Cultural Pluralism Sociology

In the United States, pluralism is pertinent and very significant for the government because the government itself is distributed with various powers given to the states. These states then give powers to their local governments, which continues to distribute the power. In the government system, there are levels of that consist of branches that control the many different parts of the system, so that no one person or group is given too much power. The United States has a system of checks and balances, which is pertinent to the power system and the pluralist theory ("What is a pluralist theory of government?" 2017).

Perhaps the most culturally diverse nation on the globe, the United States is home to a dominant Anglo-American Protestant culture intermixed and alongside a host of sub-cultures that live and thrive on US soil. Among these cultures exists an array of distinct form of living all who boast an identity specific to only that select group. These subcultures exist in a couple different forms; convergent subcultures and persistent subcultures. First, convergent subcultures intend toward assimilation with the dominant society through various tactics to include: residential clustering, adherence to the language, dress, and cultural norms of their native land (Parrillo, 42). Contrarily, some cultures simply do not assimilate. In these cases, persistent subcultures adhere as much as possible to their own way of life and resist absorption into the dominant culture (Parrillo, 43). Among these persistent subcultures within the US are the Amish. The Amish are a sect of the Christian faith whose members have roots in twenty-two states across the

Joseph Healey’s “From Immigrants to White Ethnics” is a generalized comparison between the varying groups of individuals that accompanied the colossal waves of immigration to the United States from Europe in the nineteenth century. Immigration to this country resulted from a number of reason such as religious persecution, individuals seeking to find employment after industrialization in their home countries limited their livelihood, and political oppositions to name a few. On arrival the immigrants knew immediately they were of the subordinate group and faced “discrimination and prejudice” (Healey, 2012, p. 54), although some more so than others. Among the first immigrants to arrive in the United States were Northern and Western European citizens. Unlike the immigrants from Ireland and Southern and Eastern Europe that chose the United States for their new homeland these individuals were probably the most accepted by the majority, even if considered just nominally superior to the others. Included in this group were the “English, Germans, Norwegians, Swedes, Welsh, French, Dutch and Danes” (Healey, 2012, p. 56). This acceptance was due in part to the similarities that the dominate group held as ideals such as their religion, along with cultural values and characteristics. If the Northern and Western Europeans found acceptance difficult, individuals from Ireland and the Europeans from the south and east had an even more traumatic experience. Whereas the more accepted group had

According to Michael Haas, cultural pluralists respond that American cultural pluralism thrives in an integrated, not a segregated, society. They accept cultures as internally dynamic, changing and adapting over time with plenty of room for diversity inside each culture. Cultural attachments are seen as important but not exclusive, as Americans must respect those of different cultures in order to enjoy liberty together. As immigrants and native-born citizens have learned from one another, thereby broadening their views on art, cuisine, education, history, music, and other aspects of life (Immigration to the United States).

How race determined who was in and who was out. As Dickerson states “if race is real and not just a method for the haves to decide who will be have-nots, then all Europeans immigrants, from Ireland a to Greece, would have been “white” the moment they arrived here. Instead, as documented in David Roediger’s excellent Working Towards Whiteness, they were long considered inferior, nearly subhuman, and certainly not white” (69). This shows how race wasn’t about common culture or history but a concept to decide what race is good enough to be consider “white” or better than others. Even though the Europeans where the same race or color of the other people who considered themselves Americans or “white” they were still discriminated for being different and immigrants like everybody else. But soon they realized that identifying them self as being white gave them some sort of hierarchy. It gave them more class compared to the other races. As Debra Dickerson said, “If you were neither black nor Asian nor Hispanic, eventually you could become white, invested with enforceable civil rights and the right to exploit-and hate-nonwhites” (69). Being identify as white gave the power to have privileges that non-whites will never have since they are not the same color. Non- whites are treated unfairly compared to the white people in many ways. Discrimination not only took place between people of different races but

Jonathan Rauch’s essay, “In Defense of Prejudice”, explores the idea of pluralism. Rauch focuses on intellectual pluralism in which he states, “permits the expression of various forms of bigotry and always will”. Pluralism may bring different topics such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. Rauch argues rather than eliminating hate and prejudice society should educate people against prejudice. He believes by eliminating prejudice really means having everyone to have the same prejudice. To be prejudiced means to have a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience but based on a biased belief.

Many researchers have studied the immigrant assimilation in the recent years. America’s ethnic groups have been expected to come together as one and into the mainstream of american society for decades. Immigrant assimilation is a complex process in which immigrants should not only fully integrate themselves to a new country but also lose aspects perhaps all their heritage too if necessary. Social scientists rely on a primary benchmark to assess immigrant assimilation which is socioeconomic status. A melting pot can be described as a metaphor which indicates a society where many different types of people blend in as one.

