Ethnic boundaries in national literary histories: Classification of ethnic minority fiction authors in American, Dutch and German anthologies and literary history books, 1978–2006

Abstract

This article compares the classification of ethnic minority fiction writers in American, Dutch and German literary anthologies and literary history books for the period of 1978–2006. Using content analyses, ethnic boundaries are much stronger in Dutch and German textbooks than in their American counterparts. While, across the entire period, Dutch and German textbooks under-represent ethnic minority authors – relative to the share of ethnic minorities in the population – and emphasize their ethnicity, American anthologies from 1991 to 2006 over-represent ethnic minorities and classify these authors primarily in literary terms. These findings are not only due to demographics alone but also related to differences in the field of textbook publishing (United States) and the extent to which national cultural repertoires vary from moderate ethnic inclusion (Netherlands) to strong ethnic exclusion (Germany).