Is Multiculturalism Constructive?

This is the reality of the American melting pot, which I have experienced with very positive results. Not only did my family teach me racial tolerance as an American, but many people have also treated me with respect from differing racial and ethnic backgrounds. This is the politicization of my identity as an American, which has taught me the social values of tolerance in American society. More so, New York City is a very diverse place in which the immigrant can blend with other people fare more easily than in rural areas. In my early thirties, I continue to experience a much better life in the U.S. than I would have experienced living in the Dominican Republic.

Founded by colonists, settlers and pioneers, the United States can be defined as a land of immigrants. But public opinion on immigration has changed dramatically in the past decades. In the 1920s, the majority of these immigrants originate from Europe, while immigrants in the United States today include a large percentage of those coming from Asia and Latin America (Chow and Keating). Immigration issues made division in the general public, especially among politicians. The greatest controversial subject in the immigration issue is the subject of illegal immigration.

IMMIGRATION vs. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Immigration is a topic that has been at the center of debate for many decades. The majority of those residing in the United States today are immigrants. These immigrants are often classified within two categories; immigrants and illegal immigrants. An immigrant is a person who migrated to another country usually for permanent residence.

Functionalism Functionalism emphasizes how social structures maintain or undermine social stability in macrostructures (Brym,

The period of time after the Civil War and before World War I was a period of tremendous change in America. Although immigration is a major tenet of the United States, due to the changing economy, improvements in transportation, a shifting of the American people to the city, and deepening class divisions, industrialization was the most powerful force shaping the country between 1865 and 1914, followed by urbanization, and finally immigration. The most noticeable effects of industrialization are changes to the economy, alterations in the distribution of wealth, and the rise of organized labor. Overall, the growth of industry raised the standard of living for most people.

Looking at society as a whole with individual units that work together to make society function efficiently is the structural functionalism concept. Each unit has a part and is describe as institutions such as family, religion, education, politics, economy and inequality. Because structural functionalism looks at social structure and patterns of behavior it is able to create values for society. As well as, distinguish between visible and suppressed problems within the social structures that may need to be addressed. For instance, homelessness is indication of dysfunction in structural functionalism system.

For a long time I believed cultural assimilation plagued non-native cultures in America. Names became Americanized and people left their native languages at home. It is easy to see how anyone could feel pressure to blend and adapt. Being in a new country and having to learn new things all at once can be overwhelming. Upon reading “The Chinese in All of Us” by Richard Ramirez, I learned that the blending of cultures is not forced.

One of those perspectives is entitled the conflict perspective. The conflict perspective is focused primarily on conflict as an inevitable fact of social life and as the most important agent of social change. Conflict perspective can be looked at in many different forms including physical confrontations, exploitation, disagreements and direct competitions. Conflict theorists often ask questions like: who benefits from a particular social arrangement and at whose expense? These theorists also work to expose the facade of legitimacy which is an explanation that explains the existing social arrangement and downplays or dismisses that this particular arrangement advantages some and disadvantages others.

In other words, functionalists like Durkheim believed that for a society to survive, its various social processes must come together to meet the system’s needs. Functionalists implement Durkheim’s outlook of a unified social scheme with various elements having a function within

Oscar Paris 10/21/2015 Monoculture vs. Plural Culture The United States is a melting pot of different cultural backgrounds, each with its own unique traditions and characteristics. From the arrival of European colonists, importation of Africans by the slave trade, to the mass waves of immigrants during the 20th century, never has a country experienced so much diversity. This has led to a fundamental question within American society today, the question being that of monoculture versus plural culture, homogeneity versus dissimilarity. Personally, I would say that the mixing of different cultures is a good

this statement, it does not answer my question. The problem was not that the text on multicultural counseling failed to address me as an ‘ethnic’ minority or that my position was lost between the black and white, but rather, why we need to identify our selves on the basis of our ‘race’ or colour?. As I thought about my own childhood and origin, I realise that I was brought up with strong humanistic values, by both rational parents that were not ‘religious’. Although I am a Muslim and was brought up as one but with hen site I can see that I was brought up with a deeply developed conscious and inward teaching of Sufism which is the heart of Islam.

But, living in a multicultural city is by itself a very beneficial exercise not only on a personal level but also in terms of cultural exchange, economic exchange and generating new ideas. One experiences what is called cultural variety when living in a diverse area. He is somehow introduced to new kinds of foods, architectures, arts, music, festivals, religions, mythologies, writings and more of general day-to-day life. These new things would easily open one’s heart and mind to new places, new ideas and new people. According to (Wolfstone, 2010) nowadays all people around the world happily go out and eat Chinese food, use Japanese technology, drive German

Functionalism portrays how each part of a society contributes to a more stable society. Just like an organism rely on all the parts that makes it a cell. Every component has a vital function that depends on each other and without them working together the cell will die. Society works the same as every structure has a function that makes society work and move forward together. To understand this theory sociologist, use a few main foundations that are important for society: family, government, economy, media, education, and religion.

Multiculturalism is the co-existence of different cultures. It includes race, religion, gender, and beliefs, which describes the existence, acceptance, or promotion of multiple cultural tradition within a single jurisdiction. This happens when multiple groups of cultures existing within one society due to the influx of immigrants from different parts of the world in a community. Multiculturalism occurs when a society is willing to accept the culture of immigrants and the immigrants are willing to accept to accept the culture of the people to which they have come. According to Louis MacPherson, a writer and theatrical producer, Ignorance of our fellow man is, perhaps, the most important challenge facing humanity.

The definition of multiculturalism is when you have cultural diversity within a society. Many people assume that having a multicultural society is a great thing, and in most ways it is. However, with a multicultural society, some problems will occur. In this essay I will debate whether or not a multicultural society is a good thing, and will be pointing out advantages and disadvantages.