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Multiculturalism and diversity essay
Multiculturalism and diversity essay
Multiculturalism and diversity essay
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Multiculturalism is a difficult field of study that can be closely observed in areas all around us. Culture is the traditional practice of customs and activities to a specific nation, people, or group. Looking at (1) assimilation/acculturation, (2) Issue surrounding the “Other,” and (3) Social structure, can help us understand how the “Problem of different” cultures coexist and collide in the polish communities of Chicago and the rest of the world.
Assimilation/Acculturation is the process of acquiring the social or psychological characteristic of a group that is different from your own. As America continues to increase in cultural diversity, people must learn to expand past the comfort of their own traditions. Takaki says how immigrants have
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(Takaki 1993:436) Comparing this quote to my field site made me reflect on the people that I saw. Going into the “Polish Triangle” I envisioned seeing a lively neighborhood filled with polish business’s ran by polish migrants. To my surprise, I saw a declining area of business that was practically empty. Granted that it was around noon on a random winter weekday, I was still let down by the condition that this once polish dominant area was in. While a beautiful fountain and theatre was at the center of this triangle, there was also a handful of buildings that were vacant. I looked around to see the types of people in my vicinity: white, black, and Hispanic. Clearly this area is not completely bare, but it certainly makes me wonder why it is having such a noticeable culture shift. Blauner writes about how immigrant groups enter a new society voluntarily, though they may be pushed out for economic or political reasons. (Blauner 1994:236) When talking to a street vendor by the name of Roman, I asked him what he thought about the change in this neighborhood from dominantly polish to racially diverse. His take was that this area was never a rich one, but instead a haven for first generation polish immigrants to live amongst one another. When …show more content…
Juniors social structure stuck out to most at his new school due to the reservations cultural norms. (Sherman 2007:11) These structures are typically culture specific and difficult to combine with any conflicting cultural group. Chicago Culture Studies Group writes how there are so many diverse cultural identities that it makes it extremely difficult for them to get along. (CCSG 1992:54) The reason why Chinatown is so dominantly Asian is because of their unique architecture, food, interests, and more. They may get a lot of tourist to visit the area, but most locals reside there because of the specific social structure that is in place. The polish triangle however has lost it original social structure due to the new generation not having a deep connection with their cultural roots, leaving the area vacant for a new structure to develop. When asking Roman where polish people have moved to, he told me multiple places. He said how some have completely moved out of the polish neighborhoods but talks about how due to polish peoples lack of knowledge in transferring train stop, there are multiple neighborhoods off varies blue line stops. (Roman 2/16) He told me to check out the “Polish Village” on Milwaukee and see for myself. Walking down the street of the polish village was an amazing sight. Looking around I saw multiple authentic restaurants, a polish deli, polish clothing stores, and so much
Many of these ethnic groups still reside where their relatives first lived when they arrived many years ago, whereas a majority of the ethnic groups have dispersed all over the Chicago land area, creating many culturally mixed neighborhoods. Ultimately, all of these ethnic groups found their rightful area in which they belong in Chicago. To this day, the areas in Chicago that the different ethnic immigrants moved to back in the 1920s are very much so the same. These immigrants have a deep impact on the development of neighborhoods in today’s society. Without the immigrants’ hard work and their ambition to establish a life for their families and their future, Chicago would not be as developed and defined as it is now.
Throughout history, there have been various perspectives of multicultural differences. According to Meriam Webster (n.d.), culture is “the beliefs, customs, arts, institutions, and the thoughts or products of a particular society or group.” Unfortunately, African Americans, Native Americans, Italians, Irish, Jews as well as various other cultural groups have been profoundly discriminated against and negatively stereotyped (Good Therapy org.). With the frequent mingling of cultures in educational settings, the workplace, and in the social arena, we are bound to encounter cultural differences.
At the time that this family arrived in the United States, a new wave of Eastern European immigration - spurred by growing industrialization and the advances in technology leading to the establishment of steel mills and other manufacturing and raw material processing factories and plants - was reshaping the American labor force. Djuro's experiences, and those of his son-in-law, Mike Dobrejcak, reflect a certain level of hostility towards these Eastern and Central Europeans from "mainstream" Americans and earlier, more acc...
While there has been a shift in the communities’ ethnicity, the neighborhood has remained a working class society. Mexicans have now become the majority race in the Pilsen area, but this wasn’t always the case. Because of labor shortages during World War One, allowed many immigrants into the neighborhood, most of Mexican decadence. (Pilsen.) When UIC began expanding this further pushe...
