Ethnicity

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Chapter 7
An Introduction to Human Geography The Cultural
Landscape, 9e James M. Rubenstein

• Ethnicity

Victoria Alapo, Instructor Geog 1050
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Difference between Race and Ethnic Group

• Many Americans wrongly use race ethnic
  group interchangeably the way they use
  religion and denomination.
• Whats the difference?
• Your ethnic group is your culture/language e.g.
  German person, Yoruba person, Cherokee person.
  In other words, what used to be called tribes.
  So ethnic groups are Culture Groups, see pg 220.
  On the other hand, race is your SKIN COLOR (i.e.
  based on genetics, not culture). See next slide.
• You can have people belonging to the same race,
  but not the same ethnic group. E.g. not all
  white people are German. Not all Blacks are
  Yorubas. Not all Native Americans are Cherokee,
  not all East Asians are Chinese, etcEthnic
  groups are based on cultural affiliation, not on
  color.
• Clustering of ethnicities and races in the United
  States
• Division by race in South Africa (see maps and
  next slides)

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Difference between Race and Ethnic Group

• Races
• Even though there is just a single species of
  humans, Anthropologists use secondary biological
  characteristics e.g. skin color, eyes, hair, etc
  to classify the human race into different racial
  groupings. This is not the same as racism.
  Racism is when people carry these classifications
  (and their implications) too far. E.g. presuming
  human ability, potential, etc. on color.
• 3 main races Caucasoid (White), Negroid (Black)
  and Mongoloid (Asian). But there are others e.g.
  Native American (Red), etc. What about
  Hispanics? Actually, Hispanic is not race,
  its an Ethnic Group. Why? Pg 227.
• As Census 2000 shows though, sometimes people are
  hard to classify (if they have a mixed racial
  heritage, e.g. our President. Unless you use the
  dominant features of the individual). See pg
  227.

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African Americans in the U.S.
The highest percentages of African Americans are
in the rural South and in northern cities.
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Racial Segregation in the U.S.
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Hispanic Americans in the U.S.
The highest percentages of Hispanic Americans are
in the southwest and in northern cities.
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Asian Americans in the U.S.
The highest percentages of Asian Americans are in
Hawaii and California.
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Ethnic Diversity, New York City
People from East Asia (Chinese, Koreans,
Japanese) are all of the same race, but NOT of
the same ethnic group (i.e. CULTURE GROUPS).
Race and Ethnic groups are not the same
things. Furthermore, I disagree with the Asian
classifications on page 227.
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Native Americans in the U.S.
The highest percentages of Native Americans are
in parts of the plains, the southwest, and
Alaska. Native Americans belong to the SAME
race, but to different ethnic groups.
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Ethnicities in Chicago
African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian
Americans, and European Americans are clustered
in different areas of the city.
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Ethnicities in Los Angeles
Hispanic, white, African American, and Asian
areas in and around Los Angeles.
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Black Homelands in South Africa
During the apartheid era, South Africa created a
series of black homelands with the expectation
that every black would be a citizen of one of
them. These were abolished with the end of
apartheid. Pg 228. Also see next slides.
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Train Station Stairs for Whites South Africa
under Apartheid
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Train Station Stairs for Blacks South Africa
under Apartheid
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Ethnicities Nationalities

• Rise of nationalities
• Nationalism means loyalty devotion to a
  nationality (patriotism).
• Nation-states are where the territory coincides
  with the ethnic group. But many sovereign
  states, esp. in Africa, do not contain unified
  nations.
• Multinational States
• Nigeria is probably one of the best examples,
  with over 400 different ethnic groups. See pg
  167.
• Former Soviet Union, and present-day Russia. See
  next slide. Russia is one of the largest
  multinational states, and has 39 nationalities,
  many of which are eager for independence. During
  the Soviet Union, nationalism was suppressed.

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Ethnic Groups in Russia
Russia officially recognizes 39 ethnic groups, or
nationalities, which are concentrated in western
and southern portions of the country.
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Ethnicities in the Caucasus
The Caucasus region is extremely diverse
ethnically this causes turmoil. Ethnic groups
are spread across several national boundaries.
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Clashes of Ethnicities

• Dividing ethnicities among more than one state
• The Kurds (30 million) lived in independent
  Kurdistan in 1920. Their country disappeared when
  Turkey was re-created and expanded in 1923. Now
  they are found in 6 different countries. An
  example of a Stateless Nation. Pg 242. Other
  examples of clashes
• Dividing ethnicities in South Asia (India)
• Dividing Sri Lanka among ethnicities
• Ethnic competition in the Horn of Africa
• Ethnic competition in Lebanon

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Ethnic Groups in Southwest Asia
Ethnic boundaries do not match country
boundaries, especially in Iraq, Iran,
Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
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Ethnicities in Africa
The boundaries of African States do not (and
cannot) coincide with the thousands of ethnic
groups on the continent. In Geography, we MEAN
Sovereign States.
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Ethnicity in the Horn of Africa
There have been numerous interethnic civil
conflicts in the countries of the Horn of Africa
(including the Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and
Somalia).
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Ethnicities in Lebanon
Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, and
Druze are dominant in different areas of the
country.
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The Balkans in 1914
The northern part of the Balkans was part of
Austria-Hungary in 1914, while much of the south
was part of the Ottoman Empire. The country of
Yugoslavia was created after World War I, which
contained MANY ethnic groups.
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Ethnic Regions in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavias six republics until 1992 included
much ethnic diversity. Brutal ethnic cleansing
occurred in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo during
the civil wars of the 1990s.
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Ethnic Cleansing

• Ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia
• Creation destruction of multi-ethnic
  Yugoslavia. See next slide and aerial photography
  in text, pg 248.
• Balkanization the process by which a State
  breaks down thru conflicts among its ethnicities.
  E.g. the case of Yugoslavia.
• Balkanization is regarded as a threat to peace,
  since it could spread beyond the local area into
  neighboring countries for instance, conflict in
  the Balkans led to WW1.
• Ethnic cleansing in central Africa e.g. Rwanda
  (Hutus vs. Tutsis).

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Forced Migrations after World War II
Territorial changes after World War II resulted
in many migrations, especially by Poles,
Germans, and Russians.
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Ethnic Division of South Asia
At independence in 1947, British India was
divided into India and Pakistan, resulting in the
migration of 17 million people and many
killings. In 1971, after a brutal civil war,
East Pakistan became the country of Bangladesh.
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Train Station in Amritsar, India, October, 1947
The station is filled with Hindu refugees who
have fled from the new country of Pakistan.
Recommended must see historical movie Gandhi.
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Jammu and Kashmir
Although its population is mainly Muslim, much of
Jammu and Kashmir became part of India in 1947.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the
territory, and there has been a separatist
insurgency in the area.
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Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka
The Sinhalese are mainly Buddhist and speak an
Indo-European language, while the Tamils are
mainly Hindu and speak a Dravidian language.
The Sinhalese dominate govt., so the Tamils feel
cheated.