The American Ethnic Cultural Mosaic - SSCC - Home

The American Ethnic Cultural Mosaic What Will Become of Us? Hopi Reggae: Casper Lomayesva Our Hopi reservation no stretch far and wide It gives us sense of purpose, me say sense of pride

Religion and our culture help keep us strong Im proud of these people, thats why me sing this song This reflects Oft-repeated process of cultural integration and modification Constantly changing subcultures and dominant culture

Other examples Chicken Scratch (Tohono Oodham) New Age Music (American Indian flute themes) Alternative theoretical perspectives for understanding cultural change Acculturation (Milton Gordon): can be cultural blending, but generally seen as

the adoption of dominant culture Examples Monogamy Language Multiculturalism (John Higham) Minority cultures contribute to the common American culture, and are in turn modified and transformed by it.

we are all multicultural and increasingly transnational interconnected and interpenetrative Transculturation (Fernando Ortiz) Based on his observations of Cuban culture with its European, African, and indigenous influences Peter Salins: African, Hispanic, Jewish, Italian, Asian influences deeply embedded in the

national cultural mix Blues, jazz, and Latin music all reflect transculturation Thanksgiving feast (indigenous turkey and pumpkin supplemented with cinnamon and nutmeg from Asia Religion Viewed as a predominantly Christian country

However, in one square mile area of Queens, 40 houses of worship Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Korean, Chinese, Thai congregations Christianity 1998: 160 M in 164 denominations

Roman Catholic: 61 million Southern Baptist: 16 million (predominantly white) United Methodist: 8.5 million 4 of 10 largest denominations are African American (National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America, Church of

God in Christ, African Methodist Episcopal Church) Ethnicity and Religion Roman Catholic and Methodist Churches often organize around ethic groups Los Angeles: ethnic versions of Buddhism Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Chinese,

Japanese, Korean, and Tibetan Constitutional Basis of Religious Diversity Article VI: no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust First Amendment, establishment and free exercise provisions: Congress shall make no law respecting an

establishment or religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof Linguistic Diversity Queens, again: neighborhood where people come from 49 countries and speak 34 different languages. No official language Constitutional basis: equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment since some of our

citizens speak English poorly or not at all, English-only laws deny them equal protection The English Only Movement Over 25 states have English only laws Constitutionality in question Conclusions: Four Processes 1. Acculturation (monogamy, language) 2. Multiculturalism (multicultural pluralist

society) 3. Transculturation 4. Globalization