Category Archives: Week 3

Assimilation into American society has often been defined as becoming more “white”. Many ethnic groups were encouraged to leave behind their culture or religion to become American – ironically; they were often leaving their country in order to escape persecution … Continue reading →

Eating is the universal pastime. When we celebrate a birthday, cake is a key feature of a party. When we watch a movie, munching on popcorn and candy is almost a necessity. At the holidays, people gather together for traditional … Continue reading →

Last week I read the Gordon and Gerstle pieces alongside an essay called “Black Message/White Envelope: Genre, Authenticity, and Authority in the Antebellum Slave Narrative” by John Sekora. The latter argues that the slave narrative cannot be included in the … Continue reading →

After reading Gerstle’s Liberty, Coercion, and the Makings of Americans and looking at 19ths and 20th century assimilation political cartoons, I wondered to myself, are the efforts to “become American” worth it? In the cartoons, we see Americans dehumanizing African … Continue reading →

Gordon accepts the definition of acculturation as “those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent changes in the original cultural patterns of either or both groups.” While this statement suggests … Continue reading →

I believe television makes social issues more graphically visible to Americans, especially race relations. Beginning in the 1960’s, tolerance of racial integration became a popular theme in film, television programming and network news. The prevalent cultural narrative of racial tolerance … Continue reading →

I can’t think of a time when I myself have been pressured to act more American but I have definitely seen it in my classmates and friends. I attended an elementary school in Kensington with a large population of Middle … Continue reading →

The current state of assimilation or coercive assimilation, as it is referred to in this week’s readings, is rather strange.  It would seem that because we have become more aware of these pressures that we are trying too hard to … Continue reading →

Much of America’s past shows examples of either immigrants not being freely accepted, or the indirect pressure to assimilate into the ‘typical America.’ The white male was seen as the superior being, and appeared to live an easier life. The … Continue reading →

I have never felt coercive pressure from my peers to behave in a more American, or Anglo way. N one ever threatened me or purposefully incentivized me to act more American. Yet from the perspective and words of my Asian … Continue reading →