| Title | : | Ethnicity, Inc. |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0226114724 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780226114729 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 236 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2009 |
Their account begins in South Africa, with the incorporation of an ethno-business in venture capital by a group of traditional African chiefs. But their horizons are global: Native American casinos; Scotland’s efforts to brand itself; a Zulu ethno-theme park named Shakaland; a world religion declared to be intellectual property; a chiefdom made into a global business by means of its platinum holdings; San “Bushmen” with patent rights potentially worth millions of dollars; nations acting as commercial enterprises; and the rapid growth of marketing firms that target specific ethnic populations are just some of the diverse examples that fall under the Comaroffs’ incisive scrutiny. These phenomena range from the disturbing through the intriguing to the absurd. Through them, the Comaroffs trace the contradictory effects of neoliberalism as it transforms identities and social being across the globe.
Ethnicity, Inc. is a penetrating account of the ways in which ethnic populations are remaking themselves in the image of the corporation—while corporations coopt ethnic practices to open up new markets and regimes of consumption. Intellectually rigorous but leavened with wit, this is a powerful, highly original portrayal of a new world being born in a tectonic collision of culture, capitalism, and identity.
Ethnicity, Inc. Reviews
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I found this book incredibly frustrating to power through despite my interest in the themes Comaroff discussed.
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📝 Notes to self:
“While it is increasingly the stuff of existential passion, of the self-conscious fashioning of meaningful, morally anchored selfhood, ethnicity is also becoming more corporate, more commodified, more implicated than ever before in the economics of everyday life.” (1)
“Merafe like his own— perhaps the closest translation from Setswana is “ethno- nations”—had to “join the modern world, ” to “become business- like,” to “market” themselves, to “manage” their symbolic and material assets” (8)
“Heritage, of course, is culture named and projected into the past, and, simultaneously, the past congealed into culture (cf. Kirshenblatt- Gimblett 1998:149).14 It is identity in tractable, alienable form, identity whose found objects and objectifications may be consumed by others and, therefore, be delivered to the market (cf. Howard 2003).” (10)
// san // “They were seen, and reciprocally were able to see themselves, as a named people with a “tradition and a way of life.” In other words, a culture” (11)
“As all this suggests, ethnic incorporation rides on a process of homogenization and abstraction: the Zulu (or the Tswana or the San), for all their internal divisions, become one; their “lifeways,” withdrawn from time or history, congeal into object- form, all the better to conceive, communicate, and consume.” (12)
“…empowerment. In the post-colony, it connotes privileged access to markets, money, and material enrichment. In the case of ethnic groups, it is frankly associated with finding something essentially their own and theirs alone, something of their essence, to sell. In other words, a brand.” (15)
“What is more, the extent to which communities are taking on a corporate identity varies widely” (17)
To survive, concludes Chanock, “[c]ultures, like brands, must essentialise . . . successful and sustainable cultures are those which brand best.” (18)
// identity economy; alienation; authenticity; empowerment; ethno-chic; ethnicity industry // -
I love the analysis and concepts tackled in this book. But from a layman’s perspective, the learning curve for digesting the theory is a little too steep.
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Ethnicity, Inc. is a spellbinding look at how culture and identity have emerged as commodities, frequently lucrative and hence contested in the contemporary world. The book spans much of the globe and provides example after fascinating example of culture/ethnicity for sale: Native Americans relying on DNA analysis labs to divide casino fortunes, Zulu businessmen playing up their native origins to consolidate their mining interests, Bushmen shedding their jeans and tee shirts to don skins and beads for those tourists who want to see a 'real' 'primitive' 'culture', the branding of Scotland as a science center for medicine, the marketing of the Zulu Nation as a brand for heritage hungry African American tourists to consume, the everyday items of particular cultures being patented or trademarked, factions within tribes waging war in the courts to determine the authenticity of their claim to the name or property of a tribe.
All in all, the image is created of what could be called an end of culture. There no longer is an authentic culture to witness, as everything has been packaged for sale, caricatured for popular tastes and expectations. Even a dispossessed individual's own ethnic identity has become something to invest in, developing one's own brand for tourists who may be hoping to coopt a piece of someone else's identity. So in the increasingly shrinking planet filled with highly mobile global adventurers, that which is sought is obliterated by this very act of searching. Sad really, that culture should end this way. But the book does make one think about the ethics of ethnicity tourism and cultural consumption. -
An excellent analysis of the monetization of ethnic identifications. Some absolutely fascinating ethnographic examples, but more of a panoptic summary than a rigorous engagement with one site.
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I recommend this book for its content, but had to slog my way through it. It was a difficult read for me. The information it provides, however, is very interesting.
