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Maps out the different cultural identities that have emerged in the New World and also deals with related questions and problems that have arisen.
Maps out the different cultural identities that have emerged in the New World and also deals with related questions and problems that have arisen.
The civil rights movement and immigration reform transformed American politics in the mid-1960s. Demographic diversity and identity politics raised the challenge of e pluribus unum anew, and multiculturalism emerged as a new ideological response to this dilemma. This book uses national public opinion data and public opinion data from Los Angeles to compare ethnic differences in patriotism and ethnic identity and ethnic differences in support for multicultural norms and group-conscious policies. The authors find evidence of strong patriotism among all groups and the classic pattern of assimilation among the new wave of immigrants. They argue that there is a consensus in rejecting harder forms of multiculturalism that insist on group rights but also a widespread acceptance of softer forms that are tolerant of cultural differences and do not challenge norms, such as by insisting on the primacy of English.
American political observers express increasing concern about affective polarization, i.e., partisans' resentment toward political opponents. We advance debates about America's partisan divisions by comparing affective polarization in the US over the past 25 years with affective polarization in 19 other western publics. We conclude that American affective polarization is not extreme in comparative perspective, although Americans' dislike of partisan opponents has increased more rapidly since the mid-1990s than in most other Western publics. We then show that affective polarization is more intense when unemployment and inequality are high; when political elites clash over cultural issues such as immigration and national identity; and in countries with majoritarian electoral institutions. Our findings situate American partisan resentment and hostility in comparative perspective, and illuminate correlates of affective polarization that are difficult to detect when examining the American case in isolation.
Why are Americans' identity narratives important for national security? This thesis utilizes a qualitative approach to analyze American identity narratives in U.S. history and contemporary society. The historic disagreement over the distribution of the fundamental American value of liberty makes the possibility of a cohesive national identity challenging. Given the effects of globalization, advances in technology, and changes in traditional demographic and sociocultural trends, any form of a national-level, narrative-based identity is not a feasible means to unify Americans. Leaders must make domestic policy decisions that increase inclusiveness in American society and avoid valuing one identity over another. Policymakers must depart from divisive identity policies in favor of those that unify Americans. Any attempt to shape the existing conflict in terms of identity is contrary to a cohesive society and, more importantly, threatens national security. This research led to two policy recommendations. First, the United States must encourage separable identities and emphasize citizens as individuals rather than groups. Second, policymakers must promote "cross-cutting ties," since much of the division in the United States stems from the isolation from one another that many citizens experience. Revamped civic education and national service programs can serve to form those cross-cutting ties. I. INTRODUCTION * A. INTRODUCTION * B. WHY IDENTITY MATTERS * C. HOW AMERICANS DEFINE IDENTITY * D. RESEARCH APPROACH * E. THESIS ROADMAP * II. THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN IDENTITY * A. AMERICAN IDENTITY IN HISTORY: A COMPLEX TALE * B. THE IDENTITY DEBATE: A CRACK IN THE LIBERTY BELL * C. KEY MOMENTS IN THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN IDENTITY * 1. The Revolution * 2. The Civil War * 3. Women's Suffrage * 4. The Civil Rights Movement * D. CONCLUSION * III. AMERICA'S IDENTITY DYSPHORIA * A. GLOBALIZATION'S INFLUENCE * B. THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES * C. AMERICA'S PLACE IN THE WORLD * D. OTHER INFLUENCERS OF NATIONAL IDENTITY * 1. Nationalism * 2. Public Opinion * 3. Ethnicity * 4. Religion * 5. Class * 6. Political Division * 7. Culture Wars * 8. Identity Politics * E. CONCLUSION * IV. IDENTITY IN ROME AND THE U.S.S.R. * A. ROMAN IDENTITY * B. SOVIET IDENTITY * C. SUMMARY * V. THE WAY AHEAD * A. A COMMON PURPOSE: E PLURIBUS UNUM * B. THREE OBSTACLES TO UNITY * 1. Obstacle # 1: Assimilation and Acculturation * 2. Obstacle # 2: Subnational Identities * 3. Obstacle # 3: Subgroup Suppression * C. ONE SOLUTION: ONE NATIONAL IDENTITY-MANY INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES * D. HOW TO GET THERE: PATRIOTIC BUILDING BLOCKS * 1. Civic Education * 2. National Service * VI. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS * A. TAKEAWAYS * B. AREAS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH * LIST OF REFERENCES * INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST
Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,7, University of Frankfurt (Main), language: English, abstract: This paper focuses on what it means to be an American and if it is possible for people and immigrants with different cultural backgrounds to acquire an American Identity. In want to find out if the American exceptionalism and its three dimensions give an impression of what it means to gain an American identity. Obviously, being American means to share the same values, but it is not clear if it means to also share the same citizenship. I take a close look at the idea of multiculturalism that challenges the current ideological solutions for equality and diversity in the United States, trying to answer the question whether multiculturalism is or is not a threat to the idea of an American Identity. The meaning and consequences of national identification have long been the subject of debate among philosophers, historian, and social scientist. The identification with the American country through national attachment, pride, and loyalty is self-evident for many Americans. A national identity shared by fellow citizen creates a sense of unity and a bond of solidarity. The question of what defines an identity or the American identity, to be specific, is not clarified. What is clear, however, is the important and vast difference between a patriot, who feels a sense of pride and love for his country, while the nationalist views his country as superior with a desire to dominate other countries. However, both are bond by their trust for the American values. Freedom, Truth, Justice and the American way of life.
