The Role of the Family in the Transmission of Ethnic Identity Among the Irish of Savannah, Georgia

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 2007

Publication Title

Sociological Viewpoints

Abstract

To better understand the importance of family in the transmission of ethnic identity, this paper suggests answers to the following questions: (1) How strong is the ethnic identity among members of Irish organizations in Savannah, Georgia? and (2) How important is family in the transmission of ethnic identity among members of these groups? The role of family in the transmission of ethnic identity is an important one as indicated by the quantitative and qualitative findings. The strength of ethnic identity was salient among older respondents, among those who attended church regularly, and among members who attached higher levels of importance to religion, ethnic organizations, and family in forming and maintaining their ethnic identities. The importance of ethnic organizations and particularly the importance of family as transmitters of ethnicity are most significantly related to the strength of ethnic identity. This discussion is part of a larger study about members of Irish organizations in Savannah as well as a contribution to the ongoing scholarly debate about the transformation of ethnic identity or ethnic consciousness among Americans of European ancestry (Alba 1990; Brodkin 1998; Gans 1979, 1994; Glazer 1997; Greeley 1974; Hout and Goldstein 1994; Ignatiev 1995; McDermott and Samson 2005; Nagel 1994; Waters 1990). During the last 40 to 50 years there has been much debate among social scientists about ethnic groups and their rate of assimilation in American society (Alba and Nee 2003; Chong 1998; Ebaugh 2003; Gans 1979, 1992; Glazer and Moynihan 1970; Gordon 1964; Greeley 1974; Sears, Fu Henry, and Bui 2003). The transformation taking place today among ethnic groups is more complex than simply distinguishing whether the United States is a melting pot or culturally pluralistic (Alba 1990:3). Nagel (1994:154) stated that while some scholars point to a “weakening of ethnic boundaries in the white American population” others show “a maintenance or increase in ethnic identification” thus producing what she calls an “ethnic paradox.”

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