Ethnic boundaries in national literary histories: Classification of ethnic minority fiction authors in American, Dutch and German anthologies and literary history books, 1978–2006

Abstract

This article compares the classification of ethnic minority fiction writers in American, Dutch and German literary anthologies and literary history books for the period of 1978-2006. Using content analyses, I show that ethnic boundaries are much stronger in Dutch and German textbooks than in their American counterparts. Whereas, across the entire period, Dutch and German textbooks under-represent ethnic minority authorsrelative to the share of ethnic minorities in the populationand emphasize their ethnicity, American anthologies from 1991 to 2006 over-represent ethnic minorities and classify these authors primarily in literary terms. These findings are not due to demographics alone but are also related to differences in the field of textbook publishing (United States) and the extent to which national cultural repertoires vary from moderate ethnic inclusion (Netherlands) to strong ethnic exclusion (Germany).

A Field Analysis of Cosmopolitan Taste: Lessons from the Netherlands

“…Tensions between people with national orientations and cosmopolitan orientations have deepened (Norris, 2005; Norris and Inglehart, 2009). Berkers (2009) shows that Dutch and German literary journals continue to marginalize ethnic minorities (a notable contrast to the American situation), suggesting that even despite cultural hybridization, there is no simple broadening of the cultural canon of elite culture. There is evidence in some European nations that specifically national forms of cultural appreciation are becoming increasingly important.…”

Linguistic Capital and Development Capital in a Network of Cultural Producers: Mutually Valuing Peer Groups in the ‘Interactive Fiction’ Retrogaming Scene

“…Where errors arising from mis-entered or otherwise confusing data were identified, these were corrected in a local database (in particular: all works released prior to 1980 were undated or mis-dated; many records for early works listed the development system used to port the work as if it had been used to create it; some works were not linked to their developers’ user profiles). User profiles did not include basic demographic information such as gender, ethnicity, or level of education, all of which have been found to have importance for the status and value of cultural producers and their work (see, respectively, Braden, 2009; Berkers, 2009; and Anheier et al, 1995: 890; De Nooy, 2008, in particular is a social network study that highlights the importance of gender and level of education in cultural valuing). To study the importance of these for IF might require survey research in addition to procedural data collection.…”

Assimilatie in de literaire mainstream? - Etnische grenzen in dagbladrecensies van etnische minderheidsauteurs in de Verenigde Staten, Nederland en Duitsland

“…Etnische minderheidsauteurs worden vaak als 'etnisch' geclassificeerd (zie Berkers, 2009b). In de loop van hun carrière kunnen zij echter een dergelijke 'etnische typecasting' ontstijgen.…”

“…Ook etniciteit blijkt een rol te spelen in de selectie en beoordeling van literatuur. Zo maken literaire beleidsmakers (Berkers, 2009a) en samenstellers van literatuurgeschiedenissen (Berkers, 2009b) gebruik van etnische classificaties. Boekrecensies handelen niet alleen over literaire kwaliteit, stijl en thematiek, maar kunnen bovendien informatie over de (etnische) achtergrond van de auteur bevatten (Griswold, 1987).…”