origin myth
a story told about the founding and history of a particular group to reinforce a sense of common identity
ethnic boundary marker
a practice or belief, such as food, clothing, language, shared name, or religion, used to signify who is in a group and who is not
situational negotiation of identity
an individuals identification with a particular group that can shift according to social location
identity entrepreneurs
political, military, or religious leaders who promote worldwide view through the lens of ethnicity and use of war
genocide
the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic or religious group
ethnic cleansing
efforts by representatives of one ethnic or religious groups to remove or destroy another group in a particular geographic area
melting pot
metaphor used to describe the process of immigrant assimilation into US dominate culture
assimilation
the process through which minorities accept the patterns and norms of the dominate culture and cease to exist as separate groups
multiculturalism
pattern of ethnic relations in which new immigrants and their children enculturate into the dominate national culture and yet retain an ethnic culture
state
an autonomous regional structure of political, economic, and military rule with a central government authorized to make laws and use force to maintain order and defend its territory
nation state
a political entity, located within a geographic territory with enforced borders, where the population shares a sense of culture, ancestry, and destiny as a people
citizenship
legal membership in a nation state
nation
a term once used to describe a group of people who shared a place or origin; now used interchangeably with nation state
nationalism
the desire of an ethnic community to create and/or maintain a nation-state
imagined community
the invented sense of connection and shared traditions that underlies identification with a particular ethnic group or nation whose members likely will never all meet
diaspora
a group of people living outside their ancestral homeland yet maintaining emotional and material ties to home
