Assimilation & Cultural Identity

If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the

science of human relationships–the ability of all

peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same

world at peace.

--Franklin D. Roosevelt

OVERVIEW

Historically and logically, assimilation into, or coexistence within society at large obtains as a subsequent development when individual conflicts with that larger society have begun to play out. Students will research for and write an argumentative research paper exploring the American Dream as it relates to immigration and assimilation.

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS

• Diversity causes conflict.
• In a diverse American society people are in conflict between conserving a native cultural identity and assimilating into a unified cultural identity.
• An individual’s world view is shaped by one’s political, social, economic, and religious beliefs.
• Personal identity is derived from education, material possessions, socioeconomic status, ethnic/cultural heritage, and personal experience.
• A diverse society requires that one be aware of biases, including one’s own.
• Diversity of cultural beliefs and values may cause conflict and drive change within a society.
• Diversity of cultural beliefs and values may contribute to a society’s vitality.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• What is the value, if any, of diversity? (religious, political, social, environmental)
• To what extent does America have a culture?

GUIDING QUESTIONS

• Under what circumstances is conflict good and bad?
• How are Americans perceived by other cultures?
• Why do some countries view Americans negatively?
• Is America a melting pot or a salad bowl?
• Is America still the ‘City on a Hill”? (Winthrop, Reagan)
• Does America still want your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to

breathe free (Statue of Liberty)?