Just a little walk in the city of New York or Chicago, for
example,
would make any foreigner realize the presence of people of various
races
walking down the street: probably Caucasians, blacks, Hispanics,
African
Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and so on. Or for another example, on
school
campuses in America, both the faculty and the student body are usually
composed
of people from a number of countries rather than only one. Almost
anywhere in
America, the possibility is encountering a mix of people. Thus, America
is a
land of plural races and ethnicities, with a multicultural context.
Indeed, the variety of ethnicities in America is often claimed
to be the
best mix in the world. Leonard Dinnerstein and David M. Reimers
introduce their
book, Ethnic Americans: A History of Immigration and Assimilation,
by
stating, “Never before – and in no other country – have as many varied
ethnic
groups congregated and amalgamated as they have in the United States” . With
such reputation, here is exactly where the famous term “melting pot”
arises.
This conception has traditionally been perceived as the best expression
to
describe the multi-ethnicity of America. Its basic idea presents the
whole
nation as one large pot. Anyone who enters the United States is
automatically
thrown into this “pot” where, for the following years, a process of
assimilation into the American belief systems is taken place. All
the cultural
aspects that one brings into are blended together, or melted, to form a
new
culture. The outcome of this massive procedure is the “melted” version
of a
culture, which is described as characteristically “American.” It is
notable
that in this assimilation, the identities of each original culture are
extinguished to bring out a complete new mixture.
Along
with this perspective, however, there is another expression
that describes the diversity of people in America. It tends to be
interpreted
in the same way as the “melting pot,” but actually has a slightly
different
meaning with a different way of approaching and explaining American
society. In
comparison with the “melting pot” theory, there is the “salad bowl”
theory.
This idea demonstrates a complete separate perspective that the
newcomers bring
different cultures, where each of these cultures is kept as an
essential part
to make up the whole. Every distinctive culture or belief is considered
to be
one of the tastes or ingredients that contributes in forming the whole;
therefore its original shape and characteristics are maintained.
Whether to apply the term “melting pot” or the term “salad bowl”
to the
American multiethnic conditions brings about a large discussion and
controversy. In a way, both serve as an effective and successful
metaphor,
despite their slight difference. Anyone who is accustomed to an
extremely
homogeneous society would be simply astonished after recognizing many
faces
with different physical features in America, and might praise the
country by
employing those two terms in topic. The ideas of the “melting pot” and
the “salad
bowl” in America both connote somewhat of an ideal to many people and
are often
admired. Having a close look at the reality of the country, such as the
existing ethnic segregation, the fact of the white population fleeing
away from
the minority poverty, and the trend of the minority group forming an
enclave,
however, one can see that the “melting pot” theory is merely a myth,
and
despite its long fame, it is rather more suitable to label America as a
“salad
bowl.”
——————————-
Read the full story http://cc.kzoo.edu/~k03hk01/melting_pot_or_salad_bowl.html
For more information:
Booth,
William. “One
Nation, Indivisible: Is It History?” Washington Post 22 Feb.
1998. 12
Nov. 2003
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/meltingpot/melt0222.htm>
Camarota,
Steven A. “Immigrants in the United
States – 2000.” Spectrum 74(2): 1-5.
Chock,
Phyllis Pease. “The Landscape of
Enchantment: Redaction in a Theory of Ethnicity.” Cultural
Anthropology
4(2): 163-181.
Dinnerstein,
Leonard and David M. Reimers. Ethnic
Americans: A History of Immigration and Assimilation. New York:
Dodd, Mead
& Company, 1975.
Glazer,
Nathan. “American Diversity and the 2000
Census.” Public Interest 144(Summer 2001): 3-18.
Glazer,
Nathan and Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Beyond
the Melting Pot, Second Edition. Cambridge, London: The M.I.T.
Press, 1970.
Harrigan
John J. and Ronald K. Vogel. Political
Change in the Metropolis. New York: Longman, 2003.
Moffat,
Michael. “The Discourse of The Dorm:
Race, Friendship, and “Culture” among College Youth.” Symbolizing
America.
Ed. Herve Verrene. Nebraska: University of
Nebraska Press, 1986.
Morganthau,
Tom. “America: Still a Melting Pot?”
Newsweek 9 Aug. 2003: 16-25.
Robinson,
Linda. “America’s New Melting Pot.” U.S.
News & World Report 120(29 Apr. 1996): 30-35.
Rosaldo,
Renato. “Cultural Citizenship and
Educational Democracy.” Cultural Anthropology 9(3): 402-411.
Singer,
Milton. “The Melting Pot: Symbolic
Ritual or Total Social Fact?” Symbolizing America. Ed. Herve
Verrene.
Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1986.
Spiro,
Melford. “The Acculturation of American
Ethnic Groups.” American Anthropologist 57(6): 1240-1252.
“Stirring
the Melting Pot.” U.S. News &
World Report 119(11 September 1995): 8.
“The
Melting Pot Survives.” The Economist
352(3 Jul. 1999): 24.
White,
Shane. “A Question of Style: Blacks in
and around New York City in the Late 18th Century.” The Journal of
American
Folklore 102(403): 23-44.
