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The Application Paper- Multiculturalism
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The Application Paper- Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is a condition in which there is a diversity of cultures and races in society. All these cultural groups have equal rights and equal opportunities within that society. Moreover, the interaction of different cultures leads to mixture ideas and traditions giving a new concept of multiculturalism (Ting-Toomey & Dorjee, 2018). The world has become a global village, and the latest technologies have made international traveling very easy for people across the globe. Therefore, people are looking for more significant opportunities, and they move to a developed country like the United States.
The United States is an immigrant country; most of the people living here came from different cultural backgrounds. When people arrived in the United States, they want to maintain their culture and traditional values. When all the people from multiple backgrounds practice their own cultural values, then there is a composition of numerous cultures. It gives diversity in every field offering hundreds of language option to learn. Moreover, the population of the United States is growing day by day and multiculturalism is also expanding. There are different views about multiculturalism, some consider it as a positive element of society, and others take it as a negative aspect.
Multiculturalism in the United States
The United States is the best example of multiculturalism. Immigration to the United States is 400 years old. People had started migrating to the United States in search of better opportunities. People from different parts emigrated to the United States from all over the World. This immigration is legal and illegal both. More number of immigration means more number of people coming to the United States from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, it would be unfair to say that the United States is not a multicultural country. The diversity brings more options to dress up, more dishes to taste and more traditions to learn about. Identifying the needs of multiculturalism, the United States is focusing it in its educational system. It is also adopting a problem-solving approach to overcome the issues related to multiple cultures (Spring, 2017).
Multiculturalism as a Controversial Issue
Multiculturalism has received much criticism for maintaining the various ethnic cultures within the same country. Most of the critics who are against multiculturalism argue that it is against the cultural integration of multiple cultures and ethnic groups to the existing cultures and values of the native people. The perception of multiculturalism also affects the immigration policies of the country. Likewise, the immigration policies of the United States have been revised throughout history. In 1924, the Immigration Act was passed by the United States Congress to restrict the European people entering the United States.
Secondly, people feel insecure about their own culture, and they think that interaction with other cultures will influence their culture and may affect their values. People who are having distinct cultures also have different values. Therefore, the differences in culture give a cultural shock to the people. It is in human psychology that people prefer to live with those who have similar values and beliefs. The change in values and traditions can influence their mentality. Other controversies are on the basis of Cultural relativism conflicts arise; for instance, practices of different cultures like monogamy, polygamy, and purdah are the standard topics of criticism (Gutmann, 1993). Moreover, Multiculturalism demands equal rights and opportunities for everyone in a country. However, the superior race or cultural group considers multiculturalism as a threat to their power and authority.
However, there is more positivity in multiculturalism. It gives an opportunity to learn about the world without visiting those places. Diversity provides a platform for people to learn about each other.
The Three Sociological Perspectives
There are three perspectives of a social phenomenon, which are also used to study multiculturalism. All the elements of the society are studied from micro to macro level. All these theoretical perspectives offer different explanations for the societal influences on people and people affecting society.
The first social perspective theory is structural functionalism, and according to this theory, society is made up of different institutions and structures. These different roles and arrangements must be filled in the society to perform the various functions properly. There should be stability in the community and accepting the multiculturalism will help the society to function correctly. Functionalists believe in harmony, collaboration, and regulation to maintain a prosperous society (Bagguley & Hussain, 2016). People from different cultures will intermingle and play their role to form a positive society. All the people in a society should adopt the positive elements of each culture and live in coordination.
Secondly, the conflict theory multiculturalism is the rule of superior class over the minor cultural groups. It argues that the elite class uses its authority to gain power, privilege, and possessions. The elite class wants to remain, and for that purpose, it exploits other groups. People of different cultural backgrounds are suppressed by authoritative class and race. It highlights the inequalities in society due to multiculturalism.
The third perspective in this notion is Symbolic interactionism, it describes the interactions of different groups in the society on the basis of different ways, and they interpret different cultural symbols. Therefore, people perceive different things on the basis of their own perception. Similarly, they will also understand Multiculturalism based on their own cultural symbols like communication. It is usual that the idea of Multiculturalism is different for people from different backgrounds.
References
Bagguley, P., & Hussain, Y. (2016). Riotous citizens: ethnic conflict in multicultural Britain. Routledge.
Gutmann, A. (1993). The challenge of multiculturalism in political ethics. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 171-206.
Spring, J. (2017). The intersection of cultures: Multicultural education in the United States and the global economy. Routledge.
Ting-Toomey, S., & Dorjee, T. (2018). Communicating across cultures. Guilford Publications.
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