The Politics of Ethnicity in a Transnational World Alan Simmons York University

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The Politics of Ethnicity in a Transnational World

Alan SimmonsYork University

First, a One Minute Summary…

Thesis: An examination of ethnicity “politics” in a transnational world leads to these questions:

1. Who are we?

2. How do we relate to others?

From Elan Stavans & Lalo Alcarz (2000: 1)

Who are we?

How do we relate to others?

Outline of Presentation

1. Framework: ethnicity changing in a transnational world

2. Empirical cases: the ethnicity of Latin Americans and Caribbeans in Canada

3. Conclusions: new concepts and measures suggested by this analysis

Framework Questions

1. What is ethnicity?

2. What forces shape ethnicity?

3. Who are the main actors?

4. What are the main current issues?

What is Ethnicity?

Ethnicity as a “political” process involves:

• Social construction of a field of ethnic groups• The field changes across historical periods • Membership is by imposition and/or by voluntary choice • Group boundaries may be rigid or fluid• Individual identification may be with one or many groups

Characteristics of ethnicity in an era of intense transnationalism:

• New ethnic labels are emerging• Some old labels are retained; others are abandoned• Voluntary choice is becoming more important • Group boundaries are increasingly fluid• Identification is increasingly with multiple groups• New ethnic formations are often hybrids

What forces shape ethnicity?

1. Political ideologies: e.g., liberalism

2. Social processes: e.g., transnationalism

3. Social actors, including– Dominators– Minorities– Egalitarians, including;

• Assimilationists• Multiculturalists

Positions of Actors Shaping Ethnicity

EgalitariansDomin-ators

Minorities

ETHNICITY FIELD

A main issue: What kind of multicultural society will emerge?

2. Case Studies

• Background– Numbers, flows & SES indicators

• Latin American ethnicity– Census data– Survey data: Central American adults– Survey data: Latin American youth

• Caribbean ethnicity– Survey data (adult Jamaicans)

Immigrant Numbers

• Total immigrants in Canada: 5,448,480

• From Central & South America 304,650• From Caribbean 294,050• Total 598,700

(Source: 2001 Census)

Immigrant Arrivals to Canada from Latin America and the Caribbean

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

Total

Caribbean

C. Am.

S. Am.

Socio-economic Indicators for Selected Ethnic Groups in Toronto

Central Am.

S.Am. & Mexican

African, Black & Caribbean

Total City

% with university complete 8.9 12.8 10.5 22.7

% university grad’s (ages 20-24) 6.0 9.4 9.7 15.1

Unemployment rate AGES 15-24Unemployment rate AGES 25-64

32.723.9

23.914.3

32.316.5

19.69.4

% in low-skilled jobs WOMEN MEN

79.266.7

68.958.2

68.964.3

52.844.4

% of families below poverty line 51.6 40.2 44.6 22.7

Median family income $31,500 $36,300 $23,400 $51,600

Numbers 7,395 59,030 226,525 2,363,870

Source: Ornstein (2000)

Canadian Residents Who Could be Considered Ethnically Latin American or Hispanic Based on

Information in the 2001 Census

ETHNIC LABEL AND CRITERIA Latin American

N.

Born in Central & South America1 304,600 Self-identify as Latin American2 146,040 Born in Canada identifying as Latin American 11,250

Hispanic Have a knowledge of the Spanish language3 590,688 Identify their ethnicity as Spanish4 209,992

Self-Identification as Visible Minority or Not Among Latin American Born Residents of Canada (2001 Census)

  Central American

South American

Not visible minority (European, etc.) 26.3 35.3

Chinese 0.3 1.3

Black 0.4 0.5

Latin American 71.5 60.1

Arab 0.0 0.4

South , West and Other Asian 0.2 0.5

Visible minority, n.i.e. 0.8 1.2

Multiple visible minorities 0.5 0.7

  100.0 100.0

Ethnic Identities of Guatemalans and Salvadorians in Toronto

SAGIT Survey, Toronto, 2000. N = 168 Heads of Household

Label Identifies with label (%)

  No Sometimes Always Total

Guatemalan or Salvadorian 6.3 10.0 83.8 100.0

Latin American 9.1 33.8 57.1 100.0

Latino 23.8 22.5 53.8 100.0

Central American 25.3 22.9 51.8 100.0

Hispano 43.0 21.5 35.4 100.0

         

Canadian 70.9 22.8 6.3 100.0

Latin American Youth:Attachment to Ethnic Origin Labels

Identity Label  Attachment to label (%)

  Not at all A little Very much Total

Spanish 32.8 19.4 47.8 100.0

Hispanic 18.8 10.1 71.0 100.0

Latino 2.7 12.2 85.1 100.0

Source: Survey of Latin American Youths in Toronto, 2000 (N=80)

Latin American Youth:Attachment to New Ethnic Labels

Identity Label  Attachment to label (%)

  Not at all A little Very much Total

Canadian 65.1 27.0 7.9 100.0

Hispanic Canadian 56.9 23.1 20.0 100.0

Latino Canadian 46.3 19.4 34.3 100.0

Source: Survey of Latin American Youths in Toronto, 2000 (N=80)

Contextual Identity of Jamaican Immigrants

  Not at all Very Little

Some-what

Verymuch  

How Jamaican do you feel when among Canadian born? 3.9 7.9 15.7 72.4 100.0

How Canadian do you feel when among other West Indians? 36.7 22.7 26.6 14.1 100.0

Jamaican Remittance Survey, Toronto, 2005. N = 123

Percent of Jamaican-born Who Feel Somewhat or Very Canadian Among Other West Indians

0102030405060

LT 20K 20- 39K 40-59K EGT 60K

Annual Household Income ($C.)

Series1

Source: Jamaican Remittance Survey, Toronto, 2005. N = 123

3.Conclusions

Re Framework• Ethnicity as a quest for voice and security?• Ethnicity as a bridge to acceptance?

Re Measures• Add measures of strength of identification with different ethnic

origins?• Add measures of strength of identification with current nation of

residence?

END

Send comments to:

Alan Simmons (asimmons@yorku.ca)

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