We Are a People

by Spickard, Paul R.; Burroughs, W. Jeffrey

• ISBN13: 9781566397230
• ISBN10: 1566397235
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-01-07
• Publisher: Temple Univ Pr

Summary

The growing recognition that ethnicity is not fixed and inherent, but elastic and constructed, fuels the essays in this collection. Regarding identity as a dynamic, on-going, formative and transformative process, We Are a People considers narrative -- the creation and maintenance of a common story -- as the keystone in building a sense of peoplehood. Myths of origin, triumph over adversity, migration, and so forth, chart a group's history, while continual additions to the larger narrative stress moving into the future as a people. This is a path-breaking volume, boldly illustrating how ethnic identity works in the real world.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
We Are a People	1	(22)
Paul Spickard
W. Jeffrey Burroughs
Part I: The Indeterminacy of Ethnic Categories: The Problem and a Solution
Multiple Ethnicities and Identity in The United States	23	(18)
Mary C. Waters
That's The Story of Our Life	41	(16)
Stephen Cornell
Part II: Construction of Ethnic Narratives: Migrant Ethnicities
Black Immigrants in The United States	57	(13)
Violet M. Johnson
The Children of Samoan Migrants In New Zealand	70	(15)
Cluny Macpherson
La'avasa Macpherson
Part III: Ethnicities of Dominated Indigenous Peoples
Narrating to the Center of Power in the Marshall Islands	85	(13)
Phillip H. McArthur
Discovered Identities and American Indian Supratribalism	98	(26)
Stephen Cornell
The Anatomy of Scientific Racism: Racialist Responses to Black Athletic Achievement	124	(18)
Patrick B. Miller
I'm Not a Chileno! Rapa Nui Identity	142	(11)
Max E. Stanton
Part IV: Emerging Multiethnic Narratives
Multiracial Identity in Brazil and the United States	153	(26)
G. Reginald Daniel
Mixed Laughter	179	(13)
Darby Li Po Price
Punjabi Mexican American Experiences of Multiethnicity	192	(13)
Karen Leonard
Part V: Theoretical Reflections
Rethinking Racial Identity Development	205	(16)
Maria P. P. Root
The Continuing Significance of Race	221	(8)
Lori Pierce
What Are The Functions of Ethnic Identity?	229	(15)
Cookie White Stephan
Walter G. Stephan
Ethnicity, Multiplicity, and Narrative: Problems and Possibilities	244	(11)
W. Jeffrey Burroughs
Paul Spickard
Contributors	255