Talk:Ethnic group

Ethnic Groups and the related ethnicity pages will, of course, be very important for the Anthropology Workgroup. I would encourage everyone to get involved and make sure that this is one of our best articles.

Please add comments to this page and join the conversation about how best to approach this topic. You should also feel free to respond to the items listed as "Current Needs" and add items of your won as you see fit.

Current Needs

• Maybe a more engaging intro?
• Corrections and clarifications for the Barth section.
• Others who have made significant contributions to our understanding of ethnic groups. (Let's include them.)
• General copyediting

Discussion

Barth

I just started this article today. I searched out my copy of Barth and will be working on that section over the next few days, but I'm going to want a lot of help from those who have studied this topic more than I have. Joe Quick | Talk 17:00, 19 February 2007 (CST)

Barth is not enough...

I hate to be a party-pooper, but it is not correct to think that the study of ethnicity is a monopoly of anthropologists. In fact, it would more accurately be historical, with the oldest known use of the word in Ancient Greek -- the ethnos. This word cannot be translated, and in fact seemed to have many different meanings for the Greeks.

Some other significant authors you might like to consider are: Schermerhorn, Weber, Anthony Smith, Balibar, amongst many others. There is no accepted definition of ethnic group in social science.

I am also inclined to suggest that there should be simultaneous working of related articles, namely ethnicity, race, racism, nation, nation-state and nationalism: this would enable proper cross-referencing and avoidance of undesirable repetitions and contradictions. With less effort several pages could then be created. I didnt check what Wikipedia does, but generally they drive me crazy with the stuff there on these issues...--Martin Baldwin-Edwards 18:47, 19 February 2007 (CST)

I agree that this should be an interdisciplinary endeavor. I don't mean to claim the topic for anthropology to the exclusion of other fields, it is simply what I know best. For the same reason, I am starting with Barth, who I know better than others, and hoping to expand from there. I imagine my next move will be to add Weber, again because I know his work better.

I would also happily entertain the idea of working on related articles simultaneously, but I obviously can't (and shouldn't) do it alone. Can you help? --Joe Quick | Talk 02:43, 20 February 2007 (CST)