A genealogical journal
The Radical Genealogist has an interesting article about American ethnic identity. Anyone who has traveled to Europe knows that Europeans are puzzled when Americans claim to be English or Scottish or French or whatever. A friend who had this experience told me that her hosts asked, “Why do Americans always claim to be something else?…
I use the term Scotch-Irish, which requires some explanation, judging from the nearly hysterical emails I receive from time to time. Many people erroneously believe that the term means something along the lines of “mixed Scottish and Irish.” Not so. The Scotch-Irish were Scots who lived in Ireland. The term is similar to other ethnic…
There’s this thing going on. Whites turning into Indians, at least in part. Lots of hand wringing from purists, but it’s not actually clear how this will turn out. “Ethnicity is a tricky thing because it is commonly understood as something fixed and essential rather than what it more likely is: an unarticulated negotiation between…