Lecture 2:

                               Group identity and the need to belong

                                    Social identity theory (SIT)

n    Theory of inter-group behaviour: group membership is a real, vital and true part of every
individual

n    1979: Tajfel & Turner

n    To understand the Q basis of inter-group discrimination

                                  Studies of inter-group behaviour

n     Sherif's idea of realistic inter-group conflict

n     Social identity theory & Tajfel's experiments with minimal groups

n     General tendency to privilege ingroup members over outgroup members

n     People are in search of a positive social identity, which they accomplish by making a positive
distinction between their ingroup and other relevant groups.

                                 National identity and the `Other'

n    `us' versus `them'

n    in-group (our group): a group one identifies with & `ingroup bias'

n    out-group (the other group): a group one does not identify with & `outgroup homogeneity bias'

n    Main 3 elements of SIT: identification, social comparison, social categorisation

                                             Stereotype

n     Ordering chaos of the world & categorising

n     Simplification

n     Generalisation

n     Exaggeration

n     Negative (Scots are stingy, Montenegrins are lazy) and positive (Italians are romantic,
Germans are diligent etc.)

n     National stereotypes: autostereotypes, heterostereotypes, metastereotypes

                                             Prejudice

n    The process of pre-judging somebody or something

n    A value judgement made without any verification and without empirical base in reality

n    Based on generalised and stereotypical images and judgements, simplified

n    Very resilient to change

                                           Ethnocentrism 

n      The general term for the belief that your own group's cultural traditions and values are
correct and superior to all others.

n      It is usually coupled with dislike and even contempt for people who have other cultural
traditions.

n      It is universal -- all around the world people have these beliefs to some degree.

n      Most neighbouring ethnic groups resort to ethnocentrism, using ethnic, linguistic, religious,
... whatever criteria to make reliable distinctions.

n      Ethnocentrism is not racism, though it is usually connected with racism.

                                               Racism

n     Ideology of racial domination

n     Based on beliefs that certain `racial groups' are (biologically or culturally)
inferior/superior

n     Racism uses such beliefs to justify the way a given society treats certain groups
(discrimination, segregation, etc.)

n     Harmful prejudice, discrimination, and/or persecution based on presumed ethnic/racial
differences.

                                             Xenophobia

n    Fear, dislike, contempt and hate towards the `others', those different, the `them' in
opposition to `us'

n    Usually directed against a population group present within a society, which is not considered
part of that society (e.g. immigrants)

                                     Next week's reading list:

n      From the "Ethnicity" Oxford reader (Hutchinson & Smith, 1996): Manning Nash `The Core
Elements of Ethnicity'; T. H. Eriksen `Ethnicity, Race, Class and Nation' (also available in The
Ethnicity Reader & http://folk.uio.no/geirthe/Ethnicity.html); Pierre van den Berghe `Does race
matter?'; Fredrik Barth `Ethnic groups and boundaries'

n      From the "Nationalism" Oxford reader (Hutchinson & Smith, 1994): Renan and Connor if you
haven't read it already + Ernest Gellner `Nationalism and Modernization' (+ `Nationalism and High
Cultures'); Benedict Anderson `Imagined Communities'

n      From "The Ethnicity Reader" (Guibernau & Rex, 1997) read Anthony D. Smith `Structure and
persistence of ethnie'; Benedict Anderson `The nation and the origins of national consciousness'

n      And check the info system for pdf files!