There's a Place for Us: How Ethnic Identities Are Revealed in Ethnic-Specific Organizations

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Jackson, Crystal

• Christians
• Cuban
• Ethnicity
• Iraq
• Organizations
• Sociology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/1271

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ecommons.luc.edu:luc_diss-2270