摘要：The subject of this paper is the ambiguity of the conceptualisation of ethnicity. Can it
fruitfully be regarded as a relational property of any social system, or should the concept
rather be confined to a specific kind of historical society, notably those defined as modern
societies? In exploring this question, the author draws on selected theoretical and
meta-theoretical contributions to the analysis of ethnicity, beginning with Fredrik Barth’s
‘Introduction’ to his edited volume, Ethnic Groups and Boundaries.
关键词：ethnicity; theory; concepts; reflexivity; Fredrik Barth
