Blanchard AP Human Geography - AP Human Geography



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7

Ethnicities

Learning Outcomes

After reading, studying, and discussing the chapter, students should be able to:

Learning Outcome 7.1.1: Identify and describe the major ethnicities in the United States.

Learning Outcome 7.1.2: Describe the distribution of major ethnicities among states and within urban areas.

Learning Outcome 7.1.2: Describe the patterns of forced and voluntary migration of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans to the United States.

Learning Outcome 7.2.2: Describe the patterns of African Americans within the United States.

Learning Outcome 7.2.3: Explain the laws once used to segregate races in the United States and South Africa.

Learning Outcome 7.3.1: Explain the difference between ethnicity and nationality.

Learning Outcome 7.3.2: Identify and describe the principles ethnicities in Lebanon and Sri Lanka.

Learning Outcome 7.3.3: Describe how ethnicities in South Asia and among the Kurds have been divided among more than one nationality.

Learning Outcome 7.3.4: Identify and describe the principle ethnicities in western Asia.

Learning Outcome 7.4.1: Describe the process of ethnic cleansing.

Learning Outcome 7.4.2: Explain the concept of balkanization.

Learning Outcome 7.4.3: Identify the principle episodes of genocide in northeastern Africa.

Learning Outcome 7.4.4: Identify the principle episodes of genocide in central Africa.

Chapter Outline

Key Issue 1: Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?

Ethnicity is identity with a group sharing cultural traditions of a homeland. Geographers are interested in ethnicity because it represents an element of local diversity. Ethnic diversity is not as threatened by the forces of globalization as is the diversity of language or religion. Geographers are also interested in the social classification of people by race because of the past and present spatial sorting of people according to racial characteristics.

Ethnicity is identity with a group of people who share cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth. Ethnicity is often confused with race, which is identity with a group who share a biological ancestor. The traits that characterize race are those that can be transmitted genetically from parents to children. Classification by race is the basis for racism, which is the belief that race is the primary determent of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. A racist is a person who subscribes to the beliefs of racism.

The U.S. census shows difficulty in distinguishing between ethnicity and race. Most census categories relate to ethnicity, such as Japanese or Asian Indian, because they derive from places. However, the census also offers three race-related categories—black, white, and other race. African American is an ethnicity and black is a race, though the 2010 census combines the two. Most black Americans are descended from African immigrants, but there are some black Americans that trace their cultural heritage to regions other than Africa.

Ethnic Clustering: State Scale African Americans compromise 85 percent of the population in the city of Detroit and only 7 percent of Michigan. Chicago is more than 33 percent African American compared to one-twelfth in the rest of Illinois. New York City is 25 percent Hispanic, compared to one-sixteenth in the rest of New York State. Cities near the United States/Mexico border have a higher than normal concentration of Hispanics.

Ethnic Clustering: Regional Scale The United States’ most numerous ethnic groups display regional concentrations. These groups are Hispanics (clustered in the Southwest), African Americans (clustered in the Southeast), and Asian Americans (clustered in the West).

Ethnic Clustering: Urban Scale African Americans and Hispanics are clustered in urban areas (more likely to live in cities than rural). Cities themselves exhibit ethnic clustering at the neighborhood level. In many large cities African Americans and Hispanics now compromise the majority and live in neighborhoods originally inhabited by European ethnic groups.

Key Issue 2: Why Do Ethnicities Have Distinct Distribution?

Forced Migration from Africa During the eighteenth century, the British shipped about 400,000 Africans to the 13 colonies that later formed the United States. In 1808, the United States banned bringing in additional Africans as slaves, but 250,000 were illegally imported during the next half-century. The forced migration began when people living along the east and west coasts of Africa, taking advantage of superior weapons, captured members of other groups living father inland and sold the captives to the Europeans. Many European ships transported slaves from Africa to the Caribbean islands, molasses from the Caribbean to Europe, and trade goods from Europe to Africa—this was known as the triangular slave trade.

Voluntary Migration from Latin America and Asia Quota laws used to limit limited the number of people who could immigrate to the United States from Latin America and Asia. After the immigration laws were changed during the 1960s and the 1970s, the population of Hispanic and Asian Americans in the United States increased rapidly. The rapid growth of Hispanics in the United States beginning in the 1970s was fueled primarily by immigration from Mexico and Puerto Rico. Chinese comprised the largest group of Asian Americans, followed by Indians, Filipinos, Koreans, and Vietnamese.

