Voices of Diversity

by Sengstock, Mary C.; Javed, Arifa Kulsoom (CON); Berkley, Sonya (CON); Marshall, Brenda I. (CON)

• ISBN13: 9780387896656
• ISBN10: 0387896651
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-03-06
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Today's world involves increased contact among people from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, creating problems for many people. This book views diversity through the eyes of the children of diversity: the offspring of "mixed" marriages between different races, religions, or nationalities.

Table of Contents

Theoretical Foundations: An Analysis of the Place of Race, Culture, and Diversity in American Society
A Brief Review of American Views of Multi-culturalism	p. 3
Two Hundred Plus Years of American Multi-culturalism	p. 5
Who is NOT Part of Cultural Pluralism?	p. 7
The Dominant White Group as Part of the Ethnic Mix	p. 8
English Protestants	p. 8
Protestants from Other National Origins	p. 9
German Protestants	p. 9
Scotch and Scotch-Irish	p. 10
Scandinavians	p. 10
Lessons from the White Protestant Immigration Experience	p. 11
The Irish: The First "Really Different" White Immigrant Group	p. 12
More "Outsiders" Invading America's Shores	p. 14
Italian Immigrants	p. 14
The Polish	p. 16
Enter the Jews: The First White Americans Who Were Not Christian	p. 17
The Special Position Reserved for People of Color	p. 19
African-Americans: Special Targets of Extensive Prejudice and Discrimination	p. 19
Native Americans	p. 21
Hispanics	p. 22
Immigrants from Eastern and Southern Asian Countries	p. 23
Immigrants from the Middle East	p. 25
Conclusion	p. 25
American Multi-culturalism in the 21st Century	p. 27
The Resurgence of White Identity and Superiority	p. 28
Resistance to Immigration	p. 29
English Language Movement	p. 30
Resistance to Affirmative Action	p. 31
Reassertion of Christian Fundamentalism	p. 33
The Future of America as a Multi-cultural Society:
Is Assimilation Possible?	p. 36
Assimilation on the Micro-level	p. 39
Multi-cultural Families as a Micro-analysis of Assimilation	p. 40
Research on Persons from Mixed Racial Backgrounds	p. 43
Adding the Voices of Persons from Mixed Cultural Backgrounds	p. 47
A New Focus of Analysis: Multi-cultural Persons	p. 49
Data Analysis: Hearing the Voices of Persons From Culturally Diverse Families
Sources of Multi-culturalism in Families	p. 55
Methodology of the Study	p. 56
Yesterday's Multi-cultural Inequity as a Model for Today's Multi-racial Inequity	p. 57
Description of the Respondents	p. 59
Multi-racial Backgrounds	p. 60
Multi-religious Backgrounds	p. 60
Multi-nationality Backgrounds	p. 61
Other Routes to Multi-culturalism	p. 62
Continuing a Tradition of Multi-culturalism	p. 62
Summary	p. 63
Drawing Lessons from Multi-cultural Settings	p. 63
Comparing Multi-racialism and Multi-culturalism	p. 64
US Preoccupation with Skin Color	p. 64
The Observable Character of Physical Differences	p. 65
Greater Likelihood that Outsiders Insert Their Views into the Identification Process	p. 66
Possibility of "Hiding" is Absent	p. 68
Exclusion Rather Than Inclusion	p. 68
Persistence	p. 69
Individuals Cannot Escape Even When Alone	p. 70
Summary of the Impact of Physical Differences	p. 71
Growing Up Painful: Problems of Multi-cultural Socialization	p. 73
General Issues for All "Distinctively Different" Families	p. 75
Problems Which Stemmed from the Nature of a Lower Class, Immigrant Family	p. 75
Problems Which Stemmed from a Specific Ethnic Cultural Pattern in the Home	p. 78
Ethnic Language Usage	p. 78
Loud Ethnic Speech Patterns	p. 79
Ethnic Gender Differences were Painful	p. 79
