Lecture 3: Terminology Descent communities n the principle of genealogical connection by which attachment to a particular ancestral group is attained n kinship, ancestors, blood, `own kind', brothers and sisters, father and mother -- `fatherland', `Mother Russia', `the children of Africa'... n 3 English words with connotations of shared descent and culture: race, ethny, nation `Race' n the idea of `race' as a meaningful biological category is predominantly dismissed n race: a group defined as distinct because of its supposed common physical characteristics n race as a social construct; race exists as a social category n the idea of different `races' emerged when European and non-European peoples came into contact (late 15^th, early 16^th century) What is the difference between race and ethny? n the need to distinguish between the two: race refers to the classification of people, it is concerned with the categorisation of `them'; ethnicity refers to group identification and is more concerned with the identification of `us' (Michael Banton Race Relations, 1967) n the distinction is not necessary (T. H. Eriksen Ethnicity and Nationalism, 1993; P. van den Berghe `Does Race Matter?' 1995) -- in both cases the social concern is with common biological descent, even when the markers are primarily cultural Ethnic group or ethny (ethnie) n from Greek ethnos: people, unity of people with common blood or descent (it referred to a basic human category, not a subgroup) n ethnikos: referring to heathens, the `others', foreign n 15th century in English ethnic meant somebody not Hebrew, not Christian, so a pagan --> not `us' but `others' n The term `ethnicity' first appeared in English in the 1950s; it has various meanings: ethnic identity, the essence of ethny, belonging to ethny... 6 main features of ethnies: (Hutchinson & Smith, 1996) n common name n myth of common ancestry (shared origin) n shared historical memories n elements of common culture n homeland n sense of solidarity What is the difference between ethny and nation? n nation is a self-defined rather than other-defined grouping; "a nation is a self-aware ethnic group" (W. Connor) n ethnies are cultural communities much older than nations, on which nations are based; difference between ethnies and nations is that a delimited territory, a unified legal and economic system, and a public culture are the elements that nations have, yet ethnies lack (A. D. Smith) n it is the political element that sets the two apart Nation n Latin origin, natio from nasci: to be born, conveying idea of common blood ties (yet the Romans never designated themselves as a natio, reserved for `community of foreigners'), derogatory connotation; nationem: referring to breed or race n late 13th century introduced into English meaning blood related group, later relating to inhabitants of a country n medieval universities: communities of students; gradually changing the meaning of the word to a community of opinion, purpose n ecclesiastical councils of the late Middle Ages, the word lost all derogatory connotations; becoming a synonym for `people' n the word `nation' in wide use from the 18^th century n the word `nationalism', in contrast, much more recent Which nation? n civic and ethnic definitions of nation: n civic nationhood derives from free will and participation in the nation; ethnic nationhood is tied to culture, ethnicity, and based on shared territory or language, or common descent etc. n Volksnation as relating to myths of common origin n Kulturnation as elevating the myth of common culture (narod) n Staatsnation as based on citizenship (nacija) What is the nation? n in contemporary writings nation is no longer regarded as unchanging and primary social entity n every attempt to answer this unresolved question is inherently dependent on the belief that nations are real entities n instead of regarding them as such, R. Brubaker suggests focus on `nationness as a conceptual variable': n "Everyone agrees that nations are historically formed constructs." (Brubaker) n cf. sceptical view of V. Tishkov who goes even further, suggesting to forget the term `nation' What is the nation? n the modernists (e.g. Gellner, Hobsbawm, Anderson) see the nation as a purely modern phenomenon; it is a product of capitalism or industrialism and bureaucracy, an outcome of modernisation n M. Hroch is convinced that nations are real (note: not eternal) and should be defined as including: remembered common past of the group, linguistic or cultural ties enabling social communication within the group, perceived equality of all who belong to the group Defining the nation n definitions abound, the most fundamental conceptual divide being objective vs. subjective definitions: n commonly listed objective markers: language, ethnicity, religion, territory, common history, shared descent (ancestry, kinship), common culture, etc. n famous example: Stalin's definition "a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture" n several problems with `objective' definitions mean that scholars nowadays use objective markers in conjunction with subjective factors n commonly cited subjective markers: solidarity, self-awareness, loyalty, collective will, etc. n Ernest Renan, Max Weber, Walker Connor, Michael Hechter ... Some definitions: n Renan opted for a `subjectivist' view of nation as "a soul, a spiritual principle"; it is "a large-scale solidarity, constituted by the feeling of the sacrifices that one has made in the past and of those that one is prepared to make in the future" n for Weber it is "a community of sentiment which would adequately manifest itself in a state of its own" n Connor: "a group of people who believe they are ancestrally related" n Hechter: "a relatively large group of genetically unrelated people with high solidarity" n most famous: Anderson "a nation is an imagined political community - and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign" Next week's readings: n Walker Connor Ethnonationalism pp. 90-103 n Miroslav Hroch Social preconditions of national revival in Europe pp. xi-xviii, 3-17 n Benedict Anderson Imagined communities, pp. 5-7 n Ernest Gellner Nations and nationalism, pp. 1-7 + `Adam's navel...' in Mortimer & Fine People, Nation and State (pp. 31-35) + Smith `The Nation: Real or Imagined?' (ibid.) (pp. 36-42) n Eric Hobsbawm Nations and nationalism since 1780, pp. 8-13 n Anthony Smith The ethnic origins of nations, pp. 6-13, 16-18 n Michael Hechter Containing nationalism pp. 5-9 n Craig Calhoun Nationalism pp. 1-8 n Montserrat Guibernau Nationalisms pp. 46-51 n Rogers Brubaker Nationalism reframed pp. 13-16