Reinventing the Melting Pot
The New Immigrants and What It Means To Be American
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Nothing happening in America today will do more to affect our children's future than the wave of new immigrants flooding into the country, mostly from the developing world. Already, one in ten Americans is foreign-born, and if one counts their children, one-fifth of the population can be considered immigrants. Will these newcomers make it in the U.S? Or will today's realities -- from identity politics to cheap and easy international air travel -- mean that the age-old American tradition of absorption and assimilation no longer applies? Reinventing the Melting Pot is a conversation among two dozen of the thinkers who have looked longest and hardest at the issue of how immigrants assimilate: scholars, journalists, and fiction writers, on both the left and the right. The contributors consider virtually every aspect of the issue and conclude that, of course, assimilation can and must work again -- but for that to happen, we must find new ways to think and talk about it. Contributors to Reinventing the Melting Pot include Michael Barone, Stanley Crouch, Herbert Gans, Nathan Glazer, Michael Lind, Orlando Patterson, Gregory Rodriguez, and Stephan Thernstrom.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1908, English immigrant Israel Zangwill coined the term"melting pot" as a title for his newest play, a vision of America as an Eden where all races and ethnicities melted happily into a harmonious whole. One of the most enduring catchphrases in our lexicon, the"melting pot," as both ideal and reality is discussed and dissected in this collection of 22 essays from an appropriately diverse assortment of writers. Divided into five sections, the book examines the process of assimilation through historical, political, economic and racial lenses, and scrutinizes the impact of immigration on contemporary American society. This variety of perspectives makes the book an engaging and enlightening look at a phenomenon--immigration--that has often been plagued by misunderstanding. With contributions from journalists like Pete Hamilland and Michael Barone--who examines the acute challenges faced by immigrants after September 11--the book achieves a deep richness. Brimming with statistics (e.g. second-generation Latinos earn 50% more than first-generation Latinos; more than half of Asians and Hispanics now marry whites), the collection offers fresh viewpoints on modern immigration trends. Most of the writers agree that the words"melting pot" do not accurately describe the process of assimilation, or of Americans' national identity. With tempered optimism, contributor Herbert J. Gans offers a new metaphor, comparing the ethnic makeup of the country to a kaleidoscope"in constant flux" that creates"the overall pattern of the nation." Much at issue among the writers is the idea of assimilation, which can be seen as either a positive force or as a threat to the cultural identity. Most concur, however, on its inevitability. Editor Jacoby concludes that"we are a unique nation: defined not by blood or ancestry, but by a set of shared ideas." The acclimation to these ideas is an ongoing and difficult process, at once changing the countenance of the country and confirming the notion of yet another noteworthy catchphrase, e pluribus unum-- from many, one.