The Oppressive Nature of Family Responsibilities	p. 81
Lack of Concern for the Children's Interests	p. 82
Distinctly Multi-cultural Problems	p. 84
Dealing with the Diversity of Cultures and People in the Family	p. 84
Identification Problems: Developing a Sense of Personal and Family Identity	p. 86
Dealing with the Perception of Nonacceptance of Multi-culturalism in the Larger Community	p. 89
Summary	p. 94
Developing an Identity Out of Multiple Options	p. 97
Sources of Identity and How They Are Employed	p. 97
Physical Characteristics as the Basis for a Sense of Identity	p. 98
Surname and Personal Identity	p. 99
Surname and the Importance of the Mother's Culture	p. 100
Personal Identity and Other Cultural Characteristics	p. 101
Inaccuracies in the Use of Simple Classifications	p. 102
Pressure to Accept Externally Defined Identities	p. 102
The Added Complication of Cultural Mixtures	p. 103
Importance of Recognition of the Multiple Dimensions of Culture	p. 103
Self-Identity: A Personal Choice or Socially Imposed?	p. 104
Observing the Respondents' Experiences	p. 105
The Simplest Choice: A Single Identity as Defined by One's Surroundings	p. 105
Developing a Single Identity Out of Mixed Options	p. 109
When Culture is a Taboo Topic	p. 112
Identifying as "Mixed"	p. 115
Summary: How People from Multi-cultural Families Define Themselves	p. 119
"It Takes a Village": Critical Role of the Social Environment on Identity Formation	p. 123
Placing Identity Formation in the Community Context	p. 124
Defining Community	p. 124
Community Role in Defining Relevant Dimensions of Multi-Culturalism	p. 125
Different Communities - Different Factors Prevail	p. 129
The Influence of Community on Identity Formation for Mixed Background Individuals	p. 130
Assuming or Forcing a Single Identification	p. 130
The Special Role of Ethnic and Racial Groups in "Claiming" Their Own Members	p. 133
Community Identification by External Appearances	p. 136
Lack of Recognition/Respect for Different Cultural Patterns	p. 140
Lack of Acceptance from Their Own Ethnic Communities	p. 142
Multi-Cultural Identity as Compared with Multi-Racial Identity	p. 145
Specific Issues Related to School Policies	p. 146
Conclusions	p. 150
Achieving Success in Multi-cultural Families	p. 153
Recalling the Role of the Community in Defining Multi-culturalism	p. 154
Identification and Relationship Problems: Ignoring the Self or Never Fitting In	p. 156
Successful Multi-cultural Families - What Did They Do?	p. 157
The Critical Role of Parents	p. 158
A Cafeteria Approach to Culture	p. 159
Successful Families Focus on the Relationships - Close Social Ties	p. 161
A New Cultural Pattern - Defining Cultural Differences as Unimportant	p. 163
Finding Similarities Within Differences	p. 165
Advantages and Assets of Growing up in a Multi-cultural Setting	p. 167
Continuing a Multi-cultural Tradition in a New Generation	p. 169
Recommendations to Another Generation	p. 169
Summary	p. 170
Lessons to be Learned From Multi-cultural Family Experiences	p. 171
Ability to Focus on the Shared Similarities	p. 171
The Importance of Distinguishing Between Important and Unimportant Differences	p. 172
The Value of a Supportive Social Setting	p. 172
Applying Our Knowledge: Incorporating Multi-Culturalism into Social Policies and Programs
Improving Personal Relations for Multi-cultural People	p. 181
Macro-issues - Societal Issues Which Multi-cultural Families Must Confront	p. 183
Summary	p. 184
Meso-level Issues - the Local Community's Impact	p. 185
For Parents and Families - How to Ease the Process of "Growing Up Mixed"	p. 186
General Issues Shared with Single Racial and Cultural Groups	p. 187
