Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
1988
Abstract
During the past two decades, the subject of ethnicity has provoked popular interest and a proliferation of research. Scholars from a variety of academic backgrounds have described, analyzed, and reassessed the importance of ethnic identity in our modern society. Yet in 1980, following the long-awaited appearance of theHarvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, the basic question "What is ethnicity?" remained a perplexing one. The volume's editors admitted that "there is as yet no consensus about the precise meaning of ethnicity" since the distinguishing characteristics of ethnic groups seldom can be forced into neat conceptual categories. 1 While certain ethnic groups emphasize the retention of an ancestral language or dialect as the chief means of group identification, others opt to focus on quite different aspects of their cultural heritage: art, music, dance, costume, religion, festive celebrations, folk heroes, or foodways.
Comments
Published in Great Plains Quarterly [GPQ 8 (Winter 1988): 3-15]. Copyright 1988 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska—Lincoln.