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Assimilation and its discontents: between rhetoric and reality
The International Migration Review
|January 1, 1997
Summary
This study challenges the linear view of immigrant assimilation in the US. By examining paradoxical cases, it reveals complexities and suggests areas for theoretical refinement in understanding immigrant outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Immigration Studies
- Social Theory
Background:
- The dominant conception of immigrant assimilation in the United States posits a linear process.
- This linear model suggests gradual improvements in immigrant outcomes over time and across generations.
- However, paradoxical findings challenge this straightforward progression, indicating 'assimilation's discontents'.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically test the linear conception of assimilation.
- To identify and analyze paradoxical cases that contradict orthodox expectations of immigrant outcomes.
- To unmask ethnocentric assumptions and refine theoretical frameworks regarding immigrant integration.
Main Methods:
- Focus on paradoxes as critical instances that reveal limitations in existing theories.
- Utilizing deviant case analysis to scrutinize contradictory evidence.
- Empirical testing of the assimilation model through paradoxical case examination.
Main Results:
- Paradoxical cases emerge at the intersection of theory, rhetoric, and reality.
- Evidence contradicts the expectation of a simple, linear improvement in immigrant outcomes.
- Deviant cases highlight the need for conceptual and theoretical advancements.
Conclusions:
- Assimilation is not a universally linear process leading to predictable improvements.
- Examination of paradoxes is crucial for stimulating theoretical reformulation in immigration studies.
- Further conceptual and analytical refinement is necessary to understand the complexities of immigrant experiences.
Keywords:
AcculturationAmericasCultural BackgroundDemographic FactorsDemographyDeveloped CountriesEconomic FactorsEthnic GroupsFamily And HouseholdFamily CharacteristicsGenerationsInternational MigrationMigrationNorth AmericaNorthern AmericaPopulationPopulation CharacteristicsPopulation DynamicsPopulation TheorySocial ChangeSocial ClassSocial MobilitySocial SciencesSocioeconomic FactorsSocioeconomic StatusUnited StatesMore Related Videos
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