Interregional Migration At the close of the Civil War, most African Americans were concentrated in the rural South working as sharecroppers. A sharecropper works fields rented from a landowner and pays the rent by turning over to the landowner a share of the crops. Sharecropping became less common in the twentieth century, as the introduction of farm machinery and a decline in land devoted to cotton reduced the demand for labor. At the same time sharecroppers were being pushed off the farms, they were being pulled by the prospect of jobs booming in industrial cities in the North and West. Southern African Americans migrated north and west in two main waves, the first in 1910s and 1920s before and after World War I, and the second in the 1940s and 1950s before World War II.

Intraregional Migration African Americans clustered in one or two neighborhoods in big cities. The expansion of black neighborhoods in American cities was made possible by the emigration of whites from a neighborhood in anticipation of blacks immigrating into the area. Rather than integrate, whites fled. “White Flight” was encouraged by unscrupulous real estate practices. Under blockbusting, real estate agents convinced white homeowners living near a black area to sell their houses at low prices, preying on their fears that black families would soon move into the neighborhood and cause property values to decline.

United States: “Separate but Equal” In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court stated that that blacks and whites should be treated equally, but equality does not mean that whites had to mix socially with blacks. Once the Supreme Court permitted “separate but equal” treatment of the races, Southern states enacted a set of laws to separate blacks from whites as much as possible. These “Jim Crow” laws made blacks sit in the back of buses and restaurants. Throughout the country house deeds contained restrictive covenants that prevented owners from selling to blacks. Schools were also segregated. U.S. segregation laws were eliminated in the 1950s and 1960s.

South Africa: Apartheid While the United States was repealing laws that segregated people by race, South Africa was enacting them. Apartheid is a legal system that separates different races into different geographic areas. In South Africa, a newborn baby was classified as being one of four races—black, white, colored (mixed white and black), and Asian. Each four races had different legal status. The apartheid laws determined where different races could live, attend school, work, shop, and own land. Blacks could not vote or run for political office. The apartheid laws were repealed in 1991. In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected the country’s first black president.

Key Issue 3: Why Do Conflicts Arise among Ethnicities?

Nationalities in North America Identity with a group of people who share legal attachments and loyalty to a particular country is referred to as nationality. Cultural values shared with others of the same ethnicity derive from language, religion, and material culture. Cultural values shared with others of the same nationality derive from voting, obtaining a passport, and performing civic duties. The United States forged a nationality in the late eighteenth century out of a collection of ethnic groups gathered primarily from Europe and Africa. Early Americans shared the values expressed in the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights.

Ethnicities and Nationalities in the United Kingdom Distinctions between ethnicity and nationality become confusing in many places. The United Kingdom contains four principle ethnicities and two nationalities. A strong element of ethnic identity in the United Kingdom comes from sports. Even though they are not separate countries, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland field their own national soccer and rugby teams. They even compete separately in international tournaments, such as the World Cup.

Nationalism A nationality must hold the loyalty of its citizens to survive. Nationalism is loyalty and devotion to a particular nationality. States foster nationalism by promoting symbols of the country, such as flags and songs. Nationalism is an example of centripetal force, which is an attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for the state. Most countries find that the best way to achieve citizen support is to emphasize shared attitudes that unify the people. Loyalty to a particular state can be beneficial to the state’s internal governance but can also lead to intolerance of differences.

The concept of a state composed of entirely of one ethnicity is called a nation-state. There are no true examples of nation-state since no country has only one ethnicity within its borders. Some countries in the world are generally organized into approximations of nation-states. Denmark is the closest example of a nation-state.

Ethnic Competition in Lebanon Ethnic competition for control of a state can result in total war. Lebanon is 60 percent Muslim and 40 percent Christian. Most of Lebanon’s Christians consider themselves ethnically descended from the ancient Phoenicians who once occupied present-day Lebanon. Lebanon’s Christians differentiate themselves from the country’s Muslims, who are considered Arabs. Lebanon’s religious groups have tended to live in different regions of the country. There was a civil war between the two religious groups in 1975 and 1990. The agreement ending the civil war in 1990 gave each religion half of the seats in parliament.

