Officially, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has a total of 54 ethnic groups, including the majority Kinh and 53 ethnic minority groups. This book examines the history of the ethnic group determination process, highlighting some of the challenges the official policies pose to both the state and the affected peoples. Vietnam has proudly embraced its multiethnic identity, seeking the equality of all ethnic groups in the interests of national unity. Yet, among other things, it appears that the total number of ethnic categories was rather arbitrarily determined initially, and then fiercely defended by influential politicians and academics. Furthermore, the extensive field surveys reveal that ethnic policies are frequently manipulated at the regional and local levels in pursuit of economic interests, and not infrequently, to the detriment of those they were intended to benefit. (Series: Kyoto Area Studies on Asia - Vol. 23) *** "Professor Ito has succeeded admirably in juxtaposing her study of official documents, interviews with officials and academics, and the results of her own excellent first-hand field work to demonstrate why ethnic classification in Vietnam has been far more a political than a scientific project. Her book deserves to be read not only by those interested in Vietnam but also by others interested in the politics of ethnicity more generally." - Pacific Affairs, Vol. 87, No. 4, December 2014Ã?Â?Ã?Â?

Presents a new approach to minority ethnicity in Vietnam. Drawing on ethnographic and historical research in the highlands and lowlands, eight essays provide rich descriptions of a wide variety of ethnic minority experiences. They offer provocative analyses that challenge stereotypes about minority groups in scholarship and official development policy.

Studies China's "Ethnic classification project" (minzu shibie) of 1954, conducted in Yunnan province.

This book is designed as a comprehensive comparative introduction to ethnicity in East and Southeast Asia since 1945. Each chapter covers a particular country looking at such core issues as: · the ethnic minorities or groups in the country of concern, how many ethnic groups, population, language and culture group they belong to, traditional religions and arts · government policy towards the ethnic minorities or groups · the economies of the ethnic minorities or groups and the relation with the national economy; · problems of national integration caused by the ethnic minorities or groups; · the impact of ethnic issues on the country's overall foreign relations.

This book offers an analysis of the historical, theological, and social conditions that give rise to the growth of pentecostalism among contemporary Vietnamese evangelicals. Emerging from the analysis is an understanding of how underprivileged evangelicals have utilized the pentecostal emphasis on divine intervention in their pursuit of the betterment of life amid religious and ethnic marginalization. Within the context of the global growth of pentecostalism, Vietnamese Evangelicals and Pentecostalism shows how people at the grassroots marry the deeply local-based meaning dictated by the particularity of living context and the profoundly universal truth claims made by a religion aspiring to reach all four corners of the earth to enhance life.

In their later years, Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds are not in equally good-or equally poor-health. There is wide variation, but on average older Whites are healthier than older Blacks and tend to outlive them. But Whites tend to be in poorer health than Hispanics and Asian Americans. This volume documents the differentials and considers possible explanations. Selection processes play a role: selective migration, for instance, or selective survival to advanced ages. Health differentials originate early in life, possibly even before birth, and are affected by events and experiences throughout the life course. Differences in socioeconomic status, risk behavior, social relations, and health care all play a role. Separate chapters consider the contribution of such factors and the biopsychosocial mechanisms that link them to health. This volume provides the empirical evidence for the research agenda provided in the separate report of the Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life.