Sociology case study
Following Gordon (see below), what is assimilation? Why is it important for the host society and 2) for the immigrant population?
For a case study, choose a family household that is within 2 generations of emigrating to the U.S. (i.e., the oldest members can be born here of immigrant parents).
Use interviews and observation to determine the extent of assimilation, paying attention to generational differences. Assess for major types or stages of assimilation:
a) cultural (including educational),
b) social (including residential), c
) identificational, and d) marital.
Because assimilation is a process that entails interrelated “stages”, it is imperative to address differences between generations.
Is there still meaningful ethnic persistence (i.e., partial assimilation) in regard to culture, social relationships, and marital choice? Does this slow or even oppose assimilation?
Is there evidence of a “new” ethnicity (e.g., Latinos, Desi, Chicano) that limits assimilation?
How typical is this family’s experience for the ethnic group in the city or metropolitan region? Note and explain any discrepancies.
With your case study in mind, is there political resistance to the group’s assimilation? Is the group assimilating in a position of inequality and subordination?
Read: Cornell and Hartman, Chapters 3 and 8.
Screen the 2001 PBS video “My American Girls: A Dominican Story” in this class every semester as a framework for the assimilation project. An in-depth look at the Ortiz family, who immigrated to Sunset Park, Brooklyn from the Dominican Republic. The film tells the story of assimilation as a generational process. It is specifically a process that differentiates and even divides generations within the family. Even within a generation, specifically the second generation daughters, there is variability according to individualized opportunity structures.