Summary
Contents
Studies is an important, interdisciplinary thread which runs through contemporary debates on globalization, citizenship, community studies, political geography and identity. It has always represented a significant component of ethnic, multicultural and racial studies but the last few years have seen a steady increase in separate / autonomous courses and modules as students, lecturers and researchers engage with the field. This proposal looks to pull together the central themes of the field; its approach is logical and the three main themes the authors identify are a useful hook upon which to hang the text. International relevance and marketability is obviously important; the inclusion of a US and a UK author with such sympathetic expertise will help to maximise the appeal of the project. The authors are aware of the need to balance the needs of different markets and their willingness to develop the proposal in response to the reviewers' comments is encouraging.
Acculturation
Acculturation
Definition: A process by which the cultural patterns of distinct groups change when those groups come into contact with each other – sometimes resulting in the groups becoming less distinct culturally.
The concept of acculturation has a long and contentious history in migration studies. One might say the concept grew up with the history of migration to the USA, especially beginning with the second great wave of immigration at the turn of the twentieth century. The term has been used widely in the North American and European contexts, though increasingly with criticism, especially in societies that identify with a ‘multiculturalist’ ideology.
Early anthropologists and sociologists took an interactive approach to the concept of acculturation, defining it as a process by which the cultural patterns of distinct ...
