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.
Assimilation
Assimilation
Definition: The process by which immigrants become similar to natives – leading to the reduction (or possibly the disappearance) of ethnic difference between them.
The basic meaning of ‘assimilation’ is readily apparent from its root (and other words based on that root): immigrants assimilate when they become similar to natives. Differences between immigrants and natives are typically perceived as aggregating to ethnic difference, and so Alba and Nee define assimilation as ‘the decline of an ethnic distinction and its corollary cultural and social differences’ (2003: 11) – a definition exemplary for its clarity and conciseness, denoting a process that can emerge from change in the destination society as well as in the immigrants themselves. As noted in the chapter on integration, not all scholars work ...
