnicity is less than ideal (Sewell, pp.145-234). Moreover, all ethnic groups are not ancient and have natural social group. The prevailing differences among ethnic groups do not have equal intensity. Certain ethnic groups have divergences that aim at the similar endings that mainly arise from ethnicity as a tradition and past myth. Ethnicity aids in the explanation of development and modernity of societies. According to Sewell (2008), ethnicity is considered to be a subjective symbolic utilized as an aspect of culture by particular ethnic group that distinguish different groups. It is used in the definition of character, quality and corresponding condition of ethnic group membership purely based on the identity and consciousness of groups, which is differentiated from supplementary by symbolic makers entailing cultural, biological and territorial. Ethnicity is deeply rooted in bonds and share ethnic interests, solidarity, cohesion, symbolism, identity, and meaning. Ethnicity is a societal and mental process that brings different people together with its culture’s features. Ethnicity emergency usually arise because of affiliation of these people; ethnicity can also be defined as an outstanding difference and awareness that enlists around the companionship difference that inclines on socially similar others (Sewell, pp.145-234). Ethnicity is also known as “familial”; association involved with emotional behaviors’, and can be in the form of a tie, an attachment, a bond or a sentiment. According to David Horowitz, there is a similarity between ethnicity and kinship, “ethnicity and kinship are alike, and the language of ethnicity is the language of kinship. In addition, Michael Fischer also states that “ethnicity may be the maximal case of societal organized intimacy and kinship experience.” according to Pierre Van De Berghe statement “ethnic and racial sentiments are extensions of kinship sentiments,” therefore; the progression of this study is mainly concerned with ethological or natural hypothesis of ethnicity. Ethnicity is based on tradition, the ethnic group that we really area as at now is generally viewed in terms of what we were in the past. The past has a great significant to every individual in the world. For example, the type of language spoken, clothes as well as religion has always pursued the values, morals and stories of our traditional past. These are the values used in identifying a given group. Theoretical shift occurs when a group perceives its culture as a tradition and not a way of life. The opposition of culture in time and principles of genuineness are produced to create new awareness. Culture then turns out to be a tool, an object or a commodity. In immense cases, the tradition may be a production and discovery from the pieces of the past (Sewell, pp.145-234). Ethnicity is a past myth as well as the anthropological intellect of “remote and un-provable history” it does not mean the intellect of “religious story” or “lie” . The explanations and features of ethnic group refer to their ordinary past and kinship. For instance, Smith terms it the “myth of common ancestry” by which the individuals think by themselves and has an ordinary origin. The results of the past as a myth does not base its arguments on truth, whether their explanations are true or not, “so long as it can maintain group cohesiveness, sustain and enhance identity, and to establish social networks and communicative patterns” then the mythology is important. Myths and truth do no simply and directly correspond. Relatively, the past of ethnicity as a myth is a complexity on its own. It entails forgetting, remembering, interpreting and inventing. Some incidences must have happened for it to be a mythical mill. Conversely, not all the events that happened in the past can bring remembrance in the present ethnic recall. Ethnicity is the historical meaning of the past traditional. It is a historical memory of records that took place in a group (Sewell, pp.145-234). Usually, in case the former is no longer available, then the later will appear to give the group unity and identity. Ethnicity as a historical past can be in three stages, the recent political past, ancient past and the formative past. For instance, a great historical military defeat that happened in the olden days of methanogens, when there was the adoption of religion, national struggle and growth of civilization. (Catholic Ireland’s battle of the Boyne, Serbia’s battle of Kosovo) Ethnicity is mostly prone to revolution due to its previous extraordinary anthropological position. Revolution of ethnicity grants people some historical or cultural sense of identity. Moreover, it also provides an important connection between the past the present and the future, which enables people to fully understand the societal present. Ethnic groups identify themselves through the cultural definitions from the past. Ethnic groups consider their culture to be playing significant role in making demand in the political, economic, and cultural struggles. Political, economic and cultural struggles acts as the main instruments of struggle and communication. Resources within political, economic and cultural struggles aid in the development of demands of political arena for the ethnic groups. Thus, consideration of pressure groups with a noble face of the ethnic groups has the objective of developing means such as politics, equality of opportunity in jobs, housing, land resources, political power , local self-sufficiency in institutions for example in promoting culture and education systems in most of the societies. Many states that are democratic and liberal find it hard to resist the force from ethnicity. For example, the reaction of America to the Russian intervention in Chechnya of late argues over multiculturalism and matters linked to bilingual education system, immigration, and affirmative action. Most people as researchers or as a society think that ethnic groups are monolithic blocs bearing one mission, leadership, and identity. For example, the conditions in Palestine and Sri Lanka bring misjudgments and misunderstandings. It’s wrong to presume that the ethnic groups in these societies involved “speak in one voice and act in one interest.” it is a proof in Sri-Lanka that the Tamil group have had many rulers and institutions which are most in confusion and confrontations amongst themselves. In Palestine, the PLO and Yasir Arafat as rulers of the inhabitant had open and violent competitions with their rivals groups like the Hezbollah and Hamas. They had different understanding on how to define the nationality and identity of the Palestine’s. The ambiguity of ethnicity is widely accountable for its growth and expansion hence making it answerable for its value in the world of modernity. There are no governing laws that can judge a group as an ethnic. The extent to which any specific group can be termed as an ethnic group is not important, but ethnicity is the vital aspect to societal discussions and competition, which is the importance and usefulness that have grown to be attractive to every type of group recently. Ethnicity has a more impact on modernization and current socio-cultural incidences. It is a kind of endurance from an old-fashioned cultural period to modernity, ethnicity is not just the past, but it is a driver to modernization as well. Bell sites out some recent factors that generate ethnicity and conflict, including the development of the post-industrial society and the turning down of “traditional” power systems. For example, the market economy and decolonization through ethnicity are the modern issues that have led to the development of the society. New states formed carry their cultures and ethnicity from their colonial period and incorporated it as their way of doing things. Ethnicity gives the identity leading to modernization. Work Cited Sewell, Hári. Working with Ethnicity, Race and Culture in Mental Health: A Handbook for Practitioners. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2009. Read More