Ethnogenesis

Ethnogenesis (; ) is "the formation and development of an ethnic group". This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification. The term ethnogenesis was originally a mid-19th century neologism that was later introduced into 20th-century academic anthropology. In that context, it refers to the observable phenomenon of the emergence of new social groups that are identified as having a cohesive identity, i.e. an "ethnic group" in anthropological terms. Relevant social sciences not only observe this phenomenon but search for explanation of its causes. The term ethnogeny is also used as a variant of ethnogenesis. Ethnogenesis can occur passively or actively. A passive ethnogenesis is an unintended outcome, which involves the spontaneous emergence of various markers of group identity, through processes such as the group's interaction with unique elements of their physical environment, cultural divisions (such as dialect and religious denomination), migrations and other processes. A founding myth of some kind may emerge as part of this process. Active ethnogenesis is deliberate, direct planning and engineering of a separate, identity. This is a controversial topic, because of the difficulty involved in creating a new ethnic identity. However, it is clear that active ethnogenesis may augment passive ethnogenesis. Active ethnogenesis is usually inspired by emergent political issues, such as a perceived, long-term, structural economic imbalance between regions, or a perceived discrimination against elements of a local culture (e.g. as a result of promotion of a single dialect as a standard language at the national level). With regard to the latter, since the late 18th century, such attempts have often been related to promotion (or perceived demotion) of a particular dialect; nascent nationalists have often attempted to establish a particular dialect (or group of dialects) as a separate language, encompassing a "national literature", out of which a founding myth may be extracted and promoted.

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Related concepts (16)

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