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The impact of cultural assimilation
Assimilation of immigrants into American society
Concepts of personal identity
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The latent functions for ethnicity are assimilation, pluralism, multiculturalism, social solidarity, ideology, and affirmative action. David Corteau mentions that assimilation is when, “…Ethnic groups largely abandoned their distinct cultures and were absorbed into the nation’s dominant culture” (263). In the functionalist theory perspective assimilation is a process that minority groups have to go through for them to be able to adapt to the majority group standards. According to Hiromi Ono, “The results indicate that later generations of immigrant descendants’ are less likely to identify themselves as Mexicans, Mexican Americans, … and they are more likely to identify as Americans” (Assimilation, ethnic competition). The second and the third …show more content…
Having different people from different ethnicities can help you learn and understand different cultures. The more you are exposed to different ethnic backgrounds the more likely you are to accept others. David Corteau states, “Unfortunately, cultural difference often leads to inequality and conflict as groups with more power oppress, exploit, or otherwise discriminate against those who are different and who have less power” (76). Multiculturalism can lead to racism, which can sometimes cause violence. Every ethnicity has a sense of ethnocentrism, you believe that your ethnicity is superior to others. With ethnicity you have social solidarity because you have your own culture norms that you share with your own nationality. You share the same values and morals that are traditions specifically to your ethnicity. Your ethnicity gives you a sense of identity and belongingness to a community of people who have the same culture and traditions. Ethnicity provides you with a sense of collective identity and you also have an attachment to your life
In the article, “Multiculturalism: Battleground or Meeting Ground,” Takaki starts out addressing the difference in philosophy between him and Woodward when it comes to cultural diversity. Woodward strongly disagrees with Takaki when it comes to the topic of cultural diversity. They both are seeing issue threw two difference lens. Woodward attacked Takaki on the issue when Woodward reviewed Takaki’s “Iron Cages: Rave and Culture in Nineteeth-Century America” book in the “New York Review of Books,” saying it was too narrow in focus (Takaki, n.d). Woodward rebuttal was that the book did not contain any balance, and should have touched on “national issues” to have that balance and not just the American south. Woodward even said that Takaki was
Whether children of Mexican immigrants adopt pan-ethnic terms (Latino, Hispanic), American identities, or identities rooted in their home country (Mexican) reflects how they view themselves in relation to the ethnic stratification system in the United States (Tovar, Jessica, and Cynthia Feliciano, 2009). Biculturalism may be expressed using a Mexican-American self-label, as opposed to either an American or Mexican label (Rumbaut, 1994). For those who are viewed as non-white in the United States (including most recent immigrants from Mexico and their children), ethnic identity development is an important part of overall adolescent identity formation, and may be especially complicated for those who grow up in the United States, but have parents from another country (Rumbaut,
In the United States, there are a vast majority of ethnicities and races, which is why we are oftentimes recognized as “the melting pot”. Because of this, it may seem difficult to keep ethnic groups completely separate because there are interactions between different races every single day, even though some might not even be aware of it. Some people, especially ones from older generations, see this as an abomination because they feel that races must be kept pure and also feel that assimilation diminishes the uniqueness of one’s ethnic identity. However, would it not make a person more unique to be part of multiple cultures? According to an article aptly titled “Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above” by Susan Saulny, it is revealed that “Multiracial and multiethnic Americans are one of the country’s fastest-growing demographic groups” (NYtimes.com). Because 1 in 7 new marriages are interracial, the number of mixed race people is just going to keep increasing. With the way this is going, there could be very few people in the United States who identify with strictly one ethnic group or race. In a way, everyone is going to be the same (mixed race) but in different combinations, which would still make us all individuals. When this happens, America will be more unified and will be less full of prejudice as it always has seemed to be towards certain races.
Living with different kinds of cultures around you is also very knowledgeable to many people. One could learn a lot about someone’s background or country just by interacting or spending some time with them. For example, you can learn about different foods, clothing, fashion, and the kind of lifestyles others might have. Living together helps keeps us in harmony and peace. If we didn’t get along or maybe even share some of the ideas we wouldn’t be such a diverse community. Knowing and underst...
“Multiculturalism is sometimes used to describe a condition of society; more precisely, it to describe a society where a variety of different cultures coexist” (Internet). In simpler terms, it is the feeling of being attached to more than one culture. Multiculturalism can have a positive role in society. A positive
According to most, ethnicity usually is displayed in the values, attitudes, lifestyles, customs, rituals, and personality types of individuals who identify with particular ethnic groups. Ethnic identifications and memberships in an ethnic group has farreaching effects on both groups and individuals, controlling assess to opportunities in life, feeling of well being and mastery over the futures of one's child and future. These feelings of belonging and attachment to a certain group of people for whatever reason are a basic feature of the human condition. These ties are called "ethnic ties" and the group of people that one is tied to is an "ethnic group." In the general sense, an ethnic group consists of those who share a unique social and cultural heritage that is passed on from generation to generation.
...ll have our individual ideas, beliefs and tastes. These are the things that define us and entitle us to make our own decisions in claiming our ethnic identity. Ethnicity is not a set category we are born into and must stay in our whole lives, it is our choice and it comes from our own doctrines. This idea can create an eruption of diversity without assimilation by one culture. Everyone having a choice in their ethnicity will allow people to exchange more ideas and be more accepting of cultural variety. A society enriched by different perspectives, such as this, can even make for a much more creative and innovative future.
