The major objective of this work is to test the heuristic value of the combination of certain aspects of cognitive theory and aspects stressing the social nature of ethnic groups and their boundary maintenance functions. The first section of the paper is a discussion of the cognitive theoretical approaches to anthropology of Goffman, Barth, Le…

The history of Slavic immigration in America is traced and the characteristics that define Slavs as an ethnic group are identified. Focusing on the difficulties experienced by Slavs in melting into accepted American patterns, the paper records the rise in Slavic ethnic consciousness. Topics discussed are Slavic language, geographic concentration…