Monthly Archives: February 2017

Gordon says that “the problems of proper housing and living, moral and sanitary conditions, honest and decent government, and proper education have everywhere been made more difficult by their presence. Everywhere these people tend to settle in groups or settlements, … Continue reading →

As a seventh-grade student, I went to school with students who were predominantly like me: children of immigrants. Thus, following celebrating the Islamic holiday Eid, I went to school indifferent to the curved, colorful henna design decorating my hands; in … Continue reading →

The description of “Jewtown” in the Lower East Side by Jacob Riis’ in How the Other Half Lives is noteworthy in that it both movingly captures the plight of impoverished immigrants and uses racial slurs and stereotypes to get points across.  Riis … Continue reading →

The ideas involved in “Americanization” and “Anglo-conformity” that are thoroughly discussed in Milton Gordon’s book, Assimilation in American Life: The Role of Race, Religion and National Origins, are all too familiar. From as early as elementary school, I clearly remember the feeling … Continue reading →

Donald Trump has made immigration a hot-button issue in the two years that he has been politically relevant. From starting off his campaign by calling Mexican immigrants rapists and drug dealers to enacting a travel ban that functions to discriminate … Continue reading →

While music and film frequently reappropriate and repackage ethnic culture into a more mainstream or “Anglo” accessible form, oftentimes it is fashion that most explicitly packages these cultures into a commercially viable product and a safe way of presenting trends … Continue reading →

Although I am not an immigrant, I still have faced times when I have felt pressured to be more “American,” as if the culture from my Chinese parents was taboo. Gordon states that the definition of the “Anglo-conformity” theory was … Continue reading →

Growing up in an immigrant household was very different than how my friends grew up with. My life could easily be divided into two realms: an American realm, that encompassed school, friends, and work, and an Indian realm, that encompassed … Continue reading →

It is clear that immigrants have an enormous influence on the United States given they make up a significant chunk of its population. The American culture, however, also impacts the peoples’ daily life, which gives rise to a question: to … Continue reading →

Growing up, I attended a Jewish orthodox school for 12 years that promoted Judaism and aimed to preserve the Jewish culture. Therefore, I never really felt the pressure to be more American – I actually felt the opposite. This school … Continue reading →