The effects of colonization on the Indigenous peoples of the Américas over the past 500 years have varied greatly. So too have the forms of resistance, resilience, and sovereignty. In the face of these differences, the contributors to this volume contend that understanding the commonalities in these Indigenous experiences will strengthen resistance to colonial forces still at play. This volume marks a critical moment in bringing together transnational and interdisciplinary scholarship to articulate new ways of pursuing critical Indigenous studies. Comparative Indigeneities of the Américas highlights intersecting themes such as indigenísmo, mestizaje, migration, displacement, autonomy, sovereignty, borders, spirituality, and healing that have historically shaped the experiences of Native peoples across the Américas. In doing so, it promotes a broader understanding of the relationships between Native communities in the United States and Canada and those in Latin America and the Caribbean and invites a hemispheric understanding of the relationships between Native and mestiza/o peoples. Through path-breaking approaches to transnational, multidisciplinary scholarship and theory, the chapters in this volume advance understandings of indigeneity in the Américas and lay a strong foundation for further research. This book will appeal to scholars and students in the fields of anthropology, literary and cultural studies, history, Native American and Indigenous studies, women and gender studies, Chicana/o studies, and critical ethnic studies. Ultimately, this deeply informative and empowering book demonstrates the various ways that Indigenous and mestiza/o peoples resist state and imperial attempts to erase, repress, circumscribe, and assimilate them.
Asian American Education--Asian American Identities, Racial Issues, and Languages presents groundbreaking research that critically challenges the invisibility, stereotyping, and common misunderstandings of Asian Americans by disrupting "customary" discourse and disputing "familiar" knowledge. The chapters in this anthology provide rich, detailed evidence and interpretations of the status and experiences of Asian American students, teachers, and programs in K-12 and higher education, including struggles with racism and other race-related issues. This material is authored by nationally-prominent scholars as well as highly-regarded emerging researchers. As a whole, this volume contributes to the deconstruction of the image of Asian Americans as a model minority and at the same time reconstructs theories to explain their diverse educational experiences. It also draws attention to the cultural and especially structural challenges Asian Americans face when trying to make institutional changes. This book will be of great interest to researchers, teachers, students, and other practitioners and policymakers concerned with the education of Asian Americans as well as other peoples of color.
A social history of Central America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean that illustrates the importance of workers' actions in shaping national history.
"I listen and gather people's stories. Then I write them down in a way that I hope will communicate something to others, so that seeing these stories will give readers something of value. I tell myself that this isn't going to be done unless I do it, just because of who I am. It's a way of making my mark, leaving something behind . . . not that I'm planning on going anywhere right now." So explains Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu in this touching, introspective, and insightful examination of mixed race Asian American experiences. The son of an Irish American father and Japanese mother, Murphy-Shigematsu uses his personal journey of identity exploration and discovery of his diverse roots to illuminate the journeys of others. Throughout the book, his reflections are interspersed among portraits of persons of biracial and mixed ethnicity and accounts of their efforts to answer a seemingly simple question: Who am I? Here we meet Norma, raised in postwar Japan, the daughter of a Japanese woman and an American serviceman, who struggled to make sense of her ethnic heritage and national belonging. Wei Ming, born in Australia and raised in the San Francisco of the 1970s and 1980s, grapples as well with issues of identity, in her case both ethnic and sexual. We also encounter Rudy, a "Mexipino"; Marshall, a "Jewish, adopted Korean"; Mitzi, a "Blackinawan"; and other extraordinary people who find how connecting to all parts of themselves also connects them to others. With its attention on people who have been regarded as "half" this or "half" that throughout their lives, these stories make vivid the process of becoming whole.