Race, Identity, and Ethnic Formation

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What does it mean when someone identifies themselves as White? or Black? or Irish? or American? or Irish American? or Tibetan? or a Man? How do new identities get created and legitimated? What does it mean to try on a different identity, i.e. to 'pass'? National groups and ethnic groups are so large that one individual can only possibly know an infinitesimal fraction of the other members of the group. What then explains the seeming coherence of the groups? If identities are a product of the imagination, why are people willing to fight and die for them? The class will entail in-depth reading and discussion.