The Negative Connotations Of Assimilation

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

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.

Residential School are an aspect of Canadian history that will haunt our nation. Derived from the Anglican Church, Methodist Church, and Roman Catholic church’s desires to educate and convert the indigenous people of the land. (Miller, 2008) The churches thought that the indigenous people were savages and needed to be assimilated into their beliefs. (Hanson, n.d.) 30% of indigenous children were forced into Residential Schools, 6,000 died while in the care of these boarding schools. (Tasker, 2015). These institutions used methods of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse to sterilized these children such as piercing the tongues of children with needles who dare to speak their native language

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.

America is largely made up of immigrants, and thus it is referred to by many as an immigrant’s nation. The rise in immigrants of the first generation and those of second or third generation is changing the demographics of the United States each day. Duncan and Stephen observe that about “a quarter of U.S. residents are either first-generation immigrants or the second-generation children of immigrants” (109). Most of these immigrants move to the country with the aim of achieving the American dream through career success. We would like to believe that the nation follows through with its American ideology that immigrants are welcomed with open arms, and they will have economic opportunities. However, the process of integration and assimilation of these immigrants has for long been a common debate question. The immigration waves into the United States have occurred in several waves over the past years. In the earlier years, most of the immigrants were from Europe and their assimilation was rather smooth. But, the recent wave of immigrants groups prevalently from Asia and Latin America do not face similar acceptance and open arms as their predecessors.

“Big Trouble in Little China” starts with a white American character called Jack Burton, who delivers his cargo to a small town and during some free time plays card games in a Chinese market. After beating everyone at the game, he is proposed a bet by his friend Wang, and wins. Wang, not having enough cash to pay himself, convinced Jack to pick up his girlfriend Miao Yin at the airport, promising after which he would pay what he owed. Unexpectedly, a Chinatown gang called the Lords of Death abducts Miao, because of her green eyes. She becomes essential to being able to revive an ancient Chinese sorcerer Lo Pan and bring him back to the flesh. This marks the beginning of the

There was also another good things about the forced assimilation they could help each other in a more elaborate way than before. During WWII (World War II) Indian men and women served in a manner that they would be recognized by government leaders (Assimilation). Pointed out in the text 350,000 Native Americans lived in the USA in 1941, and 25,000 served in the armed forces (Assimilation). About 40,000 Native Americans worked in some sort of war related job (Assimilation). This involved permanent move to the cities and the will, to assimilate to white culture (Assimilation). Another difficulty that was help was that Mirabella was acting like a wolf and disturbing all of the other girls that where doing well with their rehabilitation (St. Lucy’s).

Native Americans were unable to resist invasion by the new United States because of overwhelming pressure from white officials and settlers therefor undercutting their society from maintaining independence and freedom. Disease, immigration, and forceful relocation would be the demise of both the populations and the spirits of the Native American tribes. White officials and new settling communities came in droves, some saw the Native American as either peaceful or logical, therefor capable of assimilation into the American populous; or they were seen as savages and hostiles capable of only bloody warfare and guerrilla tactics. Both images of the Native American residents were true, they tended to side with whoever they believed would help them keep their land during wars, for example the French in the French and Indian war, and the British in the American Revolution.

The primary source I located in The New Republic was titled, “The Task for Americans”. This primary source provides information about how Americans have to work with the immigrants to educate and help them readjust to our country. It also provides clarity on both parties role in the process of immigrants learning English.

I am in much agreement about the lasting effects of the assimilation of Native Americans. It was terrible. To identify precisely the true desires of the American government does not require a lot of speculation. There is evidence per the film, Indian School: Stories of Survival, that the government's policy was to "kill the Indian, save the man", essentially eradicating the Native culture from America (Givens, 2011). This policy is not only barbaric, its thoroughly inhumane. It was accomplished by disenfranchising the Native population by placing them on reservations, forcibly taking their children and enculturating them in American beliefs and customs, stifling the children's vital lessons in development from youth to adulthood,

The main idea of this article is to bring insight to the reader about how islam is being remolded by the youth Islamic community within America. To illustrate this revolution the author uses personal accounts from the Muslims she interviewed. One of the main elements portrayed in this article was the idea of Muslim assimilation in the modern western world. The millennials within the Muslim American community often still adhere to the basic tenants and values of their religion however they often follow the religion more loosely in order to blend the two diverse cultures. Another main point this article focused on was religious temperance to allow for a more progressive and flexible practice of the faith. Lastly this article focused on the increased acceptance and reduced judgement from family members and those who are

According to Pearson Custom Sociology, the term assimilation means the orderly adaptation of a migrating group to the ways and institutions of an established host group (Feagin, 2013). Assimilation is a process in which persons of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds come to interact, free of these constraints, in the life of the larger community. Wherever representatives of different racial and cultural groups live together, some individuals of subordinate status (whether they constitute a numerical minority) become assimilated. Complete assimilation would mean that no separate social structures based on racial or ethnic concepts remained (Gale, 2008). Mainstream is people, activities, or ideas that are part of the mainstream are regarded

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

Acculturation is the process of how a person or a group of people adapt into another culture by taking small pieces of that culture into their own culture. It is the idea of blend in with another culture, other than your own. For example, my family and relatives came to the United States for a little over 10 years now and some of the family members have assimilated into the American culture by beginning to celebrate the holidays, during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Further, we are remaining embedded in the ethnic of being Hmong. Many of us decided to come to America to obtain a better lifestyle, and the America society has greatly impact our life to assimilate into the American culture.