# Meta-ethnicity

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{{Short description|Large group of related ethnic groups who identify with each other}}
'''Meta-ethnicity''' is a level of commonality that is wider ("[meta-](/source/Meta_(prefix))") and more general (i.e., might differ on specifics) than [ethnicity](/source/Ethnic_group), but does not necessarily correspond to (and may actually transcend) [nation](/source/nation) or [nationality](/source/nationality). It is a relatively recent term (or [neologism](/source/neologism)) occasionally used in academic literature or public discourse on [ethnic studies](/source/ethnic_studies). In colloquial discourse, it usually signifies a larger [in-group](/source/In-group_and_out-group) of distinct [ethnic group](/source/ethnic_group)s who identify more closely with each other than they would with [out-group](/source/In-group_and_out-group) ethnic groups. The groups within the in-group may be genetically and culturally related which reinforces the grouping.

An early use—possibly the first published in English—was an article in a 1984 [USSR Academy of Sciences](/source/USSR_Academy_of_Sciences) publication discussing identity in [Asia](/source/Asia) and [Africa](/source/Africa).<ref>Brook, Solomon, and Nikolai Cheboksarov. 1984. "Metaethnic Identities in Asia and Africa."  In ''Ethnocultural Development of African Countries''. Moscow: USSR Academy of Sciences. Pp. 49-73.</ref>

==Examples of use==
Some other examples:

* Gurharpal Singh, ''Ethnic Conflict in India: A Case-Study of Punjab'' (New York: Palgrave, 2000).
* Gurharpal Singh, "Against this dominant view of the nature of the Indian state, Singh argues that [India](/source/India) should be seen as an '[ethnic democracy](/source/ethnic_democracy)' in which [Hinduism](/source/Hinduism) works as a meta-ethnicity and in which [hegemonic](/source/hegemonic) control is exercised over ethnic [minorities](/source/Minority_group), particularly those living in the peripheral regions" in Christopher Shackle, Gurharpal Singh and Arvind-Pal Mandair eds., ''Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity'' (Curson: 2001), p.155.
* "L. Byzov, however, believes that 'there has taken place within the [Russia](/source/Russia)n national consciousness one of the most radical changes ever: from a meta-ethnic sense of [identity](/source/Identity_(social_science)) to a strictly ethnic identity' (Byzov 1996, 45)."<ref>[http://www.molokane.org/molokan/Religion/Agadjanian_paper.htm Agadjanian, Alexander. 2001. "Religious pluralism and national identity in Russia." ''MOST Journal on Multicultural Societies'', Vol. 2, No. 2 (note 19)]</ref>
* "Geoffrey Fox, on the other hand, argues that '[Hispanic](/source/Hispanic)', with its emphasis on [Spanish-language](/source/Spanish_language) [heritage](/source/Cultural_heritage) as the foundation of meta-ethnicity, has no implied [racial](/source/Race_(classification_of_human_beings)) or [class](/source/Social_class) agendas and is simply preferred by most [immigrants](/source/immigrants) from [Latin America](/source/Latin_America)." ... "Furthermore, these split-level processes of [identity formation](/source/identity_formation)—the forging of ethnicity and meta-ethnicity—take place in regional contexts of unequal ethnic control over media and [symbol systems](/source/Symbolic_system)."<ref>[http://newleftreview.org/?view=1983 Davis, Mike. 1999. "Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the US Big City." ''New Left Review'' I/234, March-April 1999]</ref>
* [Peter Turchin](/source/Peter_Turchin) introduces the concept "metaethnic frontier theory" in his 2003 book, ''Historical Dynamics: Why States Rise and Fall''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUoCrTUo-eEC|title=Historical Dynamics: Why States Rise and Fall|last=Turchin|first=Peter|date=2003|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9780691116693|language=en}}</ref>
* According to Hussain, Imtiaz, "At the beginning of the new century, [Chinese people](/source/Chinese_people) are living the construction of a metaethnicity of multiple identities."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X5iyRiC91nYC&q=Muslims+meta-ethnicity&pg=PA88|title=Tyranny of Soft Touches: Interculturalism, Multiculturalism, and 21st Century International Relations|last=Hussain|first=Imtiaz|date=2004|publisher=Universidad Iberoamericana|isbn=9789688595381|language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Multiethnic society](/source/Multiethnic_society)
*[Panethnicity](/source/Panethnicity)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.h-net.org/logsearch/index.cgi?type=keyword&order=relevance&list=All+lists&hitlimit=25&smonth=00&syear=1989&emonth=11&eyear=2004&phrase=meta-ethnicity Discussion of "Meta-ethnicity" on ''H-Africa'']

{{Ethnicity}}

Category:Ethnicity
Category:Ethnicity in politics
Category:1980s neologisms

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Meta-ethnicity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-ethnicity) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-ethnicity?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.