Ethnic Diversity in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is an example of a multinational state. Sri Lanka is inhabited by three principle ethnicities known as Sinhalese (Buddhists), Tamil (Hindus), and Moors (Muslims). The Sinhalese and Tamil speak their own language. The Moors speak either Sinhalese or Tamil. War between the Sinhalese and Tamil erupted in 1983 and continued until the Tamil were defeated in 2009. The Sinhalese made their language the official language and Buddhism the official religion of Sri Lanka. The Tamils fear that the military defeat will jeopardize their ethnic identity.

Dividing South Asian Ethnicities among Nationalities When the British ended their colonial rule of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, they divided the country into the two irregularly shaped countries—India and Pakistan. Pakistan comprises two noncontiguous areas, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which are a thousand miles apart, separated by India. East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh in 1971. The people living in the two areas of Pakistan were predominantly Muslim; those in India were predominately Hindu. In modern India, with its hundreds of languages and ethnic groups, Hinduism has become the cultural trait shared by the largest percentage of the population.

Muslims have long fought with Hindus for control of territory in South Asia. The partition of South Asia into two states resulted in massive migration because the two boundaries did not correspond precisely to the territory inhabited by the two ethnicities. Approximately 17 million people caught on the wrong side of the boundary felt compelled to migrate during the late 1940s. Hindus in Pakistan and Muslims in India were killed by the rival religions. Pakistan and India never agreed on the location of the boundary separating the two countries in the northern region of Kashmir.

Dividing the Kurds among Nationalities When an ethnic group’s distribution spans a national boundary, conflict can result as the ethnic group on one side may wish to reunify with the group on the other side. The Kurds are an ethnic group whose homeland straddles the border between Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria. The Kurds are Muslims who speak a distinctive language and have their own literature, dress, and other cultural traditions. Many Kurds would like an independent homeland, but the countries in which they are the minority are unwilling to let go of that territory.

Ethnic Diversity in Western Asia The lack of correspondence between the territory occupied by ethnicities and nationalities is especially severe in western Asia. Approximately three-fourths of Iraqis are Arabs, and one-sixth are Kurds. The Iraqi Arab population is divided among Muslim branches, with two-thirds Shiite and one-third Sunni. In Iran, the most numerous ethnicity is Persian, but Azeri and Baluchi represent important minorities. The most numerous ethnicities in Afghanistan are Pashtun, Tajik, and Hazara. The most numerous ethnicity in Pakistan is Punjabi, but the border area with Afghanistan is principally Baluchi and Pashtun. The Punjabi are Sunni Muslims and the Pashtun are Shiite Muslims.

Key Issue 4: Why Do Ethnicities Engage in Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide?

Ethnic Cleansing occurs when a more powerful group removes all the members of an ethnic group from an area to create more territory for the powerful group. Rather than a clash between armies of male soldiers, ethnic cleansing involves the removal of every member of the less powerful ethnicity—women as well as men, children as well as adults, the frail elderly as well as the strong young. Ethnic cleansing may take the form of large-scale forced migration or genocide, where members of the ethnic group are targeted for extermination.

Multiethnic Yugoslavia After World War I, the allies created Yugoslavia to unite several Balkans ethnicities that spoke similar South Slavic languages. The six republics within Yugoslavia had more autonomy from the national government to run their own affairs than was the case in other Eastern European countries. The three major religions in Yugoslavia included Roman Catholic in the north, Orthodox in the east, and Islam in the south. The creation of Yugoslavia brought stability that lasted for most of the twentieth century. Rivalries among the different ethnicities resurfaced after the death of the president in 1980, leading to the breakup of the country.

Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia When Yugoslavia’s republics were transformed from local government units into five separate countries, ethnicities fought to redefine the boundaries. Ethnic Serbs and Croats practiced ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina in hopes of unifying their regions with Serbia and Croatia. Ethnic cleansing ensured that areas did not merely have Serbs and Croats, but were ethnically homogeneous and therefore better candidates for union with Serbia and Croatia. Bosnia and Herzegovina is now divided into three regions, one each dominated by the Croats, Serbs, and Muslims.

Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo With the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia took direct control of Kosovo. The Serbs practiced ethnic cleansing in the province of Kosovo, where the large Albanian population was forced to migrate to Albania. At its peak in 1999, Serb ethnic cleansing had forced 750,000 of Kosovo’s two million ethnic Albanian residents from their homes. NATO launched an air attack against Serbia and the Serbs eventually agreed to withdraw from Kosovo. Kosovo became an independent state in 2008.

