sc2218 lecture 8 (2008a)
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Lecture 8: Race, Ethnicity, Nation and other Imagined CommunitiesTRANSCRIPT
SC2218: Anthropology and the SC2218: Anthropology and the Human ConditionHuman Condition
Lecture 8: Ethnicity, Race, Lecture 8: Ethnicity, Race, Nation, and other Imagined Nation, and other Imagined
CommunitiesCommunities
Eric C. ThompsonEric C. Thompson
Semester 1, 2008/2009Semester 1, 2008/2009
Where Are We Going?Where Are We Going?
• Part 1: Anthropological Frameworks– Strangers abroad; Genetic inheritance;
The concept of Culture
• Part 2: Social-Cultural Systems– Kinship, Gender, Economy,
Community
• Part 3: Building on the Frameworks & Moving into the Future– Problem of Representation, History
and Change, the Poetry of Culture, Anthropology in the 21st Century
YOU AREHERE
Lecture OutlineLecture Outline
• What is are “Communities”?
• Race, Ethnicity, Nation– Types of Communities
• Census, Map, Museum– Technologies of Communities
• Beyond Census, Map, Museum…
Community::Dictionary Definitions
• People with common interests, living in a particular area.
• A group of people with common characteristics living together within a larger society.
• A body of persons having a common history or common social, economic and political interests.
• A body of persons of common interests scattered through a larger society.
Community:Community:Co-location, CommonalityCo-location, Commonality
• Co-location (people living in one area)– Although “community” is still often used in this
sense; this is increasingly seen as irrelevant.– Social and cultural processes not bound by co-
location (esp. with telecommunication).– People standing at a bus-stop are not a
“community”
• Commonality– How is this determined?– (Will come back to this)
Community versus NetworkCommunity versus Network
• A Social Network is defined by exchange and relationship between persons.
• Exchange takes place on the basis of difference not similarity (though can create relationship and a sense of ‘commonality’)
• A network is not necessarily a “community”.
Unbounded CommunitiesUnbounded Communities• A community of academics, scholars• NUSS = the NUS alumni community• The “Malay community” (or any other “ethnic
community”)• A national community (do you cease to be
Singaporean if you take a trip to Australia?)• The “YouTube” community.• Communities are based in senses of belonging
and identity.
Community… Commonality?Community… Commonality?
• Markers of commonality are arbitrary.
• They are socially and culturally agreed upon.
• Communities exist because people imagine them to exist. (They are fundamentally cultural – shared belief, ideas, feelings).
• Communities are not “fictional”… They are social and cultural realities.
Culture is…Culture is…
• A system of shared meanings.
• A system for signaling and reproducing those shared meanings.
• How is community culturally produced?
• How do we signal and represent commonality among a group of people?
Racial, Ethnic, NationalRacial, Ethnic, NationalCommunitiesCommunities
• Markers of commonality are arbitrary…
• Race = use of biological, physiological characteristics as markers of similarity and difference.
• Ethnicity = use of culturally expressed characteristics as markers of similarity and difference.
• Nationality = ???
Race, Ethnicity and NationRace, Ethnicity and NationHistorical PerspectiveHistorical Perspective
• From the 19th to 20th centuries, race was replaced (displaced) by ethnicity.
• From the 19th century onward, “nationality” has straddled an unclear conceptual area between ethnicity (a ‘culturally similar’ group of people) and affiliation with a territorial-state (citizenship).
The shift from RACE to The shift from RACE to ETHNICITYETHNICITY
Race• Idea of Race is based on
coherence of traits (esp. biological).
• Traits do not cohere.
• 95% of biological/ genetic variation occurs within human populations
• 5% occurs between populations
• Race remains a popular idea but scientifically useless and socially divisive
What about CULTURAL variation?
Shift from Race to EthnicityShift from Race to Ethnicity• 18th - 19th Century: “Race” = groups who
share physical traits, customs, habits and other characteristics. (Biology AND Culture)
• 20th Century: Ethnicity = groups who share customs, language, social views.
• Ethnicity = Race minus Biology• Ethnicity became a more acceptable way of
categorizing similarity and difference
Ethnicity: Two ViewsEthnicity: Two Views• Primordialism
– Coherence (“Sharing”) of Cultural Traits– Assumed Blood Ties, Race, Language, Region,
Religion, Custom
• Circumstantialism (Situationalism)– Identity depends on circumstances– Individual circumstantialism– Social, historical circumstantialism
• Problem:– Evidence supports Circumstantialism– Peoples’ feelings support Primordialism
Ethnic Groups and BoundariesEthnic Groups and Boundaries
• Ethnicity is based on a sense of difference.
• Symbols & practices are not ‘ethnic’ until they become signifiers of difference.
• Examples:– Japanese Shinto– Malay Adat
What is a “Nation”?What is a “Nation”?
