Activists who are trying to preserve and revitalize the use of Voro, a regional language of southeastern Estonia spoken by only about 50,000 people, feel that the tongue is in jeopardy and that multidimensional efforts are required to secure its future. A leading Estonian folklorist and activist advised Voro-language instructors to cultivate a…

In an attempt to evaluate the thesis of Albert Wendt, the well-known Samoan writer, that competing loyalties, goals, and expectations create tension among Polynesian migrants to New Zealand, this paper examines the psychological and social costs of Polynesian migration to an urban center in New Zealand. During 1979-80, 228 Samoans, 2,122 Cook…

Discusses reasons behind the large influx of Jamaicans into New York City, and discusses their attitudes, experiences, and plans. Predicts that despite the hardships Jamaicans encounter in New York (cold weather, prejudice, and crime), economic opportunities available will cause most of them to stay rather than return to their native land. (GC)

Presents an interview by National Endowment for the Humanities chairman, Sheldon Hackney, with historian John Higham on multiculturalism and national identity. Contends that the centrifugal forces of national, ethnic, and religious diversity need countervailing forces to hold the nation together. (CFR)

Presents a lesson plan that not only illuminates a little-known incident in Asian American history but also questions how history is constructed and communicated. Provides an excellent historical account of the draft resistance movement within the Nisei internment camps during World War II. Includes handouts and discussion questions. (MJP)

Maintains that sociology must reconceptualize the meaning of multiethnic societies and regions and also advance theories about how such social organizations came into being and transform themselves through conflicting and peaceful processes. Briefly reviews traditional approaches and outlines new areas of study. (MJP)

Compares and contrasts the recent years of ethnic conflict in Somali and Fiji. The widely divergent reactions of both populations dispels the belief that ethnic pluralism is both a necessary and sufficient condition for violent conflict in a society. Provides succinct portraits of both societies and their cultures. (MJP)

Summarizes E. D. Hirsch's book, "Cultural Literacy," focusing on four separate arguments. Compares U.S. and Canadian education and society, particularly in relationship to multiculturalism and bilingualism. Concludes that Hirsch trivializes culture by presenting as no more than a common convention of effective national communication.…

Examines the relationship between indicators of collective identity (collective self-esteem, religious involvement, involvement in ethnic organizations) and prejudice towards the other group among Jewish and Arab college students. Collective identity variables largely were unrelated to prejudice among the Jewish students. Findings for the Arab…

Examines the effect of situational variations of ethnic identity and their relationship to measures of psychosocial adjustment. Among French Canadian university students, English-speaking students who identified strongly with their first language group but exhibited a high degree of inter-situational variation experienced more stress, depression,…

Maintains that people have multiple identities and discusses how these differential identities were realigned in Latvia during and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Survey data suggests current ethnopolitical identity incorporates multiple dimensions and a strong contextual component. Includes graphs and tables of statistical data. (MJP)

Asserts that moral education in Singapore has been aimed pragmatically at forging together, by shared values, the four major racial and cultural communities of that nation. Maintains that moral education also has been used to preserve a cultural and national identity against the perceived erosion of Asian roots by Western education. (ACM)

Identifies and defines four models of internal ethnic conflict and discusses those conflicts within various African nations. The corresponding models and countries include Integration Model: Botswana and Somalia; Managed Diversity Model: Ghana, Cote d'Ivorie, Kenya, and Nigeria; Ambivalent Accommodation Model: Ethiopia and Djibouti; and Acute…

Considers the paradox of a liberal, pluralist society supporting (subsidizing) religious schools whose beliefs are more restrictive and judgmental. Argues that recognition of group rights is sanctioned in liberal thought as long as it does not impinge on individual rights. Discusses liberal responses to conflicts between communitarian concepts and…