This essay will focus on the implicit nature of Multiculturalism and associated sociological and cultural constructs in regards to defining Canadian culture and identity.
Canada is a cultural mosaic. Cultural mosaic is the mixture of different ethnic groups, languages and cultures that living in a society. Canada is one of the countries to declare multiculturism in the world as official state policy. This step showed the path to a resounding and evolving cultural mosaic premised on mutual respect for all the Canadian citizens of the different types of ethnic back ground. The roots of multiculturalism in Canada can be seen in the country's beginnings, as three establishing cultures aboriginal, British and French, who were soon joined by many more cultures from around the continents. Today this can be seen as a benchmark of Canadian national identity and a point of pride for Canadians. Even though of all this multiculturism right after the attacks of 9/11 in America a lot of Muslims who were gathered for praying in mosques and churches were attacked in Canada. Even Sikhs were attacked because they were perceived to be Muslims. Several Muslim schools were closed in major cities of Canada. Women were also attacked for their dressing (Faisal Kutty). History of African labor, Chinese labor, Aboriginal genocide and Japanese entombment are all forgotten over by propagandized multicultural progress, this has created a racialized logic which made it impossible for many Canadian citizens to recognize the racism taking place in the surrounding environment. So, racism is embedded in Canadians and can be seen in form of prejudice and discrimination at workplace.
police officers, judges, attorneys, correctional officers) the importance of social and cultural awareness; (2) understanding the demographics of various minority and immigrant groups; and (3) improve data collection on racial and ethnic discrimination. Some people depict America as a melting pot because they believe various ethnic groups in America has blended together as one. The melting pot theory aims at creating a unique American way of life. On the other hand, some people portray America as a salad bowl because America is diversified with various cultures and ethnicity, which makes this society multicultural. Diversity and multiculturalism in America will also create racism and hatred towards minorities and immigrants; furthermore, it will also promote separatist or hate groups. A multicultural society will create opportunities to share ideas and perspectives with each other; therefore, allowing ethnic groups to understand and have mutual respect for each other. Although there are disadvantages in a multicultural society, the advantages still outweighs all the negative criticisms. Multiculturalism promotes peace and good communications among ethnic
Ethnic groups, their present and their future, are determined by factors like history, education, religion and politics. These factors build and shape the cultural identity of people and have a major effect in their way of thinking, lifestyle, behaviour, habits, morals, ideology, preferences, traditions, etc.” For this reason “what constitutes normal behavior is not the same to people of different social, economic, political and cultural backgrounds (Bayne, Jinks, Collard, Horton, 2008).
Times are changing and I feel like I am forced to conform to the everyday social norms of America, which makes me feel impuissance. Racial identity, which refers to identifying with a social group with similar phenotypes and racial category, is the only experience that I have with life (Organista, 2010). Racial ethnicity was used to build my self-esteem and to keep me in the dark when it came to how society treats individuals of darker complexion. However, once I left the confines of my family and neighborhood, I was forced to befriend and interact with individuals that had different cultural values and beliefs than me. This experience caused me to learn how to appreciate other racial and ethnic groups and their cultural values and belief. This is an accurate definition, of acculturation because I was able to understand and fit in with individuals different from me, while maintaining my own culture and ethnic identity. Therefore, knowing the importance of my ancestry, while acculturating and developing my own identity was all used
The benefits of living in a multi-ethnic society are that you get to meet new people and learn interesting things about them. People get a chance to understand others and realise they’re equal to us. It makes people less ignorant and alters stereotypical views they may have had beforehand from media influence or friends/relatives. We begin to respect them more and understand their views on specific subjects. This could help people become less racist. Also, you get a chance to learn a variety of new languages. If you were learning Spanish at school for example, you could practice it by having a conversation with somebody who’s previously lived there. You get a chance to widen your knowledge about the outside world by learning interesting facts from people from different cultures. It makes life more interesting and less repetitive because without a multi-ethnic society everybody would be similar and you wouldn’t experience many new things. We wouldn’t know about certain religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. The only known religion would be Christianity so people wouldn’t be able to choose from a wide range of religions like you can now. Furthermore, beautiful buildings such as mosques and temples wouldn’t be around. Our country would be so much more dull and uninteresting. A multi-ethnic society can bring new ideas and ways of doing things into the everyday lives of people living in Britain.
Our increased mobility has given us greater access to the world and the diverse people that inhabit it. With that mobility comes the shared responsibility to negotiate with people who may initially seem unfamiliar and learn to express the experience. The word “ethnicity” is used to describe a specific population’s characteristics of fundamental aspects that all humans share. When applied loosely, ethnicity becomes a blanket term to define large populations, undermining the worth and the diversity within that group and emphasizing the differences between cultures. Yet those differences come down to matters of preference and socialization within each culture. The dominant themes that rule human nature persist in every society – wondering where we came from and why we exist, social mores to guide how we relate to people or situations, and primal motivations such as hunger, fear, and a need to be loved and accepted.
In the future, the world will only become more diverse. People should learn to appreciate it by acknowledging the differences around them. Sometimes people are scared that “recognizing differences will divide people from each other. However, learning about cultural differences can actually bring people closer together” ( “Section 1”). It would be better if people became closer together instead of growing apart because of discrimination and other mistreatment. Building relationships with different cultures should be a goal of everyone and even nations as a whole. Each group has different strengths that can benefit the the community altogether. Since the world will definitely become more diverse, it is important to be informed about cultural groups so you can become more marketable and succeed in a diverse world.