Considering that America has experienced immense influxes of immigration within the past couple of centuries, it becomes important to discuss how these immigrants assimilated to American culture and how they interacted with the economic, social, and political world of America. Kasinitz discusses assimilation and interaction through the studies of 2nd generation immigrants whose lifestyles tend to differ from their parents’ and whose paths are more likely to cross, causing cultural diffusion. Marcuse on the other hand discusses assimilation and interaction by defining social, economic, and political settings in which people are separated from each other. Depending on their environmental setting, these people each interact differently with society as a whole.
As Kasinitz points out, children of 1st generation immigrants differ immensely from their parents. The parents, who were the first ones in America, had to face a life filled with hard work and discrimination. They often took on jobs that were common with their ethnic background. Examples include the Chinese who were noted for owning restaurants, or the West Indians who were noted for taking up nursing. When it came to interaction, most 1st generation immigrants stuck to their own ethnic niche as a means of security, growth, and When the 2nd generation of immigrants came about, few of the children took up the same jobs as their parents. Kasinitz actually discusses surveys in which 2nd generation immigrants scoff at the idea of taking over their parents’ business. Even so, these 2nd generation immigrants still face the problems of discrimination their parents faced, especially as they veer off their cultural niche in favor of assimilation. As suggested by Kasinitz though, as successive generations of immigrants develop in America, hybridization occurs which essentially pulls aspects of all cultures together.
Marcuse talks about the presence of ghettos, enclaves, and citadels. These environments separate peoples of America by several factors including race, economic status, and social status. Those living in modern ghettos, or outcast ghettos, are those that are excluded from economics, society, and any politics of the mainstream. They are in their environment involuntarily due to their low economic standings and partially due to their ethnic background. Because they are excluded from mainstream culture, assimilation is difficult, and interaction with others, especially those in enclaves and citadels, is highly unlikely. An enclave is an environment where the inhabitants voluntarily live there in order to strengthen their cultural identity and benefit themselves. Those in an enclave are typically middle-class, but can be also of lower-class. The comfort of being in a like-minded community provides security to these individuals. Should they decide to venture economically out of their environment, they can do so. When it comes to interaction and assimilation, it is probably easiest to accomplish this in an enclave as there is not as much discrimination as pointed out by Marcuse. The citadel is the top of the pyramid. These people are of high standing, socially, economically, and politically. They bar themselves off from people with a lower status than them, and stick together with those that are as high standing as they are. Thus, interaction and assimilation in this environment is very difficult.
