Page 161 - DSOC202_SOCIAL_STRATIFICATION_ENGLISH

Social Stratification

Notes outsiders as being distinguished by attributes of a common name or emblem, a shared
cultural element and a connection to a specific territory. But, members who are ascribed to
ethnic categories do not themselves have any awareness of their belonging to a common,
distinctive group.
• At the level of “ethnic networks”, the group begins to have a sense of collectiveness, and at
this level, common myths of origin and shared cultural and biological heritage begins to
emerge, at least among the elites.
• At the level of”ethnies” or “ethnic communities”, the members themselves have clear conceptions
of being “a named human population with myths of common ancestry, shared historical
memories, and one or more common elements of culture, including an association with a
homeland, and some degree of solidarity, at least among the elites”. That is, an ethnie is self-
defined as a group, whereas ethnic categories are set up by outsiders whether or not their
own members identify with the category given them.
• A “Situational Ethnicity” is an Ethnic identity that is chosen for the moment based on the
social setting or situation.

Approaches to Understanding Ethnicity
Different approaches to understanding ethnicity have been used by different social scientists
when trying to understand the nature of ethnicity as a factor in human life and society. Examples
of such approaches are: primordialism, essentialism, perennialism, constructivism, modernism
and instrumentalism.
• “Primordialism”, holds that ethnicity has existed at all times of human history and that modern
ethnic groups have historical continuity into the far past. For them, the idea of ethnicity is
closely linked to the idea of nations and is rooted in the pre-Weber understanding of humanity
as being divided into primordially existing groups rooted by kinship and biological heritage.
•“Essentialist primordialism” further holds that ethnicity is an a priori fact of human existence,
that ethnicity precedes any human social interaction and that it is basically unchanged by
it. This theory sees ethnic groups as natural, not just as historical. This understanding does
not explain how and why nations and ethnic groups seemingly appear, disappear and
often reappear through history. It also has problems dealing with the consequences of
intermarriage, migration and colonization for the composition of modern day multi-ethnic
societies.
•“Kinship primordialism” holds that ethnic communities are extensions of kinship units,
basically being derived by kinship or clan ties where the choices of cultural signs (language,
religion, traditions) are made exactly to show this biological affinity. In this way, the
myths of common biological ancestry that are a defining feature of ethnic communities are
to be understood as representing actual biological history. A problem with this view on
ethnicity is that it is more often than not the case that mythic origins of specific ethnic
groups directly contradict the known biological history of an ethnic community.
•“Geertz’s primordialism”, notably espoused by anthropologist Clifford Geertz, argues that
humans in general attribute an overwhelming power to primordial human “givens” such
as blood ties, language, territory, and cultural differences. In Geertz’ opinion, ethnicity is
not in itself primordial but humans perceive it as such because it is embedded in their
experience of the world.
• “Perennialism” holds that ethnicity is ever changing, and that while the concept of ethnicity
has existed at all times, ethnic groups are generally short lived before the ethnic boundaries
realign in new patterns. The opposing perennialist view holds that while ethnicity and
ethnic groupings has existed throughout history, they are not part of the natural order.

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