What is Ethnic Literature?

What does “ethnic” mean?

“of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background.” (Webster’s Dictionary)

Ethnic classifications

Hispanics or Latinos are being classed according to language (Spanish) more so than “race.”

African-Americans are being classed according to race.

Asian-Americans are classed according to race, but often also according to national origin.

Ethnic classifications

White Americans are usually considered ethnic only in terms of strong national or religious identifications i.e. Italian, Jewish

Native Americans are usually classified by tribe, but sometimes by race as indigenous or native peoples

Ethnic Classifications

There can also be regional identifications--New Yorkers, Californians, locals

Both regional and national identifications can be strengthened by moving away from the group--when they are dominant they are often taken for granted.

Ethnic identifications

Linguistic, and cultural identifications are weakened through exposure to a dominant alternative culture as members of ethnic groups become assimilated.

The following poem by Pat Mora describes this process:

Immigrants

Wrap their babies in the American flag,

feed them mashed hot dogs and apple pie,

name them Bill and Daisy,

buy them blonde dolls that blink blue

eyes or a football and tiny cleats

before the baby can even walk,

speak to them in thick English

hallo, babee, hallo

Immigrants

whisper in Spanish or Polish

when the babies sleep, whisper

in a dark parent bed, that dark

parent fear, “Will they like

our boy, our girl, our fine american

boy, our fine american girl?”

What is Literature?

Imaginative WritingStories, novelsAutobiographypoems, song lyrics, chantsplaysFilms

So what is ethnic literature?

Literature in which the protagonists or, in the case of poetry, the speakers, are conscious of being members of a group of people sharing a common and distinctive racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage.

I define it by subject matter rather than the ethnic background of the author.

Who writes “ethnic” lit?

Members of ethnic groups can write literature that is not “ethnic”

People who are not part of a specific ethnic group can write ethnic literature about that group but this may raise difficult questions about authenticity.

For the most part I try to chose works written by “insiders.”

Generic characteristics of ethnic literature

Recurrent themes (list follows)

Hybridizationmixture of styles and genres

mixture of traditions from different cultures

Presence of a culture bearer-older character who passes on traditions and wisdom

Consciousness of a double audience-insiders from own culture and outsiders from dominant culture

multi-lingual

incorporation of visions, dreams or other supernatural elements

Themes of ethnic literature

Experiences of prejudice, discrimination, or racism

generational conflicts--particularly between immigrant parents and their American-born children or grandchildren,

nostalgia for or struggle to recover a lost ethnic identity,

pride in and celebration of one’s heritage versus shame and discomfort at being different,

Themes of ethnic literature

The feeling of being caught between two worlds.

Conflicts between “American” values and “ethnic” values,

The conflict and convergence of differing ethnic traditions.