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Essay on Indonesian Ethnic Identity
Ethnic Identity Defined
Social scientists usually characterise ethnicity as a sense of group belonging, based on ideas of common origins, history, culture, experience and values. An ethnic group is a group with a common ethnic identity or ethnic consciousness.
The Contours of Ethnic Identity Among Indonesians
Indonesians in America identify themselves in ethnic terms. As a consequence of the distinct internal diversity and constant growth of the population, whether or not Indonesians in America are able to come together into a meaningful social and political community based on a common identity is a question of interest to not only students of the Indonesians community but followers of the U.S. racial and ethnic minority politics.
One over-simplified generalization that can be made is that Indonesians are quite interested in American lifestyle. The reason for this interest differs; nevertheless they often concern curiosity about the cultural, economic, and political role of the United States and the world. For case in point, in many universities, there is an increasing concern for American literature, for the reason that, as one Indonesian puts it, that he doesn't want to study so much about British literature anymore, but about American literature, Another said, citing the cultural power of the United States, asked to be taught "American English, something besides the British one." In reality, now, American English is more popular than British English, even though many language textbooks are still British editions.
At times, the desire to study American lifestyle is expressed as fear, distrust, or anger at the power exerted by the United States over the developing world. One Indonesian told that he wanted to learn about the United States so as to "know the enemy." More commonly, Indonesians express a desire to improve their English-language skills and to gain cultural knowledge with the aim of visiting or studying in America or to work for an American company......
