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Glossary
Assimilation Assimