Ethnicity, Race,
and Nationality
AP Human Geography
Unit of Study: Cultural Geography
Overview
• Ethnicity is growing in importance as people
all over the world embrace their cultural
heritage.
• Personal and group identities are important
and ethnicity is likely to remain diverse even
with the globalization of religions, languages,
economics, and politics.
What is ethnicity?
• Ethnicity is identity with a group of
people who share the cultural traditions
of a particular homeland or hearth.
• Ethnicity comes from the Greek word
ethnikos, which means national.
Importance of Ethnicity to
Geographers
• Where?
Like other characteristics of culture,
geographers are interested in where ethnicities are
distributed.
• An ethnic group is tied to a particular place,
because members of the group—or their
ancestors—were born and raised there.
The
cultural traits displayed by an ethnicity derive from a
group’s homeland.
Importance of Ethnicity to
Geographers
• Why care? Ethnic identity comes from the
interplay of migration and isolation from
other groups.
• Why ethnicities are distinct comes from their
interaction with and isolation from other
groups.
Importance of Ethnicity to
Geographers
• Globalization. Although there are ethnic
groups that fight to gain control of territory,
NO ethnicity is attempting or even aspiring to
achieve global dominance.
• Even if globalization engulfs language,
religion, or other cultural elements, the
diversity of ethnic identity will remain.
Assimilation v. Acculturation
• Assimilation: the process of responding to
new situations in conformity; “blending” in
• Acculturation: the process by which a
human being acquires the culture of a
particular society
African Americans in the U.S.
Hispanic Americans in the U.S.
Asian Americans in the U.S.
Native Americans in the U.S.
Ethnicities in Africa: First…a look
at the political map!
Ethnicities in Africa
What is race?
• Race is identity with a group who share a
biological ancestor and it is distinct from ethnicity.
• Example: In the U.S., Asians are a race and Asian
Americans encompass basically the same ethnic
group of people, though Asian American is a broad
grouping for people from diverse Asian
backgrounds.
Important Term
• Racism: the belief that race is the primary
determinant of human traits and capacities
and those racial differences produce an
inherent superiority of a particular race.
What is nationality?
• A nationality is identity with a group of
people who share legal attachment and
personal allegiance to a particular country.
• A nation or nationality is a group of people
tied together to a particular place through
legal status and cultural traditions.
Differences…
• Ethnicity describes cultural identity while
nationality describes political ties and ideas
about voting, passports, and civic duties.
• American is a nationality, Hispanic-American
or African-American are ethnicities, and race
is the genetic heritage with skin color being
the most visible trait.
Self-identification
• What is it? the act of identifying yourself as
a particular kind of person, including your
ethnicity and race
Nationalism
• Nationalism is loyalty and devotion to a
nationality.
• Nationalism promotes one nationality and
culture above that of other nations.
How is nationalism fostered?
• Mass media (controlled in some states—
believed to be a risk to the government)
• Flags, songs, symbols, holidays
• Propaganda (often negative images about
other countries)
Samples of symbols or images that
promote nationalism
Sample of propaganda intended to promote
a particular attitude about war
Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces
• A centripetal force is an attitude that tends
to UNIFY OR CONNECT people and
enhance support for a state (country).
• A centrifugal force is an attitude that tends
to DIVIDE people and decrease support for a
state.
Do you know the difference?
Centripetal or centrifugal?
1. flag
2. civil war
3. interstate system
4. national anthem
5. poor economy
The Index of Residential Dissimilarity
—What is it?
• Segregation is a shorthand expression for
the extent to which members of an ethnic
group are not uniformly distributed in relation
to the rest of the population.
• Think of separation!
The Index of Residential Dissimilarity
—What is it?
• A commonly employed measure for quantifying the
degree to which a distinctive group is segregated is
the index of residential dissimilarity.
• It indicates the difference between the distributions
of two component groups of a population, with a
theoretical range of values from 0 (no segregation)
to 100 (complete segregation).
The Index of Residential Dissimilarity
—What is it?
• Example: Detroit, Michigan
– 1. Population (2011): 9.8 million people
– 2. Overall segregation index—83 (established
by the U.S. Census Bureau)
– 3. Index of Dissimilarity:
• Blacks: 89
• Hispanic: 42
• Asian: 48
The Index of Residential Dissimilarity
—What is it?
• Evidence from cities throughout the world
makes it clear that most ethnic minorities tend
to be sharply segregated from the charter
group.
• Charter means “first,” referring to the first
group that has a lasting impact on the
cultural landscape.
To what extent is America
a “melting pot”?
Well…let’s talk about it…
Schoolhouse
Rocks!
To what extent is America
a “melting pot”?
• It is really more of an American myth than reality.
• Wilbur Zelinsky: “ Doctrine of First Effective
Settlement”
– Cultural areas of the U.S. are European in origin
– His doctrine refers to the first group that is able to
establish a viable, continuing society within a specific
territory.
– United States—first group to establish core as spread
culture as the U.S. expanded
Interactive Map Showing
Settlement Patterns
Now…let’s see how much
you remember…
Question 1
Which of these is an example of a cultural trait?
A. sleeping
B. eating a meal
C. wearing a turban
D. walking
E. parenting
Question 1
Which of these is an example of a cultural trait?
C. wearing a turban
Question 2
An ethnicity is typically distinguished by all but
which of the following?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
art
culture
history
traditions
sovereignty
Question 2
An ethnicity is typically distinguished by all but
which of the following?
E. sovereignty
Question 3
Elements of nationalism include all of the following
except
A. a common culture.
B. shared attitudes.
C. shared emotions.
D. political structures
(type of government).
Question 3
Elements of nationalism include all of the following
except
D. political structures
(type of government).
Question 4
In the United States, which of the following is shared
by all Americans?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
nationality
language
religion
race
ethnicity
Question 4
In the United States, which of the following is shared
by all Americans?
A. nationality
Question 5
Latinos and Hispanics are clustered in which areas of
the United States?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Northeast, cities
West, Southwest
Southwest, Northwest
cities
rural areas
Question 5
Latinos and Hispanics are clustered in which areas of
the United States?
B. West, Southwest
Question 6
Self-identification includes
A.
B.
C.
D.
ethnicity
race
religion
all of the above
Question 6
Self-identification includes
D. all of the above
Question 7
Which of the following is not a strong centripetal force
in the United States?
A.
B.
C.
D.
network television
the Pledge of Allegiance
a common currency
diverse ethnic groups
Question 7
Which of the following is not a strong centripetal force
in the United States?
D. diverse ethnic groups