In class the other day, my students debated the idea of cultural distinctions based on ethnicity that may lead to deviant behavior in some groups. If you would like to respond, please feel free to do so.
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April 4, 2007 at 4:42 pm |
I think that our American population is becoming, for the most part, more and more homogonized. Ethnic and racial boundaries are becoming less and less distinct as people of all such classes intermarry and/or have children with people from other ethnic and racial groups than their own. Even recent immigrants become immeshed with members of more dominant groups much more quickly than they did in the past, if I’m correct.
I think this can lead to a certain amount of desire for people to hold on to or take pride in many aspects of their racial and ethnic heritages, stereotypical, deviant, or not, in an attempt to hold on to something that makes them unique within this great melting pot.
A class titled “Immigration History and Culture” would be interesting. . . there isn’t such a class at TCC, is there?
April 4, 2007 at 5:05 pm |
Lori,
I’m teaching such a course. It’s called the History and Culture of Immigrant Groups and it’s meeting onground this semester. It’s also slated as an online course this summer beginning in late May.
April 4, 2007 at 9:09 pm |
Dear Lori,
Athough I do agree with you on the part that suggests cultures in the United States are coming closer and overlapping more than they did in the past, ‘homogenity’ would be an exaggeration of such a phenomenon. Infact, American population can never be homogeneous. People have started appreciating and exploring diverse cultures but this interaction leads to more like a bowl of garden salad than even tomato paste.
I wonder what is the reason behind this change in people’s thinking; tolerance towards the minor and diverse groups, and healthy interaction between cultures. Just 25 years ago, my aunt moved to the States, and she had a number of unpleasant experiences on virtue of her ethnicity. On the whole, these have left her bitter towards ‘white’ people. On the other hand, since my arrival two years ago, I have been showered by generosity from Americans. With a couple of exceptions, I have have found them very friendly and encouraging. My cousins hated to take Indian food for lunch to school for the fear having made fun of by other kids. Today, my friends ask me to invite them over to my home for Indian dinner.
To conclude, I would just say that America today is a global village. In any case, however close the cultures come to each other here, there will never be complete homogeneity in the American population and I am comforted by this fact because homogeneity is boring and unspicy.
April 5, 2007 at 12:08 am |
Lori and Charlotte,
Many immigrant cultures have achieved a level of upward mobility in the United States through their culinary practices. There has been a proliferation of Indian restaurants in the United States in the last 15 to 20 years and that might help to explain the changed attitude that Charlotte has witnessed. The same phenomenon has occurred with the Latino and Asian populations of America. And yes the salad bowl metaphor is an apt one and the idea of a melting pot, while holding some truth, is always incomplete.
Regarding Lori’s point that there is a certain amount of desire for people to hold onto their culture whether deviant or not, I’m not sure I agree with that. Deviance among groups oftentimes hurts people within a particular ethnic group. For example, some groups have higher illegitimacy rates than others and it may be the single most important reason why its members do not achieve sucees, however defines, in the United States.
April 8, 2007 at 3:17 am |
As a person of mixed race I can understand all of your points. It is very important to hold on to your CULTURE. But I have quite the issue with many of my family members, primarily the hispanic ones. I was born in Hartford, am half white. AMERICAN IS MY CULTURE… So they call me cracker and white girl because I speak well, never answer in spanish and encourage them to teach all of their children English first as I believe English is an extraordinarily hard language to master second. I cook latino food, love my family, but lets face my reality. MY CULTURE involves apple pie, baseball, summer picnics and fourth of July Fireworks. Perhaps there would be a bit less conflict if maybe we embraced the culture of the country our families have CHOSEN to come to (of course with the exception of Afro-Americans). holding on and celebrating heritage is a great thing, but where is the appreciation for the culture we are raised in?