doiSerbia

The return of the ethnic? Multiculturalism from an ethnic minority perspective

Rácz Krisztina (Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade)

This article discusses theories of multiculturalism and ethnicity in light of the ethnic identification of minority youth. Namely, even though the primordialism vs. constructivism debate has led to an agreement about seeing ethnic identities as situational and strategic, often for members of ethnic minorities, including young people living in multiethnic environments, ethnic identities seem stable and salient. Relying on the case study of young Hungarian people in Serbia, the article argues that it is the minority status and the institutional setup building on ethnic divisions as the main social frame that make ethnic identities marked. Therefore I connect the case of Vojvodina Hungarian youth to more general debates on the multiethnicy, ethnic belonging and minority status.

Keywords: multiculturalism, ethnicity, youth, ethnic minorities, Vojvodina, Hungarians