Balkanization The term balkanized is used to describe a small geographic area that could not successfully be organized into one or more stable states because it was inhabited by many ethnicities with complex, long-standing antagonisms toward each other. Balkanization is a process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among ethnicities. Balkanization led directly to World War I because the various nationalities in the Balkans dragged the larger powers that they had alliances with into a war. The Balkans have become balkanized again because of the rise and fall of communism in the region.

Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide in Northeastern Africa In Sudan several civil wars have raged since the 1980s. A north-south war between black Christians and animist ethnicities in the south and the Muslim population in the north resulted in the establishment of Southern Sudan as an independent state in 2011. Sudan’s black Africans in the extreme westernmost region of the country (Darfur) felt neglected by the government and launched an attack in 2003. Sudan’s government crushed the rebellion in Darfur and killed almost half a million people. Ethnicities in eastern Sudan fought government forces between 2004 and 2006 over the disbursement of oil profits.

Ethiopia was captured by Italy in the 1930s, but regained independence after World War II. After World War II the United Nations awarded the Italian colony of Eritrea to Ethiopia. The Eritreans thought they were being mistreated by Ethiopia and rebelled. Their fight for independence lasted for 30 years with Eritrean rebels defeating Ethiopia and Eritrea becoming an independent state. In 1991, a dictatorship that ran Somalia collapsed and various clans claimed control over parts of the country. The United States military has tried on several occasions to help the Somalia people. Islamic militias are now controlling Somalia.

Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide in Central Africa Rwanda’s major groups of Hutus and Tutsis have practiced genocide against one another. The two ethnicities speak the same language, hold similar beliefs, and practice similar social customs. Intermarriage has even lessoned the physical differences between the two groups. The Hutus were farmers and the Tutsis were herders, and relations between settled farmers and herders are often uneasy. Hutus constituted a majority of the population of Rwanda historically, but Tutsis controlled the kingdom of Rwanda for several hundred years and turned the Hutus into their serfs.

Belgium gained control of Rwanda after World War I. Belgium administrators permitted a few Tutsis to attend university and hold responsible government positions, while excluding the Hutus altogether. Hutus gained power when Rwanda became a country in 1962. The Hutus undertook ethnic cleansing and many Tutsis fled to Uganda. The Tutsis invaded in 1990. In 1993, an agreement to share power was signed. There have been several incidents of genocide between each group since then.

The conflict between Hutus and Tutsis spilled into neighboring countries, especially the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tutsis were instrumental in the successful overthrow of Congo’s president in 1997. The new president relied heavily on Tutsis and permitted them to kill some Hutus who had been responsible for atrocities against the Tutsis in the early 1990s. Later, Congo’s president split with the Tutsis and was assassinated in 2001. The president’s son took power and negotiated an accord with the Tutsis.

Colonial boundaries were drawn in a way that grouped historic enemies together or split others apart and it has resulted in opportunities for ethnic conflict. Africa contains several thousand ethnicities with a common language, religion, and social customs. Many of these ethnicities seek self-determination, which means that the ethnicities have the right to govern themselves. The precise number of ethnicities in Africa is impossible to determine because boundaries separating them are not usually defined clearly.

Introducing the Chapter

Ethnicity and race are so commonly confused that the terms should be defined at the start of any discussion on the subject.

The first parts of this chapter are concerned with describing the numbers and concentration of generic ethnic groups in the United States, and the origin of migration of one particular group, the African Americans. Note that some figures included in this section and labeled as ethnicities use a racial term, “white,” to describe European ethnicities as a class. The remainder of this section concentrates on the construction of race, racism, and its spatial expression through segregation in the United States and South Africa.

A major goal of teaching should be the deconstruction of race and racism, a formidable challenge in an entry-level course.

Icebreaker

The topics of race and ethnicity are often sensitive ones for the class; try to avoid singling out minority members of the audience (visible or not) through example or question. The delicate nature of this issue makes an effective “icebreaker” even more valuable.

Geography Jokes

Tell these jokes at your discretion. Some students will detect you’re up to something other than trying to be funny.

Q: How do you confuse a geographer?

A: Put him in a round room and tell him to sit in the corner.

Q: What do you get when you cross a geographer with a monkey?

A: A dumb monkey.

Q: How do you keep geographers happy in old age?

A: Tell them a joke when they are still young.

Q: How many geographers does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: Only one, to hold the bulb while the Earth turns around him or her.

