Ethnicity, Race,

and Nationality
AP Human Geography
Unit of Study: Cultural Geography
Overview
• Ethnicity is growing in importance as people
all over the world embrace their cultural
heritage.
• Personal and group identities are important
and ethnicity is likely to remain diverse even
with the globalization of religions, languages,
economics, and politics.
What is ethnicity?

• Ethnicity is identity with a group of

people who share the cultural traditions
of a particular homeland or hearth.
• Ethnicity comes from the Greek word
ethnikos, which means national.
Importance of Ethnicity to
Geographers
• Where? Like other characteristics of culture,
geographers are interested in where ethnicities are
distributed.
• An ethnic group is tied to a particular place,
because members of the group—or their ancestors
—were born and raised there. The cultural traits
displayed by an ethnicity derive from a group’s
homeland.
Importance of Ethnicity to
Geographers

• Why care? Ethnic identity comes from the

interplay of migration and isolation from
other groups.
• Why ethnicities are distinct comes from their
interaction with and isolation from other
groups.
Importance of Ethnicity to
Geographers

• Globalization. Although there are ethnic

groups that fight to gain control of territory,
NO ethnicity is attempting or even aspiring to
achieve global dominance.
• Even if globalization engulfs language,
religion, or other cultural elements, the
diversity of ethnic identity will remain.
Assimilation v. Acculturation

• Assimilation: the process of responding to

new situations in conformity; “blending” in

• Acculturation: the process by which a

human being acquires the culture of a
particular society
African Americans in the U.S.
Hispanic Americans in the U.S.
Asian Americans in the U.S.
Native Americans in the U.S.
Ethnicities in Africa: First…a look
at the political map!
Ethnicities in Africa
What is race?
• Race is identity with a group who share a
biological ancestor and it is distinct from ethnicity.
• Example: In the U.S., Asians are a race and Asian
Americans encompass basically the same ethnic
group of people, though Asian American is a broad
grouping for people from diverse Asian
backgrounds.
Important Term

• Racism: the belief that race is the primary

determinant of human traits and capacities
and those racial differences produce an
inherent superiority of a particular race.
What is nationality?

• A nationality is identity with a group of

people who share legal attachment and
personal allegiance to a particular country.
• A nation or nationality is a group of people
tied together to a particular place through
legal status and cultural traditions.
Differences…
• Ethnicity describes cultural identity while
nationality describes political ties and ideas
about voting, passports, and civic duties.
• American is a nationality, Hispanic-American
or African-American are ethnicities, and race
is the genetic heritage with skin color being
the most visible trait.
Self-identification
• What is it? the act of identifying yourself as
a particular kind of person, including your
ethnicity and race
Nationalism

• Nationalism is loyalty and devotion to a

nationality.
• Nationalism promotes one nationality and
culture above that of other nations.
How is nationalism fostered?

• Mass media (controlled in some states—

believed to be a risk to the government)
• Flags, songs, symbols, holidays
• Propaganda (often negative images about
other countries)
Samples of symbols or images that
promote nationalism
Sample of propaganda intended to promote
a particular attitude about war
 Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces

• A centripetal force is an attitude that tends

to UNIFY OR CONNECT people and
enhance support for a state (country).
• A centrifugal force is an attitude that tends
to DIVIDE people and decrease support for a
state.
Do you know the difference?
Centripetal or centrifugal?
1.flag
2.civil war
3.interstate system
4.national anthem
5.poor economy
The Index of Residential Dissimilarity
—What is it?

• Segregation is a shorthand expression for

the extent to which members of an ethnic
group are not uniformly distributed in relation
to the rest of the population.
• Think of separation!
The Index of Residential Dissimilarity
—What is it?
• A commonly employed measure for quantifying the
degree to which a distinctive group is segregated is
the index of residential dissimilarity.

• It indicates the difference between the distributions

of two component groups of a population, with a
theoretical range of values from 0 (no segregation)
to 100 (complete segregation).
The Index of Residential Dissimilarity
—What is it?
• Example: Detroit, Michigan
– 1. Population (2011): 9.8 million people
– 2. Overall segregation index—83 (established
by the U.S. Census Bureau)
– 3. Index of Dissimilarity:
• Blacks: 89
• Hispanic: 42
• Asian: 48
The Index of Residential Dissimilarity
—What is it?
• Evidence from cities throughout the world
makes it clear that most ethnic minorities
tend to be sharply segregated from the
charter group.
• Charter means “first,” referring to the first
group that has a lasting impact on the
cultural landscape.
To what extent is America
a “melting pot”?

Well…let’s talk about it…

Schoolhouse Rocks
!
To what extent is America
a “melting pot”?
• It is really more of an American myth than reality.
• Wilbur Zelinsky: “Doctrine of First Effective
Settlement”
– Cultural areas of the U.S. are European in origin
– His doctrine refers to the first group that is able to
establish a viable, continuing society within a specific
territory.
– United States—first group to establish core as spread
culture as the U.S. expanded
Interactive Map Showing Settlemen
t Patterns
Now…let’s see how much you
remember…
Question 1
Which of these is an example of a cultural trait?
A.sleeping
B.eating a meal
C.wearing a turban
D.walking
E.parenting
Question 1
Which of these is an example of a cultural trait?

C. wearing a turban
Question 2
An ethnicity is typically distinguished by all but
which of the following?
A.art
B.culture
C.history
D.traditions
E.sovereignty
Question 2
An ethnicity is typically distinguished by all but
which of the following?

E. sovereignty
Question 3
Elements of nationalism include all of the following
except
A.a common culture.
B.shared attitudes.
C.shared emotions.
D.political structures
(type of government).
Question 3
Elements of nationalism include all of the following
except

D. political structures
(type of government).
Question 4
In the United States, which of the following is shared by
all Americans?

A.nationality
B.language
C.religion
D.race
E.ethnicity
Question 4
In the United States, which of the following is shared
by all Americans?

A.nationality
Question 5
Latinos and Hispanics are clustered in which areas of
the United States?

A.Northeast, cities
B.West, Southwest
C.Southwest, Northwest
D.cities
E.rural areas
Question 5
Latinos and Hispanics are clustered in which areas of
the United States?

B. West, Southwest
Question 6
Self-identification includes

A.ethnicity
B.race
C.religion
D.all of the above
Question 6
Self-identification includes

D. all of the above

Question 7
Which of the following is not a strong centripetal force
in the United States?

A.network television
B.the Pledge of Allegiance
C.a common currency
D.diverse ethnic groups
Question 7
Which of the following is not a strong centripetal force
in the United States?

D. diverse ethnic groups