Chapter
1Natives and Newcomers
I.
AMERICAN IDENTITY:A key question
that I wish to ask all of you is this:
What
changes a person’s identity from foreign to American?Alejandro
Portes study in San Diego/S. Florida finds only 5.3% of 2nd
gen. identify as just Americans, although 85% prefer English.
A.
Impact of backlash, English-only movement, and discrimination.
Terms
describing transformation of a identity from foreign to American:
acculturation, assimilation, and integration. Also described as
a process of "melting," "merging," or "fusing."
II.The
three-generations process: stages to become "completely American:”
Excepting nonwhites, most specifically national aspects rarely survive
3rd gen.(Glazer and Moynihan 1964:313).
A.
First generation: unable or unwilling to give up certain elements
of their foreign culture
B.
Second generation: parents pass on origin country’s culture, yet
children will attend public schools and become fluent in English. They
may not learn or even reject some of their parents culture.
C.
3rd gen: tot. into mainstream; parents no pass much of origin country;
may rise to any pos.
III.
3 Non-European Instances in which 3-Generations Model Misses the Mark: Model
based on immigration from 1880 to 1924;some question whether applies to
new immigrants or non-Europeans.Portes
and Rumbaut (1990) note first-gen mayors, engineers, and scientists, and
even millionaires speaking broken English;at other extreme, for some illegal
entry prevents 1st step toward assimilation.
1.
Blacks:came
as bonded servants/slaves, not as immigrants seeking better way of life;
incorporated into bottom layer involuntarily;after more than 3 gen., most
not entered fully mainstream
2.
Am. Indians:
no enter as immigrants,but involuntarily by conquest/occupation ofterritory.
3.
Hispanics:
ancestors of some Mexican Americans brought involuntarily through conquest;
while most migrated;for most part,
have not completed process of inclusion in three generations.
IV.
Factors facilitating or inhibiting assimilation:What
factors affect whether, to what extent, and the rate at which the
members of a given group are included in American society?
A.
Voluntary Entrance: may
enhance efforts to learn English and other customs with goal of full inclusion.People
of conquest may resist, seeking to escape and return to origin country.
B.
Race: resistance of dominant group will be stronger in the case
of a racial minority (8)
C.
Size:rejection by dominant
group more where minority group is relatively large or has grown rapidly.
D.
Cultural Similarity: Another factor affecting the rate of inclusion
of a minority group in the United States is the
similarity between
the minority and the majority culture.
E.
Timing:earlier
arrival (more time here) increases chance of assimilation. Lieberson and
Waters found that among those describing ancestry as "American" in census
of 1980, 98 percent had at least 3 generations' residence in U.S. (1988:43).
Also important is possibility of finding work, for example during periods
of economic expansion when immigrants are welcomed. When unemployment is
high, there is fear that “they” are taking American jobs.