What is the most important concept that you learned in this class? Write this for a reader who is unfamiliar with the concept. One of the most important concepts that I have learned from class is Assimilation Theory. This theory is based on the adaptation that a certain ethnic group goes through in order to fit in and survive in the new dominant society. For example, according to the book the United States in known to be a predominantly white cultural society, therefore many ethnic groups from all over who choose to come to the U.S often have to assimilate and adapt to the social and cultural norms. Assimilation theory affects many ethnic groups in sense that it can change the way they behave and live in a society. Whenever another ethnic group immigrates to a place where there is a dominant ethnic group they often have to assimilate to the dominant group’s social, economic, and cultural behaviors and customs to survive. For example in the U.S, there are many minority groups from all over the globe who immigrated to this country and they often have to go through various changes and adaptations to fit into society and gain citizenship in the country. These changes can be a challenge for them because they have to choose between their own cultural values, beliefs, and behaviors and assimilate to the U.S’ cultural values and customs. In the book it states that “their cultural ancestry is English, Scottish, Dutch and German which is the Anglo-Saxon core.” Therefore, the culture that immigrants in the U.S. have to adapt to is the Anglo-Saxon culture/ “American culture.” For most minorities immigrating to the U.S, one of the major factors that affected them is language barrier. In the United States English is the dominant language, many ... ... middle of paper ... ...e in the future. It also helps me understand why there is so much diversity and how it can be both positive and negative. It is positive because when there is a more variety of cultures and ethnic group living together it brings diversity, unity, and peace. However it can be negative in sense that, when it comes to trying survival or “fitting” in many are faced with oppression such as inequality, racism, sexism, and are often put at a disadvantage which bring can put them into poverty. I think that assimilation theory can be useful because it can be applied to everyday life and help one better compare and understand different types of societies and the process that the people go through. Work Cited Aguirre, Adalberto, and Jonathan H. Turner. American Ethnicity: The Dynamics and Consequences of Discrimination. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.
Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 33, No. 4, Race and Ethnicity in American Material Life (Winter, 1998), pp. 249-260
Assimilation is one culture changing to become like another culture. I think this is important in A Raisin in the Sun because we are presented with two different opinions on assimilation. George accepts assimilation while Asagai and Beneatha does not. George wants to be accepted into white community so
concerns racial equality in America. The myth of the “Melting Pot” is a farce within American society, which hinders Americans from facing societal equality issues at hand. Only when America decides to face the truth, that society is not equal, and delve into the reasons why such equality is a dream instead of reality. Will society be able to tackle suc...
Schaefer, R. (Ed.). (2012). Racial and ethnic groups. (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
2. The American demographic data show that there is a continuous increase in some racial and ethnic minority groups. As argued by Martica Bacallao and Paul R. Smokowski, it is evident that racial and ethnic composition of the country has changed since 1965 (Bacallao and Smokowski, 2). Demographic data indicates that the United States is experiencing the highest racial and ethnic minorities in history as a result of increased immigration and birth rate of such groups. Intermarriage between different racial and ethnic groups has led to a mixed racial heritage.
The final factor that I will discuss is the place of residence. Kayla lives in Glendale, California and has been in the same apartment complex since she moved to the United States. The main reason for the move to Glendale was for them to be in a good neighborhood (Kayla, pg.13). She describes the city to populated by Armenians, Koreans, Mexicans, and Caucasians. This fits the classical assimilation model because they didn’t chose to migrate to a neighborhood that was similar to their culture, instead they immersed themselves with different groups.
In the United States, racial discrimination has a lengthy history, dating back to the biblical period. Racial discrimination is a term used to characterize disruptive or discriminatory behaviors afflicted on a person because of his or her ethnic background. In other words, every t...
Cultural assimilation is the process by which a person or a group's language and/or culture come to resemble those of another group. The term is used to refer to both individuals and groups, and in the latter case it can refer to either immigrant diasporas or native residents that come to be culturally dominated by another society (Wikipedia). However, this process will be difficult to implement in today’s time in America because many of the citizen are from different cultures and races. Assimilation is a practice that does not encourage cooperation or unity between cultures, assimilation encourages dominance of one culture over another; We cannot progress as a nation by suppressing minority practices and their beliefs but the only way we can achieve world peace is by attempting to understand people differences.
History has shown the effects of the assimilated subpopulation to be damaging. The Native Americans lost their cultural identity and were victims of an assortment of abuses (Givens, 2011) We can also view the actions of vast empires conquering and attempting to master other races, lands, and cultures in the Middle East as a form of forced assimilation. This was practiced by the Ottoman and Persian empires and the ramifications of this enslavement/ assimilation is still being dealt with today. The ethnic groups who never took on the larger populations believes eventually fought back against the oppression, forced assimilation, and differences of religion and culture (Gelvin,
It is the dream of every immigrant, to live a worry free life in a new country that can offer so much. A place where one can work for suitable wages, a place where one can raise their children free of the problems plaguing their previous country and a place where one can grow spiritually and socially. Assimilation can be drastic or very simple, from changing the type of food one eats to converting one's religious beliefs. The determining factors of whether to adapt or not are the morals and beliefs that the immigrant has been brought up on. If the immigrant was brought up on strong morals and beliefs towards their religion and nationality, chances are that the immigrant would rather be alienated and looked down upon rather than conforming to
Culture is a part of everyone's life, whether we choose to express it in our everyday lives or to just be aware of its presence. A major part of one's culture is a defining language. The topic of assimilation versus multiculturalism directly relates to culture in America, and even more specifically to the power of language in American culture. Since language is the basis of communication I think that all immigrants must assimilate to a certain degree by speaking English, while preserving their heritage if they choose to do so.
Moreover, the “melting pot” theory is an idealistic view of cultural assimilation that assumes that different cultural groups will be combined and blended to form
“America has always welcomed anyone willing to assimilate to its national character.” For those who gracefully fall into american society and globalization this quote by author Nancy Pearcey may seem unassuming and seemingly unambiguous. A true statement in fact for those looking to fully integrate into american society, cut ties with their own cultural delineations, and adopt western ideas. With that said for those looking to hold on to their cultures while in American society or simply live in their society and embrace their own culture it has not always been so easy nor has America been as welcoming. This struggle is both witnessed and described in the novel's Power Politics by internationally acclaimed author Arundhati Roy and The Joy Luck Club by the illustrious author Amy Tan. Although analyzing the topic from different directions and perspective a common theme can be seen being highlighted in both books. That being that American integration and assimilation is not always easy, wanted, or welcomed.
To begin, I want to define assimilation which according to the Oxford dictionary means “The absorption and integration of people, ideas, or culture into a wider society or culture” After see this definition I may say that we as humans, we are always trying to adapt to new cultural environments in the places where we are living. So, when a child or an adult move to a different place or to a different country, they consciously or unconsciously tend to adjust themselves to the new culture of the dominant population. Talking about assimilation I think that a person in his/her own choice, can opt how much they want to integrate to the new culture. To illustrate this point and giving an example of my own, I would say that in my case I always want
By only having only one set culture, people turn to believe that there can only be one majority culture and tend to think that their ways are in some way the most effective . Also that a nation may not get the chance to experience how the many other nations of the world work and how they can contribute to society. By having a vast variety of people with different backgrounds, a much greater number of people can share ideas in different ways that others. Assimilation rarely gets to have this opportunity as the assimilated society will have a very large majority and a minority that may not be even be completely listened