Assimilation - Sociology
ASSIMILATION
In the sociology, assimilation is the process of integration whereby immigrants, or other minority groups, are "absorbed" into a generally larger community. This presumes a loss of all characteristics which make the newcomers different. A region where assimilation is occurring is sometimes referred to as a " melting pot".
Assimilation can be voluntary, which is usually the case with immigrants, or forced upon a group, as is usually the case with the receiving "host" group. Immigration is generally thought to be in the interest of the politically and economically powerful elites and not in the interest of the weak. This integration, or "making many into one", is one of the goals of affirmative action. Where national groups are strongly urged to assimilate, there often is a lot of resistance in spite of the use of governmental force.
Discrimination
Discrimination, in its sociological meaning, involves highly complex social processes. The term derives from the Latin discriminatio, which means to perceive distinctions among phenomena or to be selective in one's judgment. Cognitive psychology retains the first of these meanings, popular usage the second. Individual behavior that limits the opportunities of a particular group is encompassed in many sociological considerations of discrimination. But exclusively individualistic approaches are too narrow for robust sociological treatment. Instead, sociologists understand discrimination not as isolated individual acts, but as a complex system of social relations that produces intergroup inequities in social outcomes.
This definitional expansion transforms "discrimination" into a truly sociological concept. But in its breadth, the sociological definition leaves room for ambiguity and controversy. Obstacles to consensus on what constitutes discrimination stem from two sources—one empirical, the other ideological and political. First, deficiencies in analysis and evidence limit our ability to trace
In the sociology, assimilation is the process of integration whereby immigrants, or other minority groups, are "absorbed" into a generally larger community. This presumes a loss of all characteristics which make the newcomers different. A region where assimilation is occurring is sometimes referred to as a " melting pot".
Assimilation can be voluntary, which is usually the case with immigrants, or forced upon a group, as is usually the case with the receiving "host" group. Immigration is generally thought to be in the interest of the politically and economically powerful elites and not in the interest of the weak. This integration, or "making many into one", is one of the goals of affirmative action. Where national groups are strongly urged to assimilate, there often is a lot of resistance in spite of the use of governmental force.
Discrimination
Discrimination, in its sociological meaning, involves highly complex social processes. The term derives from the Latin discriminatio, which means to perceive distinctions among phenomena or to be selective in one's judgment. Cognitive psychology retains the first of these meanings, popular usage the second. Individual behavior that limits the opportunities of a particular group is encompassed in many sociological considerations of discrimination. But exclusively individualistic approaches are too narrow for robust sociological treatment. Instead, sociologists understand discrimination not as isolated individual acts, but as a complex system of social relations that produces intergroup inequities in social outcomes.
This definitional expansion transforms "discrimination" into a truly sociological concept. But in its breadth, the sociological definition leaves room for ambiguity and controversy. Obstacles to consensus on what constitutes discrimination stem from two sources—one empirical, the other ideological and political. First, deficiencies in analysis and evidence limit our ability to trace