Louis Wirth’s “The Ghetto”, he talks about the difference between “ghettos” and “enclaves”. He describes the ghetto as tend to expand, dulysegragated, negative, enforced, slums, and dangerous. In contrast, he describes enclaves as diluted, residual w/leftovers, positive, voluntary, and touristic. Wirth also talks about there are three stages before one is totally assimilated. The first stage is the immigrants that come to America that was born elsewhere. The second stage is the immigrants that are born here but has only somewhat integrated. The final stage is when the next generation born is entirely integrated. Wirth states that the “melting-pot” is being replaced by the “pluralist model”. The “pluralist model” is that the groups that are migrating to the U. S are not assimilating as fast as they used to in the past. Instead of the groups going through the assimilation steps, they are holding onto their cultural traditions longer. It was believed that African American was going to assimilate soon or later but it has been numerous years and it has not happened.
I BELIEVE THAT PART OF THE REASON THAT IMMIGRANTS ARE HOLDING ON TO THIER CULTURAL IDENTITIES LONGER IS THAT THE US IS MAKING IT SO MUCH EASIER TODAY THAN IT DID YEARS AGO FOR IMMIGRANTS TO LIVE COMFORTABLY. WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY THAT IS, PEOPLE ARE NO LONGER FORCED TO LEARN HOW TO SPEAK ENGLISH, THEY ARE NO LONGER FORCED TO LIVE IN AREAS IN WHICH THEY CAN NOT RELATE TO THEIR NEIGHBORS. TODAY IMMIGRANTS CAN FIND NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES WRITTEN IN THEIR LANGUAGE AND THEY CAN CHOSE WHAT STATE, CITY OR STREET THAT THEY WANT TO LIVE IN. SIMPLY, THEY ARE NO LONGER FORCED TO ASSIMILATE. IT SEEMS LIKE WE (PEOPLE FROM THE US) ARE LETTING GO OF OUR CULTURAL IDENTITY A LITTLE AND TAPPING INTO THOSE OTHER CULTURES, FOR EXAMPLE, LOOK AT HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LEARNING SPANISH, FRENCH AND CHINESE!
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