Mason

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Points out that the concept of “ethnic difference” assumes a certain norm of Britishness. Adopting an assimilationist perspective, this then places the onus on the minorities for integration and blames them, at least in part, for existing inequalities.¹

“Race and ethnicity are modern concepts. They have their origins in the global expansion of European societies that gathered pace from the late fifteenth century onwards.” period of the emergence of modern science.²

in interacting with other human societies what most struck the Europeans, especially the English”were differences of physical appearances” especially “skin colour.”³

Military and technological advantage of Europeans concept of race appeared as part of the process of explaining the concept of “apparent European superiority.”⁴

with the lack of any scientific basis for race controversy over whether the term should be used in the social sciences, some believe that it should as people nonetheless act as if races exists, whilst others claim that the use of the term legitimises it. “Sociologically...race does not refer to categories of human beings...race is a social relationship in which structural positions, and social actions are ordered, justified, and explained...the social relationship race presumes the existence of racism.”⁵

“ethnicity is more of a matter of the processes in which boundaries are created and maintained between ethnic groups than it is of the internal content of the ethnic categories.”⁶ “Ethnicity is then situational...people have different ethnic identities in different situations.”⁷

points to the way in which for English people ethnicity is a characteristic of others. “English people are apt to consider themselves as individuals, while outsiders are seen as members of groups.”⁸

In Britain, term “ethnic minority” not applied to all minorities, and usually applied to those who are not “white”.⁹

“British population was the result of successive migrations from the earliest recorded history”¹⁰

points to the significance of Irish migration during the “Great Transformation” (Industrial Revolution).¹¹

decline in immigration in the period between the two wars “the deep recession experienced by Britain in common with much of the rest of the world meant that demand for labour was weak and the economic attractions of migration consequently limited.”¹²

1D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 2.

2D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 5.

3D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 5.

4D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 6.

5D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 7–8. quote page 8.

6D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 12.

7D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 13.

8D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 14.

9D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 15.

10D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 20.

11D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 20–21.

12D Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Second Edition, Oxford Modern Britain Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) 22.