Ethnicity, Ethnocentrism, Cultures and Enculturation

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Let's take a closer look by definition and example, which will help you come up with your own personal life experiences and examples.

RESPONSE:

1-Ethnicity

Whereas nationality refers to our citizenship -- in other words, the nation we are a member of (for me Canada, so my nationality is Canadian), whereas ethnicity, or ethnic identity, refers to membership in a particular cultural group. Ethnicity is defined by shared cultural practices, including but not limited to holidays, food, language, and customs (http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/discrim/ethnicity1.asp#A).

For me, my father is French, with his parents coming to Canada to farm from France, and my mother is Norwegian, with my grandfather coming from Minnesota and his parents came from Norway. My maternal grandmother was also Norwegian, but has some Sweden heritage as well. My great grandmother travelled by boat to Canada, where she married my great grandfather. My father and grandparents spoke French, but did not pass it to me and my siblings, probably because my mother so with a mix or French and Norwegian, no one would have understood each other, so she did not pass her language to us either. So we spoke a national language of English, but still practice some Norwegian customs, like singing Norwegian songs, drinking Norwegian wises and eating Norwegian food on Holidays. I remember hearing my grandmother tell Norwegian folklores or myths like trolls living under bridges and she collected troll dolls from Norway. Religion is also ethnically related; as my Father and family were devote Roman Catholics and My mother and family, Lutheran. My mother converted to Catholicism, so that settled it for me and my siblings, who were brought up in the Catholic Church. At that time, there was a divide between the two denominations and that was one negative aspect I recall, heated debates about the Lutheran-Catholic debate, and at that time, Catholics could not even consider entering another church, which has changed today, which is a ositive move in the right direction.

Interestingly, people can share the same nationality (e.g. Canadian or American) but have different ethnic groups. For example, citizens of Canada and the United States are of many different ethnic backgrounds. As well, people who share an ethnic identity can be of different nationalities. For example, Turkish citizens of Turkey and Turkish citizens in Germany share an ethnic identity but are of ...