This thesis embodies a comprehensive analysis of the assimilation of Southern and
Eastern European immigrant groups in the United States. Despite being considered
racially distinct upon arrival en masse in the period 1880-1920, assimilation theorists
posited that these white ethnic groups would be quickly absorbed into the prevailing
white population. With the aid of Americanization campaigns targeting immigrants and
their offspring, it appeared as though ethnic attachments had progressively declined with
each successive generation. However, an explosion of white ethnic sentiment and activity
in the 1960s and 1970s suggested otherwise, and led many to believe that white ethnic
identities had not been entirely forsaken and were in fact being revived by the
grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the immigrants.
This view is fundamentally questioned within this thesis which argues that, due to a
multitude of forces and factors, white ethnicities could not have been revived in any
meaningful sense. Significant attention is drawn to America’s racialised history and racebased
social framework within which white ethnics categorically benefited from being
classified as ‘white’. Also examined are factors such as generational distance from the
point of immigration, language loss, upward mobility, and intermarriage, which together
facilitated the comprehensive assimilation of white ethnic groups into the majority white
population in the decades leading up to the alleged “ethnic revival.” The upsurge in white
ethnic sentiment in the 1960s and 1970s is therefore argued to have transpired due to the
chance convergence of a number of different factors, and given the continued
classification of Americans as belonging to one of five racial groups, this thesis
concludes that white ethnicities stand little chance of surviving in the long-run within a
society in which race continues to hold significant sway.
Date of Award | 1 Jul 2008 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | |
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Supervisor | Brian Neve (Supervisor) |
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- assimilation
- Ethnic revival
- racial pentagon
- race relations
- white ethnics
- ethnic identity
Questioning the revival : white ethnicities in the racial pentagon
Ubeysekara, R. (Author). 1 Jul 2008
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › PhD