Specifically Multi-racial and Multi-cultural Issues	p. 189
Meso- and Macro-level Issues - Moving into the Larger Community	p. 191
Dealing with Issues Which Confront Multi-cultural and Multi-racial Children	p. 192
Multi-cultural Issues for Professionals	p. 197
Guidelines for Professionals Regarding Mixed Background People and Families	p. 198
Summary	p. 203
Incorporating Diversity at the Community Level - Example 1: Developing a School Program Which Encourages and Supports Racial and Ethnic Diversity	p. 207
About the "Diversity Program"	p. 207
What Made the Diversity Program a Resource for Multi-cultural Education?	p. 210
Data for Evaluation of the Diversity Program	p. 210
Diversity Program Teachers Describe Their Backgrounds and Their Program Activities	p. 211
Diversity Program Students Reveal Their Views on the Program	p. 215
Educators Look Back on the Diversity Program After Its Closure	p. 217
Summary and Conclusions	p. 218
Incorporating Diversity at the Community Level - Example 2: Mainstreaming Immigrant Children Through Coordinated Parallel Socialization Workshops	p. 221
Theoretical Background for the Parallel Socialization Workshops	p. 221
Description of the Setting for the Workshops	p. 222
Characteristics of Socialization with Immigrant Children	p. 223
Nature of the Workshops and How They Were Conducted	p. 225
Parallel Socialization as the Basis of Successful Acculturation	p. 226
Describing the Workshops	p. 228
Applied Strategies of Two-Way Communication	p. 229
Results of the Needs Assessment - Case Analysis and Sample Lists of Concerns	p. 230
Parents' Perspective	p. 230
Teachers' Perspective	p. 231
The Children's Perspective	p. 232
The Workshops	p. 233
Parent Workshops	p. 233
Teacher Workshops: Sensitivity and Diversity Training for Teachers	p. 234
Teen Workshops: Teen Challenges and Conflicts in a Diverse Society	p. 235
Communication Strategy of the Workshops	p. 236
Major Hurdles for the Acculturation Program and Two-Way Communication	p. 236
Summary and Conclusions	p. 237
Models of Multi-culturalism in an International Context	p. 239
Multi-culturalism - The Case of the USA	p. 240
Multi-culturalism - The US Model	p. 242
Monoculturalism in America	p. 242
The Shift to Assimilation	p. 243
Rise of the "Melting Pot"	p. 244
Multi-culturalism	p. 244
State Sponsored Multi-culturalism: The Case of Canada	p. 245
Brief History	p. 245
Diverse Population	p. 246
Multi-culturalism - The Canadian Model	p. 247
Mononationalism	p. 247
Assimilation	p. 248
Official Multi-culturalism	p. 248
Australia - A Multi-racial Empire?	p. 252
Brief History	p. 252
Multi-culturalism - the Australian Model	p. 253
Assimilation	p. 253
Integration	p. 254
Multi-culturalism	p. 254
France and Multi-culturalism	p. 257
Brief History	p. 257
Diverse Population	p. 258
Multi-culturalism in France	p. 260
Monoculturalism	p. 260
Selective Immigration and Integration	p. 260
Concerns about Assimilation	p. 261
Discrimination and Rejection of Individual and Group Rights	p. 261
Multi-culturalism in Trinidad and Tobago	p. 262
Brief History	p. 262
Kaleidoscopic Population	p. 265
Trinidad's Search for a National Culture	p. 267
National Identity	p. 267
Multi-culturalism	p. 269
Summary of International Multi-culturalism	p. 271
An Overall Review	p. 273
Epilogue	p. 275
Outline of Questions for Interview	p. 279
Description of Sample Respondents	p. 281
Definition of Terms	p. 285
Advice for Parents and Families Which Include Diverse Racial and Cultural Origins	p. 289
Advice for Professionals: Approaches to Individuals and Families From Diverse Backgrounds	p. 291
Bibliography	p. 293
Index	p. 309
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