CHAPTER 2

ASSIMILATION AND PLURALISM

 

Overview

 

The concepts of assimilation and pluralism are traced from their theoretical roots (Park on assimilation, Kallen on pluralism) to the present, and Gordon’s model of assimilation, as presented in the early 1960s, is featured. This model forms a major part of what is called the “traditional” model of assimilation throughout the remainder of the text. Classroom experience has been that non-minority students readily accept this model as a representation of how assimilation has and should occur. Much of the text critiques this model-and thus challenges the assumptions of many students.

 

Pluralism is presented as a contrast to assimilation, which has increased in importance since the 1960s. Some reasons for this dynamic and some alternatives to “linear assimilation” are suggested. These will be further explored in future chapters.

 

Learning Goals

 

1.      Students will understand that assimilation and pluralism are broad pathways for intergroup relations.  They appear in multiple forms and occur simultaneously within a society. 

2.      Students will understand that assimilation may be segmented and have outcomes other than equality.  Additionally, they will understand how variations in assimilation are influenced by religion, class, and gender.

3.      Students will understand that white ethnicity may be fading in its importance for many people except as the basis for their criticism of other groups.

4.      Students will understand that pluralism has been a subject of interest in recent years.  Specifically, they will also differentiate between the different types of pluralism, including cultural, structural, integration without acculturation.

5.      Students will understand key concepts related to assimilation and pluralism including but not limited to:  melting pot, Anglo-conformity, social structure, culture, acculturation, integration, primary sector, secondary sector, soujourning, genocide, multiculturalism, enclave, middleman minority, ethnogenesis, separatism, and revolution.

6.      Students will understand several theoretical perspectives concerned with stratification, including theories by Park and Gordon.  They will also understand human capital theory explanations of stratification.

7.      Students will examine issues from a comparative perspective by learning about immigration and emigration in Ireland.

8.      Students will explore the debates about language diversity in the U.S. from two different perspectives. 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Outline

 

I.                    Chapter Overview

 

II.                 Assimilation

A.     Types of Assimilation- A process in which formerly distinct and separate groups come to share a common culture and merge socially.  Over time, differences between groups decrease.

1.      Melting Pot - When groups contribute fairly equally in the creating of a new, unique society.  Often thought of as the dominant form of assimilation in America. 

2.      However, U.S. assimilation has largely been a one-sided process of Anglo-conformity.

B.      The "Traditional" Perspective on Assimilation:  Theories and Concepts.

1.      Robert Park - intergroup relations go through a predictable set of phases called a "race relations cycle" that begins with conflict and competition but moves towards assimilation. 

2.      Milton Gordon - Broke down the process of assimilation into seven subprocesses.  Makes the distinction between cultural (e.g., language, beliefs) and structural (e.g., social relations, organizations) components.

a.       Cultural assimilation, or acculturation - Members of the minority group learn the culture of the dominant group.

b.      Structural assimilation, or integration - The minority group enters the social structure of the larger society.

c.       Marital assimilation, or intermarriage - Primary structural integration typically precedes this process.

3.      Human Capital Theory - Explains success achieved by an individual in terms of individual characteristics and abilities such as educational level and skills.

a.       Blau and Duncan's (1967) status attainment theory - High levels of affluence and occupational prestige are the result of superior education that makes affluence possible more so than being born into a privileged status.

C.  Assimilation Patterns.

1.      The Importance of Generations - It takes time to become completely Americanized. 

A.     First generation (immigrants) - Settled in ethnic neighborhoods and make limited movement toward acculturation and integration.  Focused energies on family and social relationships.

B.     Second generation (children of immigrants) - Psychologically or socially marginalized as part ethnic, part American.  Many experience conflict between school and home worlds which reflected different cultures.  Enjoyed wider choices and opportunities than their parents.

C.     Third generation (grandchildren of immigrants) - Usually born and raised in nonethnic settings. English is their first language.  Ethnicity is a minor part of their self-image.  Attain high levels of integration at secondary and primary levels.

2.       Immigration as a Collective Experience.

a.       Immigrants follow "chains" created and maintained by their members.

b.      Chains are held together by ties of kinship, language, religion, culture, and a sense of common peoplehood.

c.       Chains work such that one person from another country moves to the U.S.  They settle and send word home.  Someone else (usually a brother or other relative) from that place shows up at the home of the original immigrant who then provides the new person a place to sleep and other kinds of assistance.  The process continues with other new immigrants from the original location.

D.  Variations in Assimilation.

1.      Religion - A major differentiating factor in immigrant experiences.

a.       Kennedy (1944) found the immigrant generation chose marriage partners from a pool whose boundaries were marked not just by ethnicity, but also religion.  As children and grandchildren of immigrants married based on religion but less so by ethnicity.

b.      Herberg (1960) - Acculturation didn't affect all aspects of ethnicity equally.  European immigrants wee encouraged to learn English, for example, but not to change their religious beliefs.  Religion became a vehicle by which immigrants could convey their ethnicity. 

