Teaching Citizenship: The German Integration Project Summary

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Critique 2

Have you ever wondered why immigrants in some countries assimilate more than others? Have you ever questioned the fundamental differences in countries’ programs to integrate immigrants into their mainstream culture? What truly motivates the fundamental goal of such integration programs? To attempt these questions, a journey is taken to Germany to better understand the new nature of their modern integration program and the controversial aims that motivate it. Particularly, the article, “Teaching Citizenship: The German Integration Project,” written by Dr. Jessica Brown will be analyzed for the nature of Germany’s integration program along with the view of its goal from the three sociological perspectives: functionalism, conflict …show more content…

From a functionalist perspective, the German Integration Project can be viewed as a mechanism in order to maintain the long-lasting morals and values that ethnic Germans have accustomed to in their country while also ensuring the stable functioning of society. Initially, the author discusses that Germany had to solve its problem of declining population with the introduction of citizenship to new foreign immigrants. Furthermore, this new move created a function for new immigrants in society as to prevent any shortage of workers or a decline in the economic growth. However, this first balancing act of the economic system meant that those immigrants could potentially alter the cultural and social climate. Thus, rather than simply allowing the “new” foreign citizens to assimilate on their own, the project takes into consideration the teaching of German morals, values and even its social democratic system. For example, small ideas such as showing up to appointments and conscientiously recycling all reusable trash are heavily stressed by teachers in order to keep society stable and solider in its values (Brown 2013). In such a way, society contains any drastic changes and maintains the equilibrium necessary with the least possible changes to continue the functioning of its social …show more content…

Particularly, the use of the social conflict theory can be used to explain the fear that if immigrants didn’t assimilate, they will threaten the social fabric (Chapter 12, 334). The fight for the integration of immigrants can be merely seen as a way for the dominant class, being the ethnic Germans, to maintain the dominance of their ideas from other competing ones. A prime example generally feared is that Muslims might exert some influence in society, especially given the stereotypical framing of “Muslims as a whole as backward, intolerant, or violent” (Brown 2013). Thus, rather than recognizing or tolerating such groups as separate identities, the German integration project attempts at assimilating and eventually, weakening those separate identities. In other words, “by an intermixture with [German] people, [immigrants], or their descendants, get assimilated to our customs, measures, and laws: in a word, soon become one people” (Chapter 12,

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