Ethnic-specific organizations have long been features of American society. Historically, they have provided ethnic actors with
a means of preserving culture and history. They have also been sites where collective interests are pursued. In this dissertation I study two ethnic-specific organizations. Using identity, incorporation and
inequality, as essential dimensions of American ethnicity, I describe how the political and civic work that occurs in two organizations reveals
group boundaries.
My data and analysis support three major findings. First, I find
that the identities that emerge from this kind of organizational work are transactional identities. Transactional identities are identities that are confirmed in social interaction with ethnic and non-co-ethnic actors (i.e., outgroups and mainstream institutions). I argue that transactional identities reflect specific histories and events that determine shared
experiences within an ethnic group and are easily distinguishable from the shared experiences other groups have. Secondly, I find that these sites provide groups with a platform to address experiences of inequality in multicultural environments, such as American society. And lastly, I find that these sites provide ethnic groups
a means to demonstrate cultural citizenship in American society and
institutional belonging in other forums.
","abstract_html":"<p>Ethnic-specific organizations have long been features of American society. Historically, they have provided ethnic actors with</p> <p>a means of preserving culture and history. They have also been sites where collective interests are pursued. In this dissertation I study two ethnic-specific organizations. Using identity, incorporation and</p> <p>inequality, as essential dimensions of American ethnicity, I describe how the political and civic work that occurs in two organizations reveals</p> <p>group boundaries.</p> <p>My data and analysis support three major findings. First, I find</p> <p>that the identities that emerge from this kind of organizational work are transactional identities. Transactional identities are identities that are confirmed in social interaction with ethnic and non-co-ethnic actors (i.e., outgroups and mainstream institutions). I argue that transactional identities reflect specific histories and events that determine shared</p> <p>experiences within an ethnic group and are easily distinguishable from the shared experiences other groups have. Secondly, I find that these sites provide groups with a platform to address experiences of inequality in multicultural environments, such as American society. And lastly, I find that these sites provide ethnic groups</p> <p>a means to demonstrate cultural citizenship in American society and</p> <p>institutional belonging in other forums.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jackson, Crystal"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Sociology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:56:24Z","subjects":["Christians","Cuban","Ethnicity","Iraq","Organizations","Sociology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/1271","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jackson, Crystal"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["1970-01-01T12:10:30Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Christians","Cuban","Ethnicity","Iraq","Organizations","Sociology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/1271"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Ethnic-specific organizations have long been features of American society. Historically, they have provided ethnic actors with
a means of preserving culture and history. They have also been sites where collective interests are pursued. In this dissertation I study two ethnic-specific organizations. Using identity, incorporation and
inequality, as essential dimensions of American ethnicity, I describe how the political and civic work that occurs in two organizations reveals
group boundaries.
My data and analysis support three major findings. First, I find
that the identities that emerge from this kind of organizational work are transactional identities. Transactional identities are identities that are confirmed in social interaction with ethnic and non-co-ethnic actors (i.e., outgroups and mainstream institutions). I argue that transactional identities reflect specific histories and events that determine shared
experiences within an ethnic group and are easily distinguishable from the shared experiences other groups have. Secondly, I find that these sites provide groups with a platform to address experiences of inequality in multicultural environments, such as American society. And lastly, I find that these sites provide ethnic groups
a means to demonstrate cultural citizenship in American society and
institutional belonging in other forums.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["There's a Place for Us: How Ethnic Identities Are Revealed in Ethnic-Specific Organizations"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Jackson, Crystal"],"dc:date.available":["1970-01-01T12:10:30Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Ethnic-specific organizations have long been features of American society. Historically, they have provided ethnic actors with
a means of preserving culture and history. They have also been sites where collective interests are pursued. In this dissertation I study two ethnic-specific organizations. Using identity, incorporation and
inequality, as essential dimensions of American ethnicity, I describe how the political and civic work that occurs in two organizations reveals
group boundaries.
My data and analysis support three major findings. First, I find
that the identities that emerge from this kind of organizational work are transactional identities. Transactional identities are identities that are confirmed in social interaction with ethnic and non-co-ethnic actors (i.e., outgroups and mainstream institutions). I argue that transactional identities reflect specific histories and events that determine shared
experiences within an ethnic group and are easily distinguishable from the shared experiences other groups have. Secondly, I find that these sites provide groups with a platform to address experiences of inequality in multicultural environments, such as American society. And lastly, I find that these sites provide ethnic groups
a means to demonstrate cultural citizenship in American society and
institutional belonging in other forums.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/1271"],"dc:subject":["Christians","Cuban","Ethnicity","Iraq","Organizations","Sociology"],"dc:title":["There's a Place for Us: How Ethnic Identities Are Revealed in Ethnic-Specific Organizations"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:56:24Z"}