Sociology 336F Immigration and Race Relations in Canada Session 8 Minoritygroup Responses and Ethnic

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Sociology 336FImmigration and Race Relations in
CanadaSession 8Minority-group Responsesand
Ethnic Community Formation

• Jeffrey G. Reitz
• Department of Sociology
• Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies
• Munk Centre for International Studies
• University of Toronto

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Todays Agenda

• Assimilation and pluralism theory
• Concepts
• ethnic communities
• social incorporation
• Measures and trends do minorities assimilate
  in Canada?
• Causes of ethnic community formation
• Consequences for social incorporation
• Policy implications

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Assimilation and Pluralism Theory

• Chicago School Robert Park and the race
  relations cycle
• Louis Wirth Assimilation, pluralism, militancy,
  succession
• Two distinct dimensions
• ethnic community formation
• social acceptance

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Assimilation theory and alternatives
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Assimilation theory and alternatives
Assimilation
Pluralism
Marginality
Isolation
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Source Ibero-American University, Mexico City,
Exhibition February 2006 México les desea un
feliz viaje la experiencia de la migración
(Mexico wishes them bon voyage)
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Assimilation theory and alternatives
Assimilation
Pluralism
Marginality
Isolation
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Assimilation theory and alternatives
Assimilation
Pluralism
Jewish
Ukrainian
German
Italian
Chinese
West Indian
Marginality
Isolation
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Assimilation and Pluralism Theory

• Chicago School Robert Park and the race
  relations cycle
• Louis Wirth Assimilation, pluralism, militancy,
  succession
• Two distinct dimension
• ethnic community formation
• social acceptance

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Assimilation and Pluralism Theory

• Chicago School Robert Park and the race
  relations cycle
• Louis Wirth Assimilation, pluralism, militancy,
  succession
• Two distinct dimension
• ethnic community formation
• social acceptance
• Theory, ideology, policy

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Concept of Ethnic CommunitiesDimensions

• Ethnic group membership
• Networks
• Ethnic identification
• Residential location
• Ethnic institutions
• Social, religious, cultural, economic (ethnic
  enterprise)
• Marriage in group (endogamy)
• Ethnic culture
• Question which prevent incorporation?

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Concept of Social IncorporationDimensions

• Ethnic group membership ? Majority group
  membership
• Networks
• Ethnic identification
• Residential location ? Majority group
  neighborhood
• Ethnic institutions ? ??
• Social, religious, cultural, economic (ethnic
  enterprise)
• Marriage in group, endogamy ? exogamy
• Ethnic culture ? ??
• PLUS
• Economic equality ? within minority community?
• Political equality ? through minority
  institutions?

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Measures and trends

• Do minorities assimilate in Canada?
• Census inter-marriage, spacial assimilation,
  mother tongue
• All either/or dimensions
• Economic assimilation
• Ethnic community survival middle-class
  ethnicity
• Cross-national comparisons

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Assimilation theory and alternatives
Assimilation
Pluralism
Jewish
Ukrainian
German
Italian
Chinese
West Indian
Marginality
Isolation
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Causes of ethnic community formation

• Immigrant experience, entry effects
• Cultural commonality
• Community engineering
• Social exclusion
• Involunatary
• Resentment (Gans)
• Gordon hypothesis structural assimilation ?
  cultural assimilation
• Ethnic resources
• Institutional completeness
• Economic institutions
• Social and cultural capital
• Ivan Light ethnic resources mainstream
  exclusion

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Consequences for social incorporation

• Contradictory commitments (e.g. mobility trap)
• Conditional incorporation
• Facilitation of incorporation
• Social
• Psychological

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Pluralism Theory, Ideology, Policy

• Theory gives reasons why ethnic communities
  might facilitate incorporation, or conditions
  under which they do
• Ideology asserts that ethnic communities
  facilitate incorporation, or should facilitate
  incorporation
• Policy helps ethnic communities facilitate
  incorporation

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Policy Issues

• Should ethnic communities be supported with
  public funds?
• Should social services be provided on
  ethno-specific basis?