The study of elderly Serbian-Americans in Northern California reveals that
ethnicity for many assumes a greater importance in retirement and later life. It not
only provides an alternative system of values to those of the American mainstream,
but a familiar social arena in which many of the skills learned in the larger society
may again be put to use. Moreover, ethnic knowledge gained during childhood can
be reactivated, creating a sense of cultural continuity. In this respect, it is largely the
elderly who have the time needed to maintain the complex institutions and
associations that characterize the Serbian-Americans. Thus, there is a circular
relationship between such core ethnics and the larger ethnic community in terms of
fulfillment of needs.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Barth, F.(1969). Introduction . In F. Barth (Ed.), Ethnic groups and boundaries (pp. 9-38). Boston: Little, Brown.
2.
Bennett, J. (Ed.). (1975). The new ethnicity: Perspectives and ethnology. St. Paul: West.
3.
Berger, P. L., & Neuhaus, R. (1977). To empower people: The role of mediating structures in publicpolicy. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute for Public Research.
4.
Blau, Z. S. (1973). Old age in a changing society. New York: New Viewpoints.
5.
Colby, B. N., & Van Den Berghe, P. L. (1969). Ixil country: A plural society in Highland Guatemala. Berkeley: University of California Press.
6.
Conquest, R. (Ed.). (1967). Soviet nationalities policy in practice. New York: Praeger.
7.
Cuellar, J. (1978). El Senior Citizens Club: The older Mexican-American in the voluntary association. In B. G. Myerhoff & A. Simić (Eds.), Life's career—aging: Cultural variations on growing old (pp. 207-230). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
8.
De Vos, G., & Ramanucci- Ross, L. (Eds.). (1975). Ethnic identity: Cultural continuities and change. Palo Alto: Manfield Press.
9.
Fredrickson, G. M., & Knobel, D. T. (1980). Prejudice and discrimination, history of. In S. Thernstrom, S., A. Orlov, & O. Handlin (Eds.), Harvard encyclopedia of American ethnic groups (pp. 829-847). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
10.
Furnival, J. S. (1944). Netherlands India: A study in plural economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
11.
Gambino, R. (1975). Blood of my blood: The dilemma of Italian-Americans Garden City, NY: Anchor Books.
12.
Gans, H. J. (1965). The urban villagers: Groups and class m the life of Italian-Americans New York: Free Press.
13.
Gans, H. J. (1979). Symbolic ethnicity: The future of ethnic groups and cultures in America. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2, 1-20.
14.
Glazer, N., & Moynihan, D. P. (1970). Beyond the melting potCambridge: MIT Press.
15.
Glazer, N., & Moynihan, D. P. (1975). Ethnicity: Theory and experienceCambridge: MIT Press.
16.
Guttmann, D. (1979). Use of informal and formal supports by white ethnic aged. In D E Gelfand & A. J. Kutzik (Eds.), Ethnicity and aging: Theory, research, and policy (pp 246-262), New York: Springer.
17.
Krickus, R. (1976). Pursuing the American dream: White ethnics and the new populism. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
18.
Lockwood, W. G. (1975). European Moslems. Economy in Western Bosnia. New York. Academic Press.
19.
Myerhoff, B. G. (1978) A symbol perfected in death: Continuity and ritual in the life and death of an elderly Jew. In B. G. Myerhoff & A. Simic (Eds.), Life's career—aging: Cultural vartations on growing old (pp. 163-206). Newbury Park, CA. Sage.
20.
Myerhoff, B. G. (1979). Number our days. New York: Dutton.
21.
Myerhoff, B. G., & Simić, A. (Eds.). (1978). Life's career-aging: Cultural variations on growing old. Newbury Park, CA. Sage.
22.
Newman, W. M. (1976). Multiple realities. The effects of social pluralism on ethnic identity. In A. Dashevsky (Ed.), Ethnic identity in society (pp. 39-44). Chicago: Rand McNally.
23.
Novak, M. (1971). The rise of the unmeltable ethnics. New York: Macmillan.
24.
Novak, M. (1977). Further reflections on ethnicity. Middletown, PA: Jednota Press.
25.
Petrovich, M., & Halpern, J. M. (1980) Serbs. In S. Thernstrom, A. Orlov, & O. Handlin (Eds.), Harvard encyclopedia of American ethnic groups (pp. 916-926). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
26.
Simić, A. (1978). Winners and losers: Aging Yugoslavs in a changing world. In B. G. Myerhoff & A. Simić (Eds.), Life's career—aging: Cultural variations on growing old (pp. 77-106). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
27.
Simić, A. (1979). White ethnic and Chicano families: Continuity and adaptation in the New World. In V. Tufte and B. G. Myerhoff (Eds.), Changing images of the family (pp. 251-269). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
28.
Simić, A. (1982). The Serbian family in America: Cultural continuity, syncretism, and assimilation . Serbian Studies, 1(4), 21-35.
29.
Simirenko, A. (1964). Pilgrims, colonists, and frontiersmen: An ethnic community in transition. New York: Free Press.
30.
Smith, M. G. (1965). The plural society in the British West Indies. Berkeley: University of California Press
31.
Thernstrom, S., Orlov, A. , & Handlin, O. ( 1980). Introduction. In S. Thernstrom , A. Orlov, & O. Handlin (Eds.), Harvard encyclopedia of American ethnic groups (pp. iii-ix). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
32.
Vrga, J., & Fahey, F. L. (1975). Changes and socio-religious conflict in an ethnic minority group: The Serbian Orthodox Church in America. San Francisco: R. and E. Research Associates .
