Miri Songs Analysis of Ethnic Identities - Essay Example

? Critically Examine Miri Song’s Analysis of Ethnic Identities Critically Examine Miri Song’s Analysis of Ethnic Identities Introduction Dr. Miri Song is a renowned sociology lecturer at the University of Kent in England. She authored the book ‘Choosing ethnic identity’ which was published in 2003 by Polity Press. Many scholars have had positive opinions about Miri Song’s book, arguing that it is very bold and stimulating. For example, Dr. Steve Gold from Michigan State University is on record saying that the book is intellectually challenging and based on highly original research (Gilroy 2004). He acknowledges that Miri Song has used a wide range of theoretical and empirical evidence from both the US and the UK to come up with this book. He further notes that the author has done an excellent job since new conceptual apparatus that can be used to evaluate inequality in different societies have been presented (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010). Another scholar who praises Miri Song’s ‘Choosing ethnic identity’ is Professor John Solomos, a Professor of sociology at London’s City University. He points out that the book is an authoritative and stimulating account of how ethnic identity has been changing. The Professor also notes that Miri Song drew much of the information found in the book from authoritative material from Britain and the United States (Alexander 2004). This gives the author the ability to show and ascertain that ethnic identity entails a complex set of social and political relations. Professor Solomos finally recommends that anyone who is concerned with the study of the formation of racial and ethnic identities must take into account Song’s book (Francis & Archer 2005). Paul Spickard from the University of California is of the opinion that Miri Song’s book asks very provocative questions about the nature of ethnic and racial relationships and identities in complex societies. He praises the book for its critical examination of the extent to which to which different people experience elements of ethnic choice. He finally recommends that all policy makers and scholars in the ethnic and racial field must read this book (Kao 2000). This paper will critically examine Miri Song’s book, ‘Choosing ethnic identity’ with the aim of exploring and discussing the main themes of ethnic identities in contemporary multiethnic societies (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010, 56). The book, ‘Choosing ethnic identity’ explores the various ways in which different people go about choosing their ethnic identities, especially in contemporary multiethnic societies (Pilkington 2003). The book delves deeper into the different ways in which people from ethnic minority groups choose their ethnic identities among the various multiethnic groups in contemporary societies (Koser 2007, 94). The book questions the thesis that people who are not white do not have any ethnic options. The book brings to light the fact that it has often been assumed that non-white people do not have any options when it comes to ethnicity (Kao 2000). A variety of groups in the United States and Britain that have been discussed in the book have always had a lot of constraint that have surrounded their assertion of ethnic identities (Francis & Archer 2005). The book discusses the dynamics and constraints that have surrounded these assertions (Song 2003). ‘Choosing ethnic identity’ has eight chapters that are organized in a logical sequence. According to the author, the concept of ethnic identity has always received a lot of attention and is in wide usage in many societies today (Francis & Archer 2005, 83). The author focused on two major contemporary multiethnic societies, the United States of America and Britain. The author acknowledges that is it important to people and their sense of themselves to have the ability to understand and choose their ethnic identities in society. Different notions such as adopting an identity show that individuals have a choice of choosing their ethnic identities. That is why there have been terms such as “Asian Americans” or “British Americans” which suggest that there is a choice for individuals and a centrality of agency (Pilkington 2003, 37). Despite this, the actual range that people can choose different ethnic identities and groups that they can belong to is not entirely under their control (Koser 2007, 153). Ethnic and racial designations applied to different people do not necessarily match the ethnic identities held by the individuals or groups themselves (Kao 2000, 52). The author has explored the various ways that ethnic minority individuals and groups are able to negotiate and assert ethnic identities of their choice. These people go through numerous constraints when making such choices (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010, 16). According to the book, it is difficult to make any choice of one’s ethnic identity without understanding personal identity first (Song 2003). The book reveals that identity is all about belonging. It is about what characteristics one has in common with a certain group of people and what characteristics distinguish or differentiate one from others. Identity gives one a sense of personal location (Pilkington 2003, 49). The author identifies it as the most stable core of one’s individuality. There are various analysts in the book who have highlighted the complexity of the identity of individuals or groups. They argue that identities are not only informed by ethnicity and race. Identities are also informed by other axes of identification such as religion, age, sexuality, class and gender (Koser 2007, 62). The book however focuses specifically on the dynamics and meanings that surround ethnic identity. The author also focuses on the way groups are represented because of their constitutive role in forming different racial and ethnic identities (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010, 25). The book includes various chapters on mixed race politics, mixedness in everyday society, mixed race couples and families and multiraciality and race classification (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010, 58). These chapters discuss international perspectives on ethnic and racial mixing and mixedness in the society. It develops varied theoretical perspectives on these issues and presents empirical evidence that is theoretically shaped to help readers to understand the normalcy and complexity of choosing ethnic identities (Kao 2000, 73). The book also acknowledges the increase in people from mixed or different ethnic and racial backgrounds. The author notes that it has become a common scene to find people parenting or partnering across different ethnic and racial backgrounds (Song 2003, 38). In the contemporary society in Britain for example, there have been a lot of references made to different forms of mixing and to people from mixed races (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010, 79). The author however questions the extent to which we can say that a mixed group of race exists today in Britain. The author further questions that if there is such a group in existence, what are the common features of being mixed in society (Alexander 2004, 74). The author further seeks to address these questions by drawing on various studies of different types of mixed people and racial identification in Britain (Francis & Archer 2005, 78). The findings reveal that the significance and meanings of mixedness and race in the lives if the young people under study vary considerably within specific groups that are mixed and across the various groups found to be mixed (Kao 2000). This leads the author to conclude that there is a significant evidence of a growing interest and consciousness about being mixed in Britain. The author notes that it cannot yet be spoken of a mixed experience or group in Britain (Song 2003, 84). According