The United States has transformed through several movements and Immigration has helped shaped how workers, farmers, and the progressives lived. Each group believed they had changed how ideas and movements reformed the country. Immigration is what caused history to change and has allowed the American populations become what it is today. Between 1877- 1939, Not only did immigrants go to America for a better life but Americans within the states would also move to different locations for the same reasons. The workers, farmers and the progressives were groups made up of immigrants.

The supplemental texts of LSP 200 explore the history of the “old” wave immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans to the United States and compares the experiences of this group with the “new” wave immigration of non-European immigrants to the United States post 1965. One common phenomenon was clearly defined and explained the most important indicator of immigrant success in adapting to American culture, segmented assimilation. Kasinitz defines segmented assimilation as “ various outcomes of the second generation based on different opportunities and social network” (Kasinitz & Mollenkopf, 7). He then provides examples of how public intuitions, such as Urban High School in New York City contribute to this theory by “racializing” and “genderizing” their students (Kasinitz & Mollenkopf, 28-49). The micro aggressions experienced by the Dominican male students of Urban High School, such as the interactions between teachers and students in classroom settings are representative of larger processes that are components of institutionalized racism The lived experience of these students contributes to the disparities in education seen among the second generation, which ultimately diminishes their opportunities and social networks (Kasinitz & Mollenkopf, 29).

At this time there were many sociologists to investigate the social, economic, and cultural impact of the second great migration, of African Americans travels from the South. (The African American Experience, pg. 1) This study had 3 main focuses on what they wanted to know, how well the African Americans adjusted to the Northern and more urbanized structure of life, the absolute causes of the migration, and to know the impact that the African American migration of post World War II era had on race relations, and conflicts amongst races. (The African American Experience, pg. 1) To do this study many factors had to be taken into account such as the settlement patterns of the African Americans once they migrated, their living conditions, the relationship the African Americans had between their families, any little habit they might have done, histories about their employment, education structures and facilities, and anything else that might help in research. (The African American Experience, pg. 1) Through documenting this all, sociologists have seen as well all the devastating truths that this Second Great Migration had to bring along, things such as the prostitution, unemployment, juvenile delinquency, and racial violence were brought with the migration. (The African American Experience, pg. 1)

In “Problems and Promise in Pluralism,” Annalee R. Ward argues for academic freedom through the lens of confessional pluralism. Ward challenges the academy to revisit pluralism to ascertain whether various denominations can have an “engagement of differences in creative ways” that allow for coexistence in scholarship” (Eck 9). Although academy insists that pluralism tugs on personal integrity, closer examination show that “authentic peaceful coexistence” is a possible outcome when approached correctly (Ward 5).

In the late ninetieth and early twentieth century; also known as the Gilded Age, there was a rapid growth in the Unite States’ economy and a large increase in population due to the significant changes made in the industrial industry of the country. The reasoning behind the rapid influx of European citizens migrating to United States was because payment wages in America were dramatically higher than those in Europe and the availability of jobs were also significantly higher as well. All the new immigrants coming in from Europe, the Native Americans, and the African Americans trying to adapt into the labor force of the country were referred to as the “non-white” category. The changes made in society forced these groups of individuals to assimilate into industrial labor process of America and by adapting to the way of society. Which caused all the minority groups to take away or change their own certain cultural value and ways of life . Being forced to adapt to new ways in society is how a country grows and proposers, by living in the country you sometimes have to make certain changes you do not want to make in order to survive in the country. The changes were not made in order to target and attack certain minority groups, but rather to help the United States economy and bring more job opportunities for all the people. Racism and segregation played a big role in the adapting process in the United States economy because the job opportunities provided many new benefits

In the early years of the United States, dominant-minority relations were shaped by the agrarian technology and the economic need to control land and labor. The agrarian era ended in the 1800s, and the U.S. has gone through two major transformations in subsistence technology since, each of which has transformed dominant-minority relations and required the creation of new structures and processes to maintain racial stratification and white privilege (Healey, p. 131). The early 1800s to the mid-1900s was the industrial revolution, where machines replaced animal and human labor. Today’s society is known as the postindustrial or deindustrialized society which

Many times I have attempted to comprehend the actions of other people. I always wanted to know why people of different genders, descents, and colors had certain cultural, societal, and religious beliefs. It became apparent to me that all persons are a direct reflection of their environment. In other words, all persons unconsciously, and sometimes consciously, reflect and imitate their environment and

The topic I choose for my final project is pluralism – a condition or system in which two or more states, groups, principles, sources of authority coexist. In other words, pluralism represents a condition or system in which diversity is highly valued, making itself a very important view to the knowledge of human beings.