• A European (Primordialist) Theory• One “people” living on one territory governed by
one state (French people, German people, Chinese people)
• A Nation = An Ethnic Group with a State.• Problems:
– 1. People move around!– 2. Culture (the marker of ethnicity) changes over
time and space (without clear ‘boundaries’ between groups)
Shifting meaning of “Nationality”Shifting meaning of “Nationality”• 19th and 20th Century: A “nation” is a “people”
(defined in terms of a blurred combination of ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’)
• 20th to 21st Century: Nationality is defined by a person’s association with a territorial-state (what passport do you hold?)
• States create “nations” (more than “nations” being a justification for states)– “Peasants in to Frenchmen” (Eugen Weber)– Singapore, Indonesia and other post-colonial ‘nation-
states’
Imagined CommunitiesImagined Communities(Benedict Anderson… and beyond)(Benedict Anderson… and beyond)
• All communities – Racial, Ethnic, National, etc. – are products of cultural processes, symbols, and practices.
• Communities exist because people imagine them to exist.
• We can study distinct processes and practices that enable such imagining.
Census, Map, Museum• Cultural Practices
• Governmentality
• Ethnicity & Nationalism
None of the AboveNone of the Above
• What are the effects of racial categorization for the people interviewed in the film?
• What purpose does racial categorization serve?
• How would these people identify (or be identified) if they lived in Singapore?
Census• Singapore Census 1871 to 2000
• Shifting categories, shifting relationships between categories.
• What happens to:
European? African? Chinese? Malay?
Eurasian? Bugis? Hindoo? Tamil?
• In each census, how would you categorize yourself?
Census Categories: Straits Settlements 1871
Europeans and Americans(18 subcategories)
ArmeniansJewsEurasiansAbyssiniansAchineseAfricansAndamaneseArabsBengalees & other Natives of
IndiaBoyaneseBugis
BurmeseChineseCochin-ChineseDyaksHindoosJapaneseJavaneseJaweepekansMalaysManilamenMantrasParseesPersiansSiameseSinghalese
Census Categories: Straits Settlements 1901
I. Europeans and Americans (23 subcategories)
II. EurasiansIII. Chinese
CantoneseHokkienKhehStraits-bornTeo-ChewTribe Not Stated(2 other categories)
IV. Malays & Other Natives of the ArchipelagoAboriginesAchineseBugisJavaneseMalays(4 other subcategories)
V. Tamils & Other Natives of IndiaBengalisBurmeseParseesTamils
VI. Other NationalitiesAfricansAnnameseArabsArmeniansJapaneseJewsPersiansSiameseSinhaleseNot Stated
Census Categories: British Malaya 1921
The European Pop. by Race(20 subcategories)
EurasiansThe Malay Pop. by Race
MalaysJavaneseBoyaneseBugisAchineseSakai(5 other subcategories)
The Chinese Pop. by TribeHokkienCantoneseTie ChiuKhehNorthern Provinces(6 other subcategories)
The Indian Pop. by RaceTamilTeluguBengaliHindustaniBurmeseGurkha(6 other subcategories)
The “Other” Pop. By RaceArabsArmeniansFilipinosJapaneseNegrosSiameseSinhaleseTurks (Asiatic)(4 other subcategories)
Census Categories: Malaya 1957Malaysians
MalaysIndonesianAll Aborigines
NegritoSemai(4 other subcategories)
ChineseHokkienTiechiuKhek (Hakka)CantoneseHainaneseHokchiaHokchiuKwongsaiHenghwaOther Chinese
IndiansIndian TamilTeleguMalayaliOther Indian
OthersEurasianCeylon TamilOther CeylonesePakistaniThai (Siamese)Other AsianBritishOther EuropeanOthers (not European or Asian)
Census Categories: Singapore 2000Chinese
“Persons of Chinese origin”HokkienTeochewCantoneseHakkaHainaneseHockchiaFoochowHenghuaShanghaineseEtc.
Malay“Persons of Malay or Indonesian origin”JavaneseBoyaneseBugisEtc.
Indian“Persons of Indian, Pakistani, Bangledeshi and Sri Lankan origin”TamilMalayaliPunjabiBengaliSinghaleseEtc.
Other Ethnic Group“All persons other than Chinese, Malays and Indians”EurasiansEuropeansArabsJapaneseEtc.
Census• Singapore Census 1871 to 2000
• Shifting categories, shifting relationships between categories.
• What happens to:
European? African? Chinese? Malay?
Eurasian? Bugis? Hindoo? Tamil?
• In each census, how would you categorize yourself?
MapMap
• Do maps show nations or create nations?
• What is the relationship between maps and national identity?
