Us and Them in Modern Societies: Ethnicity and Nationalism In Mauritius, Trinidad and Beyond

by Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Bruce Kapferer (Foreword)

Is nationalism an official ideology, or a personal sentiment, or both? How can ethnic and nationalist ideologies be reconciled? Is ethnicity a modern phenomenon? Do plural societies exist? This book addresses these and other issues concerning ethnicity and nationalism. Drawing on a wide range of examples from Mauritius and Trinidad, Hylland shows the complexity and the ambiguities of ethnic classification in multiethnic societies, the variable social importance of ethnicity, and the tension between ethnicity and nationalism. Refining the conceptual tools available for the study of these phenomena, the author points out ambiguities in conceptualizations of nationalism. He argues the utility of a formal comparative concept of ethnicity, but against over-emphasizing ethnic relations as is implied in the theory of "plural" societies.

Genres: Anthropology

220 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Geir Thomas Hylland Eriksen was a Norwegian anthropologist known for his scholarly and popular writing on globalization, identity, ethnicity, and nationalism. He was Professor of Social Anthropology in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo. He has previously served as the President of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (2015–2016), as well as the Editor of Samtiden (1993–2001), Norsk antropologisk tidsskrift (1993–1997), the Journal of Peace Research, and Ethnos.
Hylland Eriksen was among the most prolific and highly cited anthropologists of his generation, and had been recognized for his remarkable success in bringing an anthropological perspective to a broader, non-academic audience. In Norway, Hylland Eriksen was a well-known public intellectual whose advocacy of diversity and cultural pluralism had earned both praise and scorn. Right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, cited Eriksen critically in his manifesto and during his 2012 trial.
In the academy and beyond, Hylland Eriksen had been highly decorated for his scholarship. He was the recipient of honorary degrees from Stockholm University (2011), the University of Copenhagen (2021), and Charles University in Prague (2021), as well as one of anthropology's most prestigious honors, the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography's Gold Medal (2022). He was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.