Ethnogenesis theory
Ethnogenesis theory is a conceptual framework used to understand the formation and evolution of ethnic groups within American society. Proposed by Andrew Greeley, this theory challenges the traditional assimilation model, which suggests that diverse ethnicities will inevitably blend into a common culture, often leading to the erasure of distinct identities. Instead, ethnogenesis emphasizes that ethnic groups can be dynamic and adaptive, maintaining unique characteristics while also integrating into broader social contexts.
Greeley’s model asserts that the interactions between immigrants and the host society can lead to the creation of new cultural systems that are distinct from both their origins and the dominant culture. This perspective recognizes the complexity of ethnicity, highlighting the importance of historical contexts, migration circumstances, and social structures in shaping ethnic identities. Ethnogenesis theory posits that rather than disappearing, ethnic groups evolve and can coexist within a diverse society, enriching the cultural landscape. This approach encourages further research into the heritage and development of ethnic groups, offering insights into their ongoing role in American social dynamics.
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Ethnogenesis theory
Ethnogenesis theory is a perspective used in the study of ethnic differentiation in American society. The perspective has been employed by author and researcher Andrew Greeley as an alternative to the most common considerations of ethnic differences.
Although analyses of assimilation, or the “melting pot,” in American society vary, most assume that progress toward a common culture is inevitable. Pervasive throughout American society, the assimilation picture is entrenched in consciousness and established as the “official” view. The elimination of diversity, accomplished through common schools, mass media, social and political norms, and intermarriage, propels society toward a state of similarity in which differentiation occurs only by social class. However, this perspective contains limitations concerning the complexity of ethnicity that affect research findings and therefore frustrate the formulation of hypotheses.
Acculturation, or change in customs and beliefs resulting from living within a dominant society with different cultural traditions, also leaves unanswered questions. As a model, it fails to explain questions regarding the United States’ capacity to cope with complex racial, religious, geographic, and social differentiation.
In Ethnicity in the United States (1974), Andrew Greeley proposes the ethnogenesis theory as an alternative and complementary perspective that focuses on the creation of an ethnic group or the study of its genesis, free of the belief that it must eventually disappear. By stressing the complex interaction between heritage, culture, and identification, Greeley develops a model whereby American ethnic groups may be “dynamic and flexible institutions for becoming a part of society.” Greeley’s model indicates that in situations in which the host country and the immigrants may have common ground to begin with, immigrants and the host become more alike. Certain immigrant traits persist, and some become even become more distinctive. Challenged by American society, however, the ethnic groups develop cultural systems different from those of their immigrant predecessors and more in common with the common culture.
Although essentially an extension of the assimilation and acculturation perspectives, the ethnogenesis model requires an enormous amount of research to collect data from the past that could facilitate the projection of trends. The natural history of ethnic groups affords an explanation of the cultural diversity that exists among them. Useful information includes knowledge of the land of origin, the strata or stratum of society from which the society migrated, under what circumstances the migration occurred, and the areas of the country in which the immigrants tended to settle. Information concerning cultural characteristics in early or late years of ethnic group history as well as family structure and childhood socialization also indicates the future social reality of an immigrant population in the United States.
Ethnogenesis theory suggests that American ethnic differentiation follows the collectivities of common origin that are tolerated and encouraged by the larger society; it also promotes the study of the genesis and history of ethnic groups as dynamic, growing mechanisms.
Bibliography
Cipolla, Craig N. Becoming Brothertown: Native American Ethnogenesis and Endurance in the Modern World. Tucson: U of Arizona P, 2013. Print.
Fennell, Christopher C. Crossroads and Cosmologies: Diasporas and Ethnogenesis in the New World. Gainesville: UP of Florida, 2007. Print.
Greeley, Andrew M. Ethnicity, Denomination and Inequality. Beverly Hills: Sage, 1976. Print.
Greeley, Andrew M. Ethnicity in the United States: A Preliminary Reconaissance. New York: Wiley, 1974. Print.
Hill, Jonathan D., ed. History, Power, and Identity: Ethnogenesis in the Americas, 1492–1992. Iowa City: U of Iowa P, 1996. Print.
Roosens, Eugeen. Creating Ethnicity: The Process of Ethnogenesis. Newbury Park: Sage, 1989. Print.
Voss, Barbara L. The Archaeology of Ethnogenesis: Race and Sexuality in Colonial San Francisco. Rev. ed. Gainesville: UP of Florida, 2015. Print.
Yang, Philip Q. Ethnic Studies: Issues and Approaches. Albany: State U of New York P, 2000. Print.