Siam MappedSiam Mapped(Thongchai Winichakul, 1994)(Thongchai Winichakul, 1994)
Thai Buddhist Pilgrimage MapThai Buddhist Pilgrimage Map
““History of Thailand’s Boundary”History of Thailand’s Boundary”
““Wake Up, Thai People”Wake Up, Thai People”
The “Geo-body” of the Nation:The “Geo-body” of the Nation:Culturally Produced through MapsCulturally Produced through Maps
Yao, Mien and OthersYao, Mien and Others• Hjorleifur (“Leif”) Jonsson (2005)• Who are the “Yao” or “Mien”?• An ethno-linguistic group?• People within a feudal class hierarchy?• An ethnic group?• If their identity is defined in relationship to
nation-states (Thailand, China, Laos, Vietnam), are they subjects of the state or not?
• Jonsson’s point: Identities are relational not “indigenous” or “primordial”
Mapping other Identities
Museum• Sites for interpreting and
reinterpreting the past• National and other
frameworks
Imagining CommunityImagining Community
• Census, Map, Museum are Cultural and Practical means for Imagining Community.
• Imagined Communities are not fictions. They are social and cultural realities.
Beyond Census, Map, MuseumBeyond Census, Map, Museum
• Census, Map, and Museum are just three practices, symbols and institutions that enable imagined communities.
• What other practices, symbols or institutions that enable imagined communities?
• How do these practices, symbols, institutions…– Make us feel we are part of a community?– Signal to others that we are part of a community?
Dilemmas of Race, Ethnicity, Dilemmas of Race, Ethnicity, NationNation
• Why do Race, Ethnicity & Nation seem so real in peoples lives, yet so arbitrary when we look at their history, politics and cultural construction?
Race/Ethnicity/National Identity
Race & EthnicityRace & Ethnicity
Communities / IdentitiesCommunities / Identities
• Identity = Personal relationship to a community.
• Beyond Race, Ethnicity, Race:– Gender, Sexuality, Kinship– Class, Professional, Hobbies, etc…
• What is the point of reference?– Different points of reference have different
implications. . Racial, Ethnic, Gender, Professional Communities operate differently
Questions:Questions:Is there an ASEAN community?Is there an ASEAN community?
Are you a citizen of ASEAN?Are you a citizen of ASEAN?
The ASEAN FlagThe Geo-body of a Region?
Is ASEAN an Emergent Community?
Findings: Findings: Attitudes Attitudes toward ASEAN toward ASEAN
• ASEAN citizenship. Over 75% agreed:
• Nearly 90% felt that membership in ASEAN is beneficial to their nation and nearly 70 % felt it was beneficial to them personally
“ I feel I am a citizen of ASEAN”
Singapore Myanmar
Least Agreement
Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
Strongest Agreement
Nation-States as a Semantic Domain: Nation-States as a Semantic Domain: Conceptualizing Relationships among CountriesConceptualizing Relationships among Countries
• “Countries” is a wide spread cultural concept (since the 19th century).
• In the contemporary world, people largely share this domain.
• At the same time, people view the domain differently from different national (and other) perspectives.
Indonesia Cognitive Map of Southeast Asia
PHILIPPINES
INDONESIAMALAYSIA
THAILAND
SINGAPORE
BRUNEI
VIETNAM
MYANMAR
CAMBODIA LAOS
Thailand Cognitive Map of Southeast Asia
PHILIPPINES
INDONESIA
MALAYSIA
THAILAND
SINGAPORE
BRUNEIVIETNAM
MYANMARCAMBODIA
LAOS
Philippine Cognitive Map of Southeast Asia
PHILIPPINESINDONESIA
MALAYSIATHAILAND
SINGAPORE
BRUNEI
VIETNAM
MYANMAR
CAMBODIA
LAOS
Singapore Cognitive Map of Southeast Asia
PHILIPPINES
INDONESIA
MALAYSIA THAILAND
SINGAPORE
BRUNEI
VIETNAMMYANMAR
CAMBODIALAOS
Is Singapore part of Is Singapore part of Southeast Asia?Southeast Asia?
Thailand Cognitive Map of East Asia
PHILIPPINESINDONESIA
MALAYSIA
THAILAND
SINGAPORE
BRUNEI
VIETNAM
MYANMAR
CAMBODIA
LAOS CHINA
TAIWAN JAPAN
SOUTH KOREA
NORTH KOREA
Singapore Cognitive Map of East Asia
PHILIPPINES
INDONESIA
MALAYSIA
THAILAND
SINGAPORE
BRUNEI
VIETNAMMYANMAR
CAMBODIA
LAOS
CHINATAIWAN
JAPAN
SOUTH KOREA
NORTH KOREA
Is Singapore part of Southeast Is Singapore part of Southeast Asia?Asia?
• Singapore is in Southeast Asia
• Is Singapore of Southeast Asia?
• What does this mean for regional identity?
• What does this mean for international relations?
Final Thoughts…Final Thoughts…
• Community is created through …– Imagination– Practice
• We make our communities through imaginative practices and practical imagination.