This nation was relatively stable in the eyes of immigrants though under constant political and economic change. Immigration soon became an outlet by which this nation could thrive yet there was difficulty in the task on conformity. Ethnic groups including Mexicans and Chinese were judged by notions of race, cultural adaptations and neighborhood. Mary Lui’s “The Chinatown Trunk Mystery” and Michael Innis-Jimenez’s “Steel Barrio”, provides a basis by which one may trace the importance of a neighborhood in the immigrant experience explaining the way in which neighborhoods were created, how these lines were crossed and notions of race factored into separating these
Before the reader can identify the issue and formulate an opinion, he/she must understand the credibility of the authors. The first author of the book is Douglas S. Massey. He currently serves as the professor of sociology at Princeton University and as the assistant professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an expert in immigration, specifically in residential segregation of black citizens within local communities. The second author of the book is Nancy A. Denton. She currently serves as the director of urban and regional research and as the associate director of social and demographic analysis at the Lewis Mumford Center in Albany, New York. She specializes in immigration, specifically in the families of immigrants and their impact on residential areas.
The idea of multiculturalism, as presented Philip Resnick’s The European Roots of Canadian Identity, not only looks for a solution to the relations between English speaking Canadians and French speaking Canadians, but incorporation of other ethnicities into Canadian society as well. Resnick compares Canada’s multiculturalism as being too lenient to outside cultures to the assimilation system of the United States which puts little emphasis on diversity.
Assimilation means adapting to a society or culture by learning there ways of life. In this case, for the immigrants based in the United States, assimilation is the key to being accepted as an American. In the early 1960s the U.S had formed strategies that limited the amount of immigrants coming into the country; this mostly favored the Europeans from the North. Later, the Immigration and Nationality Act was approved and this allowed more Asians, Africans and Latin Americans into the U.S. this resulted to an increase in influx of both illegal and legal immigrants allowed in the country.
The United States as a whole is seen as the land of opportunity. New York is a major central for diversity and because of that many people from different cultural atmospheres have brought their families and dreams to New York City. Although Immigration patters throughout the last 200 years have varied, New York has consistently seen people from around the world move to the city and call it home. From the earliest points in our history as a nation, New York has been a center for trade and economic growth. New York is known world wide as a cultural melting pot. While other states have had immigration surges, none have compared to the diversity and sheer number of immigrants that have made their way to the City. This paper will focus on the Immigration patterns and the diverse, yet culturally similar communities within New York.
In conclusion, Canada’s Multiculturalism Policy characterizes several beneficial attributes in regards to the promotion of coexistence as part of the national acculturation development, and likewise, several complications and complexities such as the limitations of language as a defining element of a subset of culture. Nevertheless, the policy presents potential prospective for cultural unity and equality leading to an elemental definition of Canada’s national atmosphere.
In its simplest definitions, the concept of multiculturalism having its roots in theories of cultural pluralism and diversity, can be defined as a normative response to manage the challenges arising from the ever growing multicultural make up of urban population caused by immigration or de facto plurality of cultures in both plural and mono cultural societies. The challenges of multicultural urban societies have been attributed to the politics of cultural differences characterized by the difference in value system of dominant mono cultural groups and specific communities containing multiple ethnicities and, also finding possible ways to co-exist among such differences. The politics of difference is largely reflected in sharing and constitution
South Bronx has got influence from the Caribbean culture in the beginning of twentieth century. (Gordon 2005) says immigrants greatly
Often America is referred to as “The large melting pot.” The idea that the United States is a land of opportunity, where anyone can come and blend into a new breed that is uniquely American. However, the cultural diversity in America is clearly evident, from physical characteristics to different religious beliefs and customs. As minorities immigrate to America and attempt to assimilate in society, they are forced to live a pluralistic lifestyle of blending with the current society, while struggling to maintain their heritage and identity “Minority individuals must learn to function in two environments: their own culture and that of the mainstream society” (de Anda, 1984: p101). There are some who successfully leave their
Britain is and always has been a mixed race society. Gradually over the years, millions of people all over the world arrive either through past invasion or come as an immigrant to escape their own country’s famine, persecution and seeking for better economic opportunities in the UK (Zafra, 2007). The history of immigration and invasion has produced today’s diverse community. However, for the past few years, there has been a dispute concerning whether multiculturalism has obstruct the goal of attaining a peaceful community and instead causing extremism in the UK. According to Michelle Wilkinson (2011), this is resulted by the notion that multiculturalism promotes segregation and different groups having different beliefs leading to heavy tension and radicalization. On the other hand, multiculturalism has also been praised for advancing equality and social recognition (Caroline Howarth & Eleni Andreouli, 2013). In the light of this controversial issue, both aspect of the pro and cons of Multiculturalism to the society will be covered in this essay, exploring as a whole whether the ideology of Multiculturalism in enforcing equality has worked in Britain or not.
There are a lot of different cultures in the world we live in today. Finding the place you belong and discovering your own culture can be a challenge. This is especially true when you look at culture as an individual versus culture in your family, or even within your community. I’ve always been very family oriented, so that plays a big part in who I am and how my family’s dynamic works. I believe that my family has had a huge impact on the development of my culture, and I hope that I have had the same impact on theirs.