Documentary constructivism as a special form of constructivist folk sociology: evidence from Dagestan

Abstract

In this article, the existence of documentary constructivism is justified in the context of literature dedicated to folk theories of ethnicity. Documentary constructivism views ethnicity primarily as an administrative concept. This view is described based on 130 interviews conducted in Dagestan, where the state has changed ethnic classifications several times over the course of the 20th century and relocated entire communities from one nationality to another. It is shown that this view is significantly more prevalent in communities that have been the subject of such re-categorization. These conclusions are placed in the context of literature that traditionally describes folk constructivism solely as a view that ethnic affiliation is an acquired characteristic rather than an innate one. We argue that the prevalence of different folk theories of ethnicity is related to the characteristics of the social context. Furthermore, we suggest that further investigation into the variability of folk theories of ethnicity and their determinants is warranted.