Q: What’s the difference between a geographer and a large pizza?

A: The pizza can feed a family of four.

All these jokes were obviously not initially written about geographers, but serve to deconstruct the idea of many ethnic “jokes”—the geographer can be replaced with an unpopular ethnic group. Ask the class: Why are ethnic “jokes” frequently interchangeable? What is the purpose of most of these “jokes”?

This discussion can be furthered by noting the changing butts of ethnic jokes . . . a moment of reflection on students’ part will demonstrate that the most recent migrants to the country or place are frequently subjected to ridicule and scorn. A constructive discussion about the nature of prejudices and stereotypes should follow.

Ethnicity vs. Nationality

After the discussion of ethnicity vs. race, students are next challenged with the distinction between ethnicity and nationality. The linchpin to the text’s definition of nationality as separable from ethnicity is whether an ethnic group has a history of, or desire for, self determination.

Ethnic Conflict vs. Religious Conflict

Students will occasionally ask why a conflict is portrayed as ethnic in nature instead of religious. An example of an ethnic group that competes for national identity or potential sovereign status is that of the Kurds, who share Islam with other ethnic groups from Turkey, Iran, and Iraq.

Assignments

Review/Reflection Questions

• Give some examples from your personal experience that demonstrates the difference between race and ethnicity.

• List some genetically inherited traits that are usually not associated with race. Why do you think these traits are not used to define race, and skin color so often is?

• Support the argument “every ethnicity should have its own state.” Now criticize this argument from a geographic perspective.

• If two conflicting groups have different religions, should the conflict be termed “religious” or “ethnic?” Does the distinction matter?

• Briefly research and summarize an ethnic conflict not mentioned in the text. Why does ethnic cleansing continue to happen? What can we do to prevent it?

Ethnicity Field Studies Paper

Ethnicity is identity with a group of people who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland. Our own ethnicity (culture and experience) shapes our beliefs and also influences our perceptions of differing people and places encountered throughout our lives. Therefore, it is important to reflect on and understand our own opinions. Furthermore, we need to increase our awareness of the diversity of people and places not only in the world at large, but also in our own fascinating, multicultural Southern California environment. You must, however, get out and about to experience and taste this richness for yourself.

This assignment (fieldwork) is intended to be enjoyable. You choose the time and the place. Many students have combined this assignment with a family outing, a date, time with friends, or even have formed informal groups with classmates to venture out together. It is your choice.

Procedure

1. Choose one of the locations from the attached list (the instructor needs to provide this list). No passports are required to explore your city’s many ethnic neighborhoods.

2. You need to thoughtfully answer the questions below using as much detail as possible in your descriptions. Be observant to the sights, sounds, and smells that create this unique sense of place. Your responses to the questions need be typed (using 12 point font) and double spaced. Your responses need to be numbered and you should not write out the questions. You will be required to turn in at least two full pages, but most students usually need more than two pages to adequately respond to all the questions.

3. You need to write an essay discussing your visit from a geographical perspective. The essay needs to be at least one full page. Your essay must be typed (using 12 point font) and double spaced. Some possible topics in your essay could be: (1) how the landscape is arranged, (2) the creation of a cultural landscape (architecture), (3) characteristics of the homeland country (political, economic, environmental, cultural) that creates push factors for migration, etc. Be sure to connect the attributes of the homeland your ethnic enclave represents. Include your internal reactions and feelings about this place briefly in your conclusion.

Questions

1. Where did you go? Which ethnic, cultural group is dominant here?

2. Why do you think most of the people in this area migrated to the United States? What do you think are the push/pull factors?

3. What landscape elements do you think give this area a distinctive appearance from surrounding areas? Be specific—describe buildings, architecture, spatial arrangement, clothing, types of stores, and music that you encounter.

4. Try a new ethnic food (it doesn’t have to be expensive, just a little exotic to you and typical of what is common in the homeland). What did you try? Did you like or dislike it? What ingredients were in it?

5. Do you see outward symbols of religious systems that are associated with the homeland? Look closely and describe. Does it help or hinder your cultural understanding of this ethnic group?

6. Do you see evidence of the convergence of traditional and modern worlds? If so describe them—look for impacts of communications and technological systems. What kind of connections are going on between the homeland and this region?

7. Look at products sold in stores and businesses. Do you see references to specific locations in the homeland? What cities and regions are on the labels of products? Where are the goods made?

