Dominant Ethnicity: Majority Groups and Dominant Minorities
Synopsis
Ethnicity has often been synonymous with ‘minority’ in the public mind and in the nationalism and ethnic studies literature. Yet there is nothing in the definition of ethnicity to link it with the idea of a minority. Dominant ethnicity is a new area of research which explores the idea of dominant-group ethnicity. I begin with an edited book which draws together research from a wide variety of academic specialisms which possess strong intellectual synergies. The past and future of two major types of ethnic group are considered: dominant majorities (i.e. ethnic Japanese in Japan, Jews in Israel) and dominant minorities (i.e. Melanesian Fijians in Fiji, Tutsis in Rwanda). In addition to my own contribution on the decline of dominant ‘WASP’ ethnicity in Canada and the United States, thirteen other articles appear. Two are theoretical pieces and the others consider case studies. Also see the related articles and book reviews, as well as events.
Edited Book: Rethinking Ethnicity: Majority Groups and Dominant Minorities (Routledge, 2004)
- Link to Routledge Catalogue Description of Book
- Book Order Form
- Synopsis
- Introduction to Edited Book
- Table of Contents (Final Version)
Sole-authored Book: The Rise & Fall of Anglo-America: The Decline of Dominant Ethnicity in the United States (Harvard University Press, 2004) – Order/More Information
Events:
- Nations & Nationalism Symposium on John Hutchinson’s Nationalism as Zones of Conflict – I will be chairing this event, which will involve Andreas Wimmer (UCLA), Gerard Delanty (Liverpool) and Umut Ozkirimli (Bilgi U., Istanbul) as interlocutors. 7 February 2007, LSE. See my review of Hutchinson’s book in British Journal of Sociology.
- ASEN seminar, Andreas Wimmer, “The Making and Unmaking of Ethnic Boundaries. Toward a Comparative Theory”, 8 February 2007, LSE. See my review of Wimmer’s book in Political Studies.
- Panel on ‘Dominant Ethnies and Racist Nationalisms’, 17th Annual ASEN Conference: “The Dark Face of Nationalism: Violence, Extremism and the Nation” 17-19 April 2007, London School of Economics – Featuring David Brown (Murdoch U., Australia – see my review of his book below) and Philip Resnick (UBC, Canada) as well as myself
- Conference, ‘Majority Groups and Dominant Minorities: Conceptualising Dominant Ethnicity,’ sponsored by ESRC, British Council and the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN), London School of Economics, 16 December 2002
- View Report from conference
- View Synopsis
- View Programme
- View Conference Poster
Papers:
- ‘Dominant Ethnicity and Dominant Nationhood: Empirical and Normative Aspects’, paper from conference on ‘Majority and state nationalism: ethnicity, culture and politics/Nationalisme majoritaire et étatique: ethnicité, culture et politique’, Université de Québec a Montréal, 5 April 2007
- ‘The Dominant Ethnic Moment: Towards the Abolition of ‘Whiteness’?,’ Debate article with David Roediger (Also reply to Roediger’s reply). Ethnicities, vol. 6.1 (March), 2006, pp. 231-253
- Roediger’s Reply. Ethnicities, vol. 6.1 (March), 2006
- My reply to Roediger. Ethnicities, vol. 6.1 (March), 2006
- Book review of Wimmer, Andreas, ‘Nationalist Exclusion and Ethnic Conflict,’ Political Studies Review, July 2003
- Book review of Yoram Hazony, ‘The Jewish State,’ Nations and Nationalism, vol. 8, no. 1 (Jan. 2002), pp. 122-23
- Book review of David Brown, ‘Contemporary Nationalism,’ Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 24, no. 5 (Sept. 2001), pp. 570-71
- Book review of Dru Gladney (ed.), ‘Making Majorities,’ Nations and Nationalism, vol. 7, no. 1 (Jan 2001), pp. 117-18
- *Reading List for Dominant Ethnicity-related articles and books
Links
- Nations & Nationalism homepage
- ASEN (Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism) Homepage
- Association for Research on Ethnicity and Nationalism in the Americas (ARENA)