From Ethnic to Interethnic: The Case for Identity Adaptation and Transformation

Abstract

The academic literature for the past several decades suggests an increased tendency to conceive “ethnic identity” as an a priori and morally inviolable human condition exclusively attributed to a social group identified by birth or ascription. Paralleling this trend is a gradual shift toward a more pluralistic ideology of interethnic relations and toward a greater emphasis on political activism in social research. In this historical context, the article identifies two interrelated problematics in the prevailing pluralistic conceptions of ethnic identity: positivity bias and oversimplification. These problematic aspects are examined against the well-documented individual and situational variations in ethnic identity. As a way to counterbalance and complement the pluralistic conceptions, a theoretical account for the process of identity transformation is offered. This dynamic theory highlights the experiences of many individuals who, through their communication activities of crisscrossing ethnic boundaries, have moved beyond the perimeters of a single ethnic category in their identity orientations.