Current and future directions in ethnicity and methodology

This essay explores current and future trends in scholarship at the intersection of ethnicity and methodology, from a paradigmatic perspective. It first identifies traditional social science notions regarding the conceptualization of ethnicity (as well as race) and describes several typical approaches to the study of ethnicity in intercultural relations. Then, three challenges to traditional epistemology and methodology in ethnicity studies are discussed: fallacy of objectivity, fallacy of homogeneity and monolithic identity, and the question of methodological ethics. Finally, potential contributions from interpretive and critical paradigms are outlined; these include the need to incorporate lived experiences and historical contexts in future investigations of ethnicity.