Ethnicity has been an essential source of significance and recognition throughout anthropological history. According to Castells (1997), it could be deemed as the foundational structure of social differentiation, as well as that of social discrimination, in many modern day socialized societies ranging from the United States of America to Sub-Saharan Africa. For Troutt (2014), the turn of the19th century saw a strengthening of institutionalized racism and legal discrimination against people of African (non-white) descent in the United States of America, as well as in “non-white ethnic groups” in South Africa via Apartheid laws. Thus, members of the same ethnic group deemed through societal structures and constructionism’s were able to identify with each other as a result of their shared ethnicity and race. Manuel Castell investigated ethnicity within the American context and based on his formulated evidence; deemed the notion of ethnic unbonding to be occurring in America. This essay discusses Castell's position regarding African-Americans and the identity crisis that they experienced in the 1900’s, based on ethnic unbonding. In addition, this essay will argue that just like in the United States of America, ethnic unbonding is occurring in contemporary South Africa. This will be backed up with evidence of ethnic unbonding in the form of the concepts of language and culture as case studies, within the South African context.
For Macionis and Plummer (2008), identity within the social context undergoes various changes via socialization. Thus, ethnic identity like most forms of social identity cannot be categorized as a static concept, owing to the fact that it is subject to the influence of societal changes. Therefore, as depicted b...
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...). Ethnic identity development: Toward the development of a theory within the context of majority/minority status. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70(1), pp.181-187.
Troutt, David D. 2014. The racism that still plagues America. Available: http://www.salon.com/2014/01/20/the_racism_that_still_plagues_america. Accessed date [May 24, 2014].
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A careful look at these five readings finds identity or ethnicity divided into the following three categories, society’s preconceived impression of the identity or ethnicity, the division between the identity or ethnicity and main stream society, and the judgment of the identity or ethnicity by mainstream society.
Wiley, Terrence G. "Language Planning, Language Policy, and the English-Only Movement." Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-first Century. Ed. Edward Finegan and John R. Rickford. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004. 319-38. Print.
In Stuart Hall’s “Ethnicity: Identity and Difference,” he claims that identity is a volatile social process through which one comes to see the self. Hall argues that identity is not a thing rather a process “…that happens over time, that is never absolutely stable, that is subject to the play of history, and the play of difference.” These factors are constantly entering the individual in a never-ending cycle, re-establishing and affirming who one is.
· Dashefsky, A. (Eds.). (1976). Ethnic identity in society. Chicago: Rand McNally College Publishing Co. Smith, E.J. (1991). Ethnic identity development: Toward the development of a theory within the context of majority/minority status. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 181-187.
The decolonization process in Africa, which extended, in one way or another, from the late 1940s to the 1990s, did not result in immediate prosperity, especially not for a country like South Africa, which experienced multi-faceted colonialism and a two-phase independence. This lack of prosperity disproportionately targeted the native black population, which had developed an antagonistic relationship with the white settlers from the beginning of colonization. The conflicts between the black native South Africans and Afrikaners, Dutch settlers who arrived to the region during the 17th and 18th centuries, was rooted in centuries of clashes. In 1811, the British influx of settlers pushed the Xhosa natives over the Fish River, which led the Afrikaners
Arthur Jarvis is extraordinary, for in his “Private Essay on the Evolution of a South African,” he admits that he knew nothing of South Africa. “From them [his parents] I learned all that a child should learn of honour and charity and generosity. But of South Africa I learned nothing at all.” (pg 207) As a young boy, he was blind and sheltered from the entirety and the truth of his so-beloved land. “One can read, as I read when I was a boy, the b...
Society is consisted of particulars groups of people who are united for a certain aim which is common for every member of that society. The latter has the greatest impact on the formation of each person. It is considered to be the very source that contributes to the development of identity of every person; moreover, it injects some general norms and values in each member of that particular society. Besides, Henri Tajfel (1979), British social psychologist, said that human beings obtain a sense of social identity when they know that they belong to some social groups. This means that human beings find and develop their identities in case of belonging to some kinds of social groups. Only in that point a person is able to define and clarify his or her social identity. Those groups can diverse from each other and can have different sizes. Examples of such groups can be family, community, university and even, the entire population. Consequently, one can have different identities in each group and can take on appropriate identity as long as he or she is part of that particular social group. Moreover, all people have a right to preserve and protect their identity regardless of their nationality, religion and skin color. In this very point, back then in the past women could not find their identity and could not protect it in the majority of countries in the world. Even now, there ...
As defined by (Rothman, J., & Alberstein, M. 2013), identity is a self-perception filled by a cultural formula. According to this definition, identity can most usefully be described by and conceptually organized into three main categories: Individual Identity, Group and Intergroup. In every conf...
Repression by the South African government during the apartheid era, has hurt the ability for civil society groups to form. Instead of channeling grievances through civil society organizations that act as a “safety valve” for discontent in a more peaceful way, most South Africans who want to get their voices heard end up using violence as a tool in order to bring political gain.1 The use of violence as a component of South Africa's political culture was originated during the 1980s anti-apartheid struggle, where the ANC and other underground anti-apartheid groups would use violent and militaristic actions, language, and ideas to get their voices heard as part of social mobilization. Even after the end of apartheid and the establishment of the democratic regime, the elements of formal democracy such as competitive electoral politics, lobbying of interests, and open public debate have not replaced the violent and militaristic actions, rhetoric, and ideas that were the political norm of the 1980s.2 Civil society organizations still remain weak and shallow even under the current post-apartheid democratic regime, due to heavy co-optation of many civil society groups into the ANC.3 The weakness of civil society in South Africa and the reluctance of many South Africans to organize such groups under an environment of heavy political dominance of the ANC makes it possible for violent action to happen in many South African protests.4
The role of language in the creation of a national identity is complex, controversial, but fundamentally powerful. National languages are not simply means of communication; rather they can also act as a symbolic representation of a national identity, providing insight into a nation’s perceived religious, ethnic and historical status. This essay will consider the role language plays in a national identity, questioning the power it holds and the implications it has on the notion of nationalism. Additionally, it will address whether or not the ability to plan language in relation to a national identity is really as powerful as it seems by probing into the process of language planning – what elements are considered, who is responsible for carrying out the process and what effect does it
The recent attacks on black non-nationals in South Africa which were labelled as Xenophobic attacks have had a negative impact on how South Africa is viewed Globally and have caused a threat of an economic backlash. In this essay we look at South Africa’s pan-African identity and if these attacks were indeed Xenophobic or whether they were a form of Afrophobia. Looking at how only the Black immigrants were attacked and not people from any other ethnic groups and choosing to only attack Black foreigners must have been deliberate thus the argument that the attacks were Afrophobic.
Unfortunately, language has the power to destroy unity within a community as seen during the Apartheid Era. The white population was a minority of the South African population while the remaining seventy-five percent was black. There was only one way to prevent cohesion withi...