Toward a theory of assimilation and dissimilation

Ethnic women: A critique of the literature, 1971–1981

“…Amalgamation, commonly called the 'melting pot' theory, is one of three major explanatory models used to describe ethnicity in the United States. Although a few scholars (Gleason, 1979 andPatterson, 1977) still subscribe to its tenets, the work of others (Abramson, 1980(Abramson, , 1975(Abramson, and 1971Gordon, 1964;Glazer and Moynihan, 1970;Greeley, 1974 andNewman, 1973;Yancey et al, 1976;and Yinger, 1981) on the assimilation and accommodation models has questioned much of the amalgamation model.…”

Assimilation of Immigrants

“…Gordon referred to them as "the three crucial variables of group identity, social participation, and cultural behavior as they pertain to the subsociety of the ethclass" (1964: p. 51). These processes do not unfold in a social vacuum; contextual and group factors shape each of these dimensions either by promoting or precluding assimilative outcomes (Yinger, 1981(Yinger, , 1994Massey and Sánchez, 2010). In the end, there can be no 'assimilation' without acceptance and inclusion by the dominant society.…”

“…And immigration engenders ethnicitycollectivities who perceive themselves and are perceived by others to differ in language, religion, 'race,' national origin or ancestral homeland, cultural heritage, and memories of a shared historical past. Their modes of incorporation across generations may take a variety of forms -some leading to greater homogenization and solidarity within the society (or within segments of the society), others to greater ethnic differentiation and heterogeneity (Yinger, 1981(Yinger, , 1994Massey and Sánchez, 2010). Those outcomes are shaped by the complex interaction of the (welcoming, neutral, or hostile) contexts of incorporation into which the immigrants are received by the society, and the resources and adaptations of the immigrants and their descendants (Portes and Rumbaut, 2014).…”

Ensuring Labour Market Success for Ethnic Minority and Immigrant Youth

“…Milton Yinger (1981) has proposed a very useful definition of the ethnic group: "An ethnic group perceives itself and is perceived by others to be different in some combination of the following traits: language, religion, race and ancestral homeland with its related culture. A group that is different only by race is not an ethnic group".…”