Ethnic Options: Choosing Identities in America

by Mary C. Waters

In this perceptive and revealing study, Mary Waters explores the "reinvention" of ethnicity in the lives of the grandchildren and great grandchildren of European immigrants, asking how their ethnic heritage is lived, maintained, and celebrated. Through in-depth interviews with sixty third and fourth generation white ethnics in suburban California and Pennsylvania, the author discovers a surprisingly resilient sense of ethnicity among people who could reasonably label themselves simply "American."

Mary Waters' research brings to light a fascinating history of American immigration, revealing aspects of a shared culture and ideology and the unique ways in which ethnic identities fulfill very American needs. Describing the "symbolic ethnicity" of later generation white ethnics as a quintessential American phenomenon, she argues that ethnicity has retained its importance in our lives precisely because it allows people to reconcile the contradictory American values of choice, individuality, and community.

In addition to her exploration of the symbolic ethnicity of later generation middle-class whites, Mary Waters addresses its cost to society, contrasting it with the optionless ethnicity of non-white Americans. Her conclusions in Ethnic Options constitute an invaluable contribution to our understanding of contemporary American life.

Genres: Sociology, Race, Nonfiction, Academic, History, Grad School

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I'd read this book a few years ago, before conducting dissertation research! I like the combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches (U.S. Census data and Waters' own data from interviews), although the book does trend towards more qualitative material as it progresses. This is an academic book, but there is very little jargon and it is quite readable. It serves as a nice background on ideas about pluralism, assimilation, and the determination of one's ethnic identity for people of European descent in the U.S., and raises interesting questions about the comparability between the experience of European ethnic groups and racial minority groups. It also addresses the implications of common assumptions about these comparisons for race relations: voluntary, subjective identification with a European ethnic background is not the same as belonging to a minority group that experiences regular discrimination, and the common conceptualization of the two as the same can cause Americans to underestimate minority experiences.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting premise, a little repetitive until the last 5 pages when Waters drops the truth bombs regarding race vs. ethnicity that she's been holding on to, which consequently made me re-think everything she'd said in the previous 100 pages. Good information, but the study could definitely use an update

[Chrystal Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not the type of person to just up and read a book like this for no reason unless its got a very interesting topic that I am passionate about. Though the statistics thrown in throughout the book can cause some of the reading to be a bit dry and sometimes it feels like the author does repeat herself, some of her findings and the context of the interviews she conducts really does say alot about who we are and where we come from. America really is a melting pot more than most people may think and some of us are privileged to be able to decide which heritages we want to live through and celebrate. Although I had to read this book for a class for my minor, I would definitely consider reading another work by this author.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book that discusses the concepts of "choice" versus "constraint" in terms of ethnic identification in the United States

[Zi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave insights to how middle-class, Catholic, white Americans living in the Sub-urbs experienced and expressed their ethnicities.

[Shira Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great way to learn about how the term "ethnicity" came into being in the United States.