8. What types of economic activities and businesses do you find here? Are there any surprises? Are there any specific businesses that reflect social customs from the homeland? Describe.

9. Any interesting (or perhaps strange to you) items for sale in these stores? People and cultures perceive and utilize resources differently, what is your cultural response to the unique items you see?

10. New immigrant groups have always tried to recreate their homelands when they migrated to the United States. Why do you think it is helpful for new arrivals to the United States to live in or near an ethnic enclave? Do you think you would be attracted to an American enclave if you moved to a foreign country?

Thinking Geographically Questions

7.1: A century ago European immigrants to the United States had much stronger ethnic ties than they do today, including clustering in specific neighborhoods. Discuss the rationale for retaining strong ethnic identity in the United States as opposed to full assimilation into the American nationality identity?

Many migrants miss the country they migrated from and being around people of the same cultural background makes the transition to a new environment much easier for them. Many migrants are very proud of where they are from and really don’t want to assimilate right away. They want to go to restaurants that serve food from their homeland and shops that sell products from their homeland. Some migrants may also not be fluent in English and need to be around people that speak the same language as them. Living around people with the same cultural background may also improve an immigrant’s employment opportunities.

7.2: Despite the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision that racially segregated school systems are inherently unequal, most schools remain segregated, with virtually none or virtually all African American or Hispanic pupils. As long as most neighborhoods are segregated, how can racial integration in schools be achieved?

Some school districts in the United States have intentionally drawn their district boundaries so that affluent areas are in the same school district as poorer areas. In some cities and towns this is impossible to do because all the neighborhoods around the school are either poor or affluent. In most cities and towns the affluent areas and poor areas are actually somewhat close to each other. School districts have to gerrymander the boundaries so that they get a good mix of children. It benefits the children to have an integrated school.

7.3: Ethnicities around the world seek the ability to be the majority in control of countries. What are some obstacles to multiple ethnicities sharing power in individual countries?

No matter how hard a country tries, one or several ethnic groups within a country will feel that they are being mistreated or exploited by another group. An ethnic group with a small population usually has less political power than an ethnic group with a large population. This situation may lead the smaller ethnic group to wanting to form their own country. The small ethnic group wants their voice to be heard instead of ignored and they want to manage their own affairs. Every once in a while the ethnic group with the smaller population will have more political and economic power than the group with the larger population. This can create a major problem and is a situation that could lead to a civil war.

7.4: Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, once was home to concentrations of many ethnic groups. In retaliation for ethnic cleansing by the Serbs and Croats, the Bosnian Muslims now in control of Sarajevo have been forcing other ethnic groups to leave the city, and Sarajevo is now inhabited overwhelmingly by Bosnian Muslims. Discuss the challenges to restoring Sarajevo as a multiethnic city.

After all the atrocities the Bosnian Muslims have suffered, it will probably take centuries for them to forgive the Serbs and Croats. The chance of Sarajevo becoming a peaceful multiethnic city in our lifetime is very slim. No matter how hard the United Nations tries, there is eventually going to be ethnic violence in Sarajevo. I think the situation is a ticking time bomb. The wounds are still too fresh to heal that quickly.

Pause and Reflect Questions

7.1.1: How would you answer the census question about yourself?

I check white as my race/ethnicity and check “no” to being of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.

7.1.2: Where are the principal clusters of ethnic minorities found in your community?

The ethnic minorities in the city I live in are clustered in the older sections of the city. The ethnic minorities tend to be located in the flat areas of the city. White residents also live in the flat areas, but many live in the foothills.

7.2.1: How do most Hispanics travel to the United States now? How do most Asian Americans reach the United States?

Most Hispanics arrive to the United States by automobile. Most Asians used to arrive by boat, but most now arrive by airplane.

7.2.2: Referring to Figure 7-20, which figure is higher in Detroit since 1950: the increasing number of African Americans or the decreasing number of whites?

The decreasing number of whites is higher than the increasing number of African Americans in Detroit since 1950. The white population of Detroit declined from 1.7 million to 100,000 today, whereas the African American population increased from 300,000 to 600,000.

7.2.3: Which Detroit museum should take priority for the city’s limited investment funds—the Detroit Institute of Arts or the Museum of African American History?

The Museum of African American History is the largest exhibit devoted to African American history and culture in the country. The city of Detroit has a large African American population. I therefore think that the city of Detroit should put most of its limited investment funds into the Museum of African American History.

