Macquarie University

Ethnicity, Migration and Nationalism - ANTH223

This unit introduces students to the anthropology of the nation, ethnicity, and identity. The fundamental questions of this unit are why individuals identify with a particular group, what such identification means, and why claims about it (for example, by national governments) carry authority. The unit begins by examining how ideas about nation, ethnicity, and race were historically formed both in societies and in scholarship on societies. It then proceeds to deal with forms of ethnic identification that defy the idea of equating nation with territory. These include diasporas – groups that have left an historical homeland but continue to identify with it – and transnational communities, whose belonging and social practice is defined by several nation states rather than one. Finally, the unit looks at how nation states and non-territorial forms of belonging relate to each other, and what implications this has for citizenship in the contemporary world.

Timetable Information

For unit timetable information and session dates for external offerings please visit the Timetables@Macquarie Website