Ethnicity

A nation is a type of social organization where a collective identity—a national identity—has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, territory, or society. Some nations are constructed around ethnicity (see ethnic nationalism) while others are bound by political constitutions (see civic nationalism).

Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology).

Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining the behavior of the participants in a given social situation and understanding the group members' own interpretation of such behavior.

thumb|237px|Polish sociologist Ludwig Gumplowicz is believed to have coined the term "ethnocentrism" in the 19th century, although he may have merely popularized it. Ethnocentrism in social science and anthropology—as well as in colloquial English discourse—is the application of one's own culture or ethnicity as a frame of reference to judge other cultures, practices, behaviors, beliefs, and people, instead of using the standards of the particular culture involved. Since this judgment is often negative, some people also use the term to refer to the belief that one's culture is superior to, or

Ethnogenesis (; ) is the formation and development of an ethnic group. This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification.

An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of humans who identify with each other on the basis of perceived shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Attributes that ethnicities believe to share include language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, religion, history, or social treatment. Ethnicities are maintained through long-term endogamy and may have a narrow or broad spectrum of genetic ancestry, with some groups having mixed genetic ancestry. Ethnicity is sometimes used interchangeably with nation, particularly in cases of ethnic nationalism. It is also us

linguistic terms

minority group

set of behaviours or social skills

Ethnopluralism or ethno-pluralism, also known as ethno-differentialism, is a political model which attempts to preserve separate and bordered ethno-cultural regions. According to its promoters, significant foreign cultural elements in a given region ought to be culturally assimilated to seek cultural homogenization in this territory, in order to let different cultures thrive in their respective geographical areas. Advocates also emphasize a "right to difference" (French: droit à la difference) and claim support for cultural diversity at a worldwide rather than at a national level.

minority group that holds a disproportionate amount of power

ethnic group whose members are unified by a common language

physical space with high ethnic concentration; thus these spaces are culturally distinct from the larger receiving society

UNESCO statement about issues of race

tendency to more easily recognize faces of the race that one is most familiar with (usually one's own race)

Monoethnicity is the existence of a single ethnic group in a given region or country. It is the opposite of polyethnicity.

thumb|Polyethnicity in New York City

thumb|Poster in the Ukrainian language about the beginning of the indigenization policy (Korenizatsiya in Russian, meaning "indigenization", literally "putting down roots") in [[Soviet Ukraine (see: Ukrainization). The text translates to: "Son! Enroll in the , and the defense of Soviet Ukraine will be ensured." First published in the USSR in 1921.]] Indigenization is the act of making something more indigenous; transformation of some service, idea, etc. to suit a local culture, especially through the use of more indigenous people in public administration, employment and other fields.

Monoculturalism is the policy or process of supporting, advocating, or allowing the expression of the culture of a single social or ethnic group. It generally stems from beliefs within the dominant group that their cultural practices are superior to those of minority groups and is often related to the concept of ethnocentrism, which involves judging another culture based on the values and standards of one's own culture, though this is usually untrue if cultural nationalism is dominant, as opposed to ethno-nationalism. It may also involve the process of assimilation whereby other ethnic groups

Self-segregation or auto-segregation is the separation of a religious, ethnic, or racial group from other groups in a country by the group itself naturally. This usually results in decreased social interactions between different ethnic, racial or religious groups and can be classed as a form of social exclusion.

ancestry and identity of Cleopatra

Panethnicity is a political neologism used to group various ethnic groups together based on their related cultural origins; geographic, linguistic, religious, or "racial" (i.e. phenotypic) similarities are often used alone or in combination to draw panethnic boundaries. The term panethnic was used extensively during the mid-20th century anti-colonial/national liberation movements. In the United States, Yen Le Espiritu popularized the term and coined the nominal term panethnicity in reference to Asian Americans, a racial category composed of disparate peoples having in common only their origin

health based on racial identity

Polyculturalism is an ideological approach to the consequences of intercultural engagements within a geographical area which emphasises similarities between, and the enduring interconnectedness of, groups which self-identify as distinct, thus blurring the boundaries which may be perceived by members of those groups.