17.523: Ethnicity and Race in World Politics--Fall 2005 Prof. M. Nobles Lecture 4: Ethnic and Racial Identities in Comparative Perspective Clare Kim Reading • Field of Racial Positions=partially a hierarchy, but it’s not one dimensional. Notion of insiders and outsiders. • Kim defined Asian-Americans as “foreigners.” Why are they considered foreigners while blacks are considered insiders? o Asian-AmericansÆForeigners  For most of the 19th century Asian-Americans weren’t allowed to participate in the political arena (civic liberties, voting, etc.)  They weren’t considered citizens because of their immigrant status. o BlacksÆInsiders.  Very important to the labor market (ex: California)  Considered insiders. Did not have full rights as citizens after the Civil War. • 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act o First time U.S. adopted policy to exclude people based on race. People had been excluded in the past, but it was based on status, wealth, etc. o Asians were disallowed to become naturalized citizens until 1952. • How would you modify the graph? o Move blacks to the left. • How were immigrants from the main axis powers treated differently (Italian, German, Japanese)? o Japanese formed JALC (Japanese American League of Citizens) to show they were Americans. o Some German-Americans openly sympathized with Nazis. World Politics - Horowitz Reading • Focuses on politics in Asia and Africa • Ethnic identities are based on familial arrangements • A familial arrangement means that a person is biased towards his/her own family because of obligation. • Ethnicity allows you to extend the circle beyond immediate/extended family. • Familial arrangements imply that you identify your family by similarities in physical appearance. Physical marker is used to “letting people in.” • People sometimes talk in kinship terms to imply that you connect with them by blood. • What are the positives of enjoying a familial arrangement? o Support o Favoritism o Unity o Identity • Associations that exhibit these notions of blood are fraternities.• Is ethnic identity involuntary like “blood connections”? o Can you marry into an ethnicity? o Naturalization of ethnicity? (adopt ethnicity by living in a country) • Is being born into ethnicity more secure than assimilating into it? o Have the vulnerability of being seen as a traitor. Sometimes even if you’re born into the ethnicity. • Punchline of ethnic membership o Has elements of birth and choice. • Other uses of ethnicity o Can assist transition in going from say rural area to a large city o MarriageÆ transactions in society can be facilitated by ethnic names o Growth of an ethnic partyÆ Elites want to organize a party along ethnic lines ETHNICITY CAN SUBSUME HOW PEOPLE VIEW THEIR CLASS