to Miri Song (2003), racial identities are thought to be potentially fluid and socially constructed. For example, in the United States of America, many studies have made use of the best single race questions on issues of racial identification. In these studies, multiracial respondents were asked to choose only a single race that best describes them. These study questions were further extended to Britain and the same question was posed to a significant number of young people in the country (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010, 68). Other in-depth interviews with multiracial respondents from both America and Britain are held so as to investigate the effectiveness of this best single race question (Gilroy 2004, 47). This is the basis of the book in trying to find out the sense of belonging and attachment of different people from these regions that are thought to be interracial (Francis & Archer 2005, 49). The book is therefore based on empirical evidence collected from reliable case studies across the United Kingdom and the United States of America (Kao 2000, 53). In Britain today, one of the fastest growing populations is the mixed people. However, the growth of this group of people refutes the claims that there exist very distinct, natural races among people in societies such as Britain that are multiethnic. The author has used evidence from scholars who have recently begun to conduct investigations in the United States and Britain on racial identifications and social experiences of mixed people (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010). In the book, Miri Song has used different groups such as siblings to explain how they think about and perceive race and the differences in religious, ethnic and racial identification in their families. The author has investigated and reported the role that the recognition of difference and race has been playing in family life as well as sibling relationships (Francis & Archer 2005, 53). She has drawn upon a number of cases that best illustrate the diversity in the ways that people understand race, religion and ethnicity and their importance in family and social life (Koser 2007, 93). According to the author of the book, there are two major functions of the assertion of identities. This dual function is both instrumental and expressive but there is a lot at stake about determining one’s ethnic identity (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010, 83). Groups and people can have a sense of well-being, belonging and high self esteem if they are accorded the ability to recreate or claim their own identities and self images. This is especially true if it is done on the backdrop of racial and ethnic labeling by a society deemed to be dominant (Song 2003). In the modern times, it has been argued that many individuals are engaged in reflexive projects of the self. The greatest part of these reflexive projects of the self is the continuous shaping and formation of identity. For many of the ethnic minorities, the assertion of their ethnic identities has always been the greatest part of their everyday social lives (Francis & Archer 2005, 249). The ability to enjoy and exercise an ethnic identity that one has chosen is no longer a simple personal matter (Francis & Archer 2005). It is in fact a highly politicized social issue that has very great significance to society and cannot be taken for granted. Oppression has been known to overtly and covertly limit people’s claims to various ethnic identities. The struggles that have been unanimously associated with identity politics make the issue of ethnic identity very important because of the collective processes that individuals and groups have been involved in so as to gain particular form of legitimacy and recognition in the wider society (Pilkington 2003). Contemporary politics of citizenship have also made it important for one to be able to assert an ethnic identity of their choice. This is because such politics have addressed issues of belonging, difference and the multifarious and different ways that people participate in social life today (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010, 38). Immigration, both legal and illegal, has raised concerns about how national character has begun to change (Colombo, Domaneschi & Marchetti 2010). That is why assertions of racial difference and ethnic identities have always been viewed as problematic and perceived as a threat to the wider society (Pilkington 2003, 86). For example, white identity in the United States has been faced with a crisis in the sense that there has been a significant growth of minority populations in different parts of the United States. An example of such as region is California whereby the White Americans no longer comprise of the majority population. They therefore cannot dominate any social institution without facing numerous challenges from the rest of the population. This led the white people in America to disagree with the claims that black people in America still receive bad treatment from the rest of the society (Song 2003, 79). Conclusion In conclusion, the development of ethnic and racial identity in contemporary multiracial and multiethnic societies has always been an important academic and social issue. In recent times, there has been a new labeling of people of inter-racial origins around the world. People from mixed or different ethnic and racial backgrounds have become internationally visible. People parenting or partnering across different ethnic and racial backgrounds have also become very common all over the world. In one perspective, images of ethnic and racial diversity are given to oppose solidarity and unity, thus creating a crisis in the cohesive social trust. In another perspective, there have been claims that conflict and segregation are portrayed in ignorance to the reality of the existing interactions between the mixing of majority and minority races, cultures and ethnicities (Song 2003, 79).. Multiculturalism has become a common and ordinary feature of everyday life in society. The author has done a great job in bringing different internationally renowned researchers together to explore and discuss the varied concepts and contexts that underpin the area of choosing ethnic identity. This book has been selected as a must read for any scholar or student in the field of ethnic identities. References Alexander, C 2004, ‘Imagining the Asian gang: ethnicity, masculinity and youth after the riots’, Critical Social Policy: A Journal of Socialist Theory and Practice in Social Welfare, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 526-549. Colombo, E, Domaneschi, L & Marchetti, C 2010, ‘Citizenship and multiple belonging: representations of inclusion, identification and participation among children of immigrants in Italy’, Journal of modern Italian Studies, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 334-347.  Cornell, S 1998, Ethnicity and race: making identities in a changing world, Pine Forge Press, Atlanta. Francis, B & Archer, L 2005, 'They never go off the rails like other ethnic groups', British Journal of Sociology of Education, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 165-182. Gilroy, P 2004, Identities, belonging, and the critique of pure sameness in between camps: nation, culture and the Allure of Race, Routledge, London. Kao, G 2000, ‘Group images and possible selves among adolescents: linking stereotypes to expectations by race and ethnicity’, Sociological forum, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 445-467. Koser, K 2007, International migration: a very short introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Morrison, T 1992, Playing in the dark: whiteness and the literary imagination, Harvard University Press, Harvard. Pilkington, A 2003, Racial disadvantage and ethnic diversity in Britain, Palgrave Macmillan, London. Song, M 2003, Choosing ethnic identity, Polity Press, Cambridge. Read More