Summary Of Thomas Eriksen's Theories Of Ethnic Identity

Identification is a principle of Thomas Eriksen’s, which rationalizes his theories of anthropology. This refers to the degree to which people associate and identify with themselves and others. These connections are based on different mechanisms individuals come in contact with. Identities, whether of individuals or groups, are produced, maintained, and transformed. Eriksen discovers various theoretical perspectives that deal with identity formation, including constructions of "the normal." Anthropologists explore the utility of these perspectives for understanding identity components such as gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, language, social class, and bodily difference. There is no record of any society where gender and

Ethnicity is a group or an individual’s conception of cultural identity and refers to cultural separation between and within societies. “Ethnicity is often woven into our self-identification, especially in the United States. Most Americans are a compilation of many nationalities, each with its own cultural traditions”. Ethnic constraints are seen in many environments and can eventually lead to negative stereotypes that are objectionable. “There are ethnic groups with great internal cultural variation, and there are clear boundaries between ethnic groups whose mutual cultural differences are difficult to spot”. This is important in the process of making accusations about the relationships between existing groups. Anthropologists, are much more interested in ethnicity as a historically and politically situated set of identity practices, rather than as a state of natural or predictable resemblance between physicality, behaviors, and attitudes. Identification justifies the cultural differences not from the materialistic differences but how they affect the social aspects. People will highlight the differences when they become socially relevant even when the accusations are