What are the views of Primordalists and <span title="circumstantialists/instrumentalists?">circumstantialists/instru...</span>

Question

I need to define Primodalist and circumstantialist, also know as instrumentalist. I have searched everywhere for an answer and can't find one. They both are views in Anthropology dealing with ethnicity. Please help!!!!

Answer 1

The primordialist view of ethnicity states that, in order to belong to an ethnic group, one must have been born from people within that ethnic group.  The circumstantialist view of ethnicity states that, in order to belong to an ethnic group, one must be raised in that ethnic group or at the very least adopted into that ethnic group at some point.

For example, if a person is born to Irish parents and is then adopted by an Ethiopian family and considers herself to be Irish, she is operating under the primordialist model.  If a person is born to Irish parents and then adopted by an Ethiopian family and considers herself to be Ethiopian, then she is operating under the circumstantialist model.