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Encyclopedia > Assimilation (sociology)
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In the social sciences, assimilation is the process of integration whereby immigrants, or other minority groups, are "absorbed" into a generally larger community. This presumes a loss of all characteristics which make the newcomers different. A region where assimilation is occurring is sometimes referred to as a "melting pot". Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3000x3002, 6358 KB) The Blue Marble: This photo is of Africa, Antarctica, and the Arabian Peninsula as taken en route to the Moon by Apollo 17s Harrison Schmitt on December 7, 1972. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. ... The definition of a minority group can vary, depending on specific context, but generally refers to either a sub-group that does not form either a majority or a plurality of the total population, or a group that, while not necessarily a numerical minority, is disadvantaged or otherwise has less... Alternate meaning: crucible (science) The melting pot is a metaphor for the way in which heterogenous societies develop, in which the ingredients in the pot (iron, tin; people of different backgrounds and religions, etc. ...


Assimilation can be voluntary, which is usually the case with immigrants, or forced upon a group, as is usually the case with the receiving "host" group. Immigration, as held by some, is generally thought to be in the interest of the politically and economically powerful elites and not in the interest of the weak. This integration, or "making many into one", is one of the goals of affirmative action. Where national groups are strongly urged to assimilate, there is often much resistance in spite of the use of governmental force. Integration may be any of the following: In the most general sense, integration may be any bringing together of things: the integration of two or more economies, cultures, religions (usually called syncretism), etc. ... Affirmative action (U.S. English), or positive discrimination (British English), is a policy or a program providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against, with the aim of creating a more egalitarian society. ...


Long before affirmative action appeared, American Indians were being forced to either assimilate or perish. Stronger settlers from Europe made assimilation a requirement for survival. Most Indian tribes perished because they could not assimilate or adjust to the practices of the stronger people who overwhelmed them. Basically, affirmative action is a piddling thing of little importance. Affirmative action (U.S. English), or positive discrimination (British English), is a policy or a program providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against, with the aim of creating a more egalitarian society. ... World map showing location of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Affirmative action (U.S. English), or positive discrimination (British English), is a policy or a program providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against, with the aim of creating a more egalitarian society. ...

Contents


Immigration

Socially pressured to adapt, the immigrant is generally the one who takes the steps to integrate the new environment he is in. Learning the language of the country or region, making new friends, new contacts, finding a job or going to school is all that is needed. The adaptation is made more difficult when the immigrant does not speak the language of his or her new home. Host, or "majority", cultures adapt by accepting newcomers as their own, and often giving them preferential treatment over themselves. Many times large scale immigration causes political unrest in societies which permit meaningful elections.


Minority cultures

Assimilation can have negative implications for national minorities or aboriginal cultures, in that after assimilation the distinctive features of the original culture will be minimized and may disappear altogether. This is especially true in situations where the institutions of the dominant culture initiate programs to assimilate or integrate minority cultures. The assumption of integration, the making into one society, lies behind efforts for affirmative action. Affirmative action (U.S. English), or positive discrimination (British English), is a policy or a program providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against, with the aim of creating a more egalitarian society. ...


Assimilation is or has been the official language policy of many countries around the world, for better or for worse. Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. ...


Religious assimilation

Assimilation also refers to the secularization of religious members of a group, especially Judaism. Until the mid-19th century, most Jews were forced to live in small towns and were restricted from entering universities or high-level professions. The only way to get ahead in the host culture was to abandon their identification with co-religionists and become "assimilated Jews." Well-known assimilated Jews of this period include Moses Mendelssohn, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud, all of whom rose to prominence because of their dissociation with Orthodox Judaism. In the 20th century, rampant assimilation in the form of Jewish-Christian intermarriage decimated the ranks of Orthodox Judaism even further. Jewish law (Halakha) does not recognize children of non-Jewish mothers as Jewish, and further, the children of intermarriage are not raised with a strong Jewish identity and tend to intermarry themselves. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Moses Mendelssohn. ... Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 Trier, Germany – March 14, 1883 London, UK) was an influential German philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary organizer of the International Workingmens Association, two of whose books in particular, Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto (the latter with Friedrich Engels), laid the... Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939) was an Austrian psychiatrist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, a movement that popularized the theory that unconscious motives control much behavior. ... Orthodox Judaism formed in reaction to the creation of the Reform Movement of Judaism. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Intermarriage normally refers to marriage to a person belonging to a different religion, tribe, nationality or ethnic background. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ...


See also

Pocahontas, in England, as Mrs John Rolfe, 1616: engraving after Simon Van de Passe Acculturation is the obtainment of culture by an individual or a group of people. ... Hegemony is the dominance of one group over other groups, with or without the threat of force, to the extent that, for instance, the dominant party can dictate the terms of trade to its advantage; more broadly, cultural perspectives become skewed to favor the dominant group. ... This article is about the political term. ... Polonization (in Polish: polonizacja) is the assumption, voluntary or involuntary, complete or partial, of the Polish language or another real or supposed Polish attribute. ... Sinicization, or less commonly Sinification, is to make things Chinese. ...

External links

  • Asian-Nation: Asian American Assimilation & Ethnic Identity

  Results from FactBites:
 
Cultural assimilation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (794 words)
Cultural assimilation, or 'assimilation' for short (but that word also had other meanings), is an intense process of consistent integration whereby members of an ethno-cultural group, typically immigrants, or other minority groups, are "absorbed" into an established, generally larger community.
Assimilation may be voluntary, which is usually the case with immigrants, or forced upon a group, as is usually the case with the receiving "host" group or country.
Assimilation can have negative implications for national minorities or aboriginal cultures, in that after assimilation the distinctive features of the original culture will be minimized and may disappear altogether.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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