2. Social Class - A central feature of social structure that affected immigrants.

a.       Gordon (1964) argued that the U.S. in the 1960s had not three, but four melting pots, one for each of the major ethnic/religious groups and one for black Americans, which were subdivided by class.  Believed the intersection of religious/ethnic and social class boundaries or "ethclass" was the most significant structural unit in U.S. society.

b.      Social class affected structural integration.

3.      Gender - Experiences of women immigrants recorded less than were men's experiences.

a.       Many immigrant women came from patriarchal cultures and had less access than men to leadership roles, education, and good occupations.

b.      Men immigrants outnumbered women immigrants.

c.       Women immigrants' experiences varied depending on their country of origin. 

d.      Women also began the process or acculturation and integration.  For example, many Irish immigrants were young single women who came to the U.S. seeking jobs.

e.       The type and location of women's employment varied.  Irish women, for example, concentrated in domestic work and factories.  Italian women did tasks that could be done at home such a laundry and piecework.  Women's wages tended to be about half of what men earned.

4.      Motivation for Immigration.

a.       Some groups such as Eastern European Jews were committed to

Americanization as they came to the U.S. because of religious

prosecution.

b.      Sojourners or "birds of passage" were oriented toward the old

country and intended to return once they had earned enough capital to be successful in their homeland. 

III.               Pluralism - When groups maintain their individual identities and cultural/social

differences persist over time. 

A.     Types of Pluralism.

1.      Cultural pluralism - when groups have not acculturated and each maintains its own identity.

2.      Structural pluralism - when groups occupy different locations in the social structure although cultural differences are minimal. 

3.      Integration without acculturation - When a group has some material success but has not become Americanized.

a.       Enclave minority - when a group establishes its own neighborhood and relies on a set of interconnected business for economic survival.

b.      Middleman minority - when groups rely on small shops and retail firms that are dispersed throughout a large area rather than concentrated in a specific locale.

B.     Theoretical Perspectives on Pluralism.

1.      Kallen (1915) - argued that people should not have to surrender their culture and traditions to become full participants in American society.

2.      Glazer and Moynihan (1970) - Analyzed minority groups in New York City and found white ethnic groups retained a vital significance for their members despite massive acculturation over time.

3.      Greeley (1974) - One's sense of ethnicity varies from time to time.  Ethnogenesis is the process by which new minority groups are formed from combinations of a variety of traditions.

4.      Steinberg (1981) - Ethnic diversity and strength of group identification may be a result of group conflict over valued goods and services.

5.      Gallegher (2001) - Research supports Steinberg in that most white ethnic respondents said ethnicity was an important part of their identity. 

IV.              Other Group Goals

A.     Separatism - When the minority group severs all ties with the larger society.

B.     Revolution - When a minority group seeks to switch places with the dominant group and become the ruling elite.

C.     Forced Migration - When the dominant group expels the minority group from certain areas.

D.     Genocide - When the dominant group seeks to exterminate the minority group

V.                 Contemporary Immigrants:  Segmented Assimilation

A.     Segmented assimilation - A concept that reflects the assimilation patterns in the U.S. whereby different groups have different outcomes. 

VI.              Implications for Examining Dominant-Minority Relations

VII.            Current Debates:  Does Language Diversity Threaten National Unity

VIII.         Main Points of the Chapter

IX.              Further Reading and Internet Research

 

Classroom Activities and Suggestions for Discussion

 

1.      Try to recreate an early Ellis Island "experience" by assigning students to a particular ethnic background (e.g., Russia, Italian, Irish) or by having students draw lots for a particular ethnic category.  Have students investigate what life would have been like for such an immigrant before coming to this country. At the next class period, have students sit closely together with no room to stretch.  Give them a "citizenship test" by asking them questions about U.S. history and government (both past and present). Call on individual students to answer questions about their native country and their intentions in the United States.  You could assign some students to the role of "inspector" and have them check students' teeth, hair, and so on. Undesirable students should have their clothing marked with an X.   Have students reflect on and write about this experience, linking their thoughts to topics covered in the text.  Use these reflective writings as the basis for discussion.

 

2.      Have students use the Internet to investigate current immigration laws in the United States. Students might also read news articles and editorials that address immigration issues. What's the overall tone of what students read?  Do the articles seem "immigrant friendly"?  Does they assume anything about immigrants?  If so, what?  Could students make sense of what they found?  What are some of the barriers immigrants face, both structurally and culturally?

 

3.      Have students contrast the poems "A Broadway Pageant" by Walt Whitman and "Ungarded Gates" by Thomas Bailey Aldrich.  What differing ideas about ethnicity, race, immigration, assimilation do students see in these poems?  How do they feel about the different perspectives offered by the authors?  Do they hear similar ideas today?  You may also ask students to write a poem that reflects their feelings about these topics.  Then, discuss them as a class.

 

4.      Have students role play as if they were different theorists presented in the chapter.  For example, what would Gordon and Park say to one another about assimilation in the U.S. if they got together for dinner?  What would Glazer and Moynihan, Greeley, Gallegher, and Steinberg say to one another?  (NOTE:  If you are going to assign role playing activities, it's best to give your students some advance warning so they can prepare key ideas.)