Sociological Perspectives Of Assimilation Essay

Several years ago, America was taught to be a 'melting pot,' a place where immigrants of different cultures or races form an integrated society, but now America is more of a 'salad bowl' where instead of forming an incorporated entity the people who make up the bowl are unwilling to unite as one. America started as an immigrant nation and has continued to be so. People all over the world come to America for several reasons. Most people come to America voluntarily, but very few come unwillingly. For whatever reasons they may have for coming they all have to face exposure to American society. When exposed to this 'new' society they choose whether to assimilate or not. Assimilation

In conclusion, in place of the "melting pot", American culture satisfies the term "mosaic". If true assimilation were to occur, immigrants would have to abandon all their cultural practices and act in accordance to one set American ways. But, immigrants do not completely give up their traditions and practices. Their identity remains unique because of their distinct

In order for assimilation to occur a minority group becomes an integrated part of the majority group; this assimilation results in non-distinguishing of one group from another by cultural characteristics. In order for this process to be complete, it must entail, not only an active effort by the minority group to shed all distinguishing actions and beliefs, and also complete unqualified acceptance of that individual by the dominant society.

It is expected that ultimately there will be a loss of ethnic distinctiveness for immigrants in the U.S., meaning the lack of attachment to the country of origin. (Golash-Boza, 2006) It is argued that all ethnic distinctiveness will no longer exist by the seventh or eighth generations. Before exploring the influence of foreign born vs. U.S. born parents on their children’s cultural assimilation; the different theories of assimilation will be explored. The idea of Assimilation came about in the early 20th century. (Golash-Boza, 2006) Assimilation is surrounded by two theories, the first that all immigrants will assimilate sooner or later and that the generational status of the individual is one of the main factors in determining the

The organizations that would take over other beings and cause them to lose their identity to become a slave to the larger organization. However, Assimilation often associated with a negative connotation with the loss of one’s identity or historical culture as part of an integration process with a new, larger cultural identity. This negative connotation therefore raises racial and cultural identity concerns at the mere mention of the term, which results in a loss of the positive connotations of assimilation and loss of the perspective that assimilation does not require the loss of individual identity. The people involved still retain their individual identities, hopes, dreams, interests, loves, and goals, but they also can function more successfully

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.

Assimilation is the manner in which people of a cultural group start to lose their individuality that makes them different from the more dominant culture, as they seek to fit in. America has been a melting pot of different cultures for centuries, whether it was by choice, forced or for a better life. History has proven that assimilation in America was not acceptable but that has changed over time.

Once the realization was made, the ethnic groups did not know at the time but the process of assimilation began. They started living in the same areas, working for one another, and figuring out their plan for the future. This allowed the different cultures to interact and mix, which is assimilation.

In American society, there are multiple cultures and races exist. Since immigrants bring the various cultures to America, Americans face a highly controversial problem. Some of the Americans believe all of the ethnic groups assimilate into a common culture can help Americans distinctly identify themselves. Others argue that ethnic groups should not abandon their cultural heritages background. As a result, merging different cultures into one new culture will cause America lose its cultural diversity which is one significant charm of this country. On the contrary, if every ethnic group only focuses on building their own community and resists communicate with others, it will aggravate the separation of a nation. Although people often argue about these two ways which one is more appropriate to Americans, I think Richard Rodriguez's idea is more realistic in nowadays American society. Rodriguez resists the idea of the melting pot, and believes that assimilation is inevitable and reciprocal. In the essay Does America Still Exist?, Rodriguez explains his thought to us through his experiences.

Assimilation patterns differ in societies that are characterized by paternalistic race relations than in societies characterized by competitive race relations. According to the lectures and readings, assimilation is defined as a process by which minority and majority groups are merged into some total societal unit. There are also three different type of assimilation which are Anglo (or dominant group) conformity, the Melting Pot, and cultural pluralism. Some additional concepts that go along with assimilation are acculturation where the minority adopts the dominant culture, amalgamation the biological blending of the groups, and the transmuting pot where the dominant group selects aspects of minority culture and modifies it to fit the

Assimilation is the forced action to adapt or adjust to the culture and values of another nation. This, in many cases throughout history, has been the result of a more powerful, majority group suffocating the minority. Conformity has been a very popular trait in the colonial Canadian society. By exercising this value over successive decades, European immigrants smothered much of the Indigenous culture.

Alejandro Portes and Min Zhou introduced the concept of segmented assimilation, which stressed a three-part path: assimilation for those with advantages in human capital, an ethnic disadvantage for some because of poverty and racialization, and the selective retention of ethnicity for yet others. Assessing present levels of assimilation among today's immigrant groups requires considering the possibility that the process itself may be changing. To ascertain this, we must first understand three major theories of immigrant and ethnic-group integration. The theories are the classic and new assimilation models, the racial/ethnic disadvantage model, and the segmented assimilation model. One of the general, classic assimilation theory sees immigrant/ethnic

The Structural-Functional theory argues that in order for race and ethnic relations to be functional and contribute to the conduct and stability of society, racial and ethnic minorities must assimilate into that society. Assimilation is a process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns of a dominant culture.

Acculturation is known as a cultural change and psychological change that results following meeting between cultures at multiple levels in both interacting cultures. It has also been referred to the changes in personal values, beliefs, behaviours, and ways of living that an immigrant or minority individual makes as a result of adapting to the mainstream cultural or behavioural norms (Berry, Kim, Minde, & Mok, 1987). Acculturation often results in changes to culture, customs, and social institutions. In this modern era, through technology and media, people have been constantly engaging online to learn and understand new cultures, norms and languages. Acculturation is more than simply learning the English language, but also understanding the history of a new country, navigating its idioms and understanding the concepts behind its holidays.

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