7.3.1: If Scotland becomes an independent country, how would the arrangement of nationalities in the British Isles change?

If Scotland became a country it would make it so there are three nationalities in the British Isles: British, Irish, and Scottish. Scottish is just an ethnicity right now.

7.3.2: What country borders Lebanon on the South? What conflict has been ongoing in that country as described in Chapter 6?

Israel is south of Lebanon. Israel is having a religious conflict between the Jews (Israelis) and Muslims (Palestinians). Each group believes that they should have control over the holy city of Jerusalem.

7.3.3: Refer ahead to Figure 7-34 on the next page. What is the largest ethnicity in Pakistan?

Baluchi is the largest ethnicity in Pakistan.

7.3.4: How do the ethnic complexities of Western Asia make it difficult to set up stable democratic governments?

There are ethnicities in most countries in Western Asia that are seeking autonomy. Each seems to want to manage their own affairs and there seems to be very little compromise on any group’s part. This is a region of the world that has traditionally been ruled by dictators. People in Western Asia seem very reluctant to embrace democracy because they feel they are compromising their religious beliefs and values by doing so.

7.4.1: What is an example of another country that is inhabited primarily by people of Slavic ethnicity?

Bulgaria is another country that is inhabited primarily by people of Slavic ethnicity.

7.4.2:. In which regions within Bosnia and Herzegovina did Serbs gain most of their territory?

The eastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina is where the Serbs gained most of their territory.

7.4.3: Which countries with ethnic conflicts described in Key Issues 3 and 4 have U.S. troops been sent to try to restore the peace?

The United States sent troops into Lebanon and Somalia to try to restore the peace.

7.4.4: Referring to Figure 7-50, are there any countries in Africa where the boundaries match those of ethnicities?

There is no country in Africa where the country’s boundary matches an ethnic boundary.

Google Earth Questions

GOOGLE EARTH 7.1: Oldtown Mall in Baltimore is in a predominantly African American neighborhood. At Google Earth’s ground-level view, does the mall look busy or quiet?

Quiet, with many vacant store fronts.

GOOGLE EARTH 7.2: Mthatha (known until 2004 as Umtata), South Africa, is a city in one of the homelands established during apartheid. In Google Earth’s ground-level view, what is the race of nearly all of the people?

Black.

GOOGLE EARTH 7.3: Fly to Güven, Turkey to a village inhabited by Kurds. Turn on borders and labels; how far is Güven from Syria? From Iraq?

Güven is 0.5 kilometers from Syria and 2 kilometers from Iraq.

GOOGLE EARTH 7.4: Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, was heavily damaged during ethnic cleansing and since rebuilt. In ground-level view and 3D, pan around the mosque; what other religious structures are visible in 3D within 500 meters of the mosque?

Ferhadija džamija (mosque), Džamija-Donja Logavina (Donja Logavina-mosque), Cathedral of Jesus’ Heart, Saborna Crkva Rođenja Presvete Bogorodice

Resources

Japanese Internment

The internment of American citizens of Japanese American ethnicity during World War II is an excellent example of when ethnicity and nationality were contested. Discussions may also include racism and racist constructions of the Japanese during the war. Some resources:

Manzanar National Historic Site (National Park Service): manz/

Manzanar Historical Resource Study: achive/manz/hrs/hrst.htm

African Americans in the United States

The Library of Congress hosts an excellent collection of primary documents online with descriptions and context at:

memory..ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aointro.html

Kosovo

The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo maintains a website at . This site features news reports as well as updates on Kosovo’s legal status and future.

Human Rights Watch

A website monitors the abuse of human rights around the world and frequently identifies ethnic conflicts:



Darfur

The United Nations Sudan Information Gateway, at index.php, provides information on the conflicts in southern Sudan and the Darfur regions.

See also .en/peacekeeping/missions/unmis/, the homepage of the United Nations Mission in Sudan.

Connections between Chapters

Back to Chapter 6

Ethnicity and religion are cited as two of the most common reasons for conflict, so differentiating between the two can be difficult. Students may be asked to decide whether religion or ethnic identity is a stronger component of culture, or if the comparison can even be made.

Forward to Chapter 8

The groundwork for students’ understanding of political geography is laid in Chapter 7’s discussion of nationality, nation-states, and multinational versus multiethnic states.

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