Date of Award
2014
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Sociology
Abstract
Ethnic-specific organizations have long been features of American society. Historically, they have provided ethnic actors with
a means of preserving culture and history. They have also been sites where collective interests are pursued. In this dissertation I study two ethnic-specific organizations. Using identity, incorporation and
inequality, as essential dimensions of American ethnicity, I describe how the political and civic work that occurs in two organizations reveals
group boundaries.
My data and analysis support three major findings. First, I find
that the identities that emerge from this kind of organizational work are transactional identities. Transactional identities are identities that are confirmed in social interaction with ethnic and non-co-ethnic actors (i.e., outgroups and mainstream institutions). I argue that transactional identities reflect specific histories and events that determine shared
experiences within an ethnic group and are easily distinguishable from the shared experiences other groups have. Secondly, I find that these sites provide groups with a platform to address experiences of inequality in multicultural environments, such as American society. And lastly, I find that these sites provide ethnic groups
a means to demonstrate cultural citizenship in American society and
institutional belonging in other forums.
Recommended Citation
Jackson, Crystal, "There's a Place for Us: How Ethnic Identities Are Revealed in Ethnic-Specific Organizations" (2014). Dissertations. 1271.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/1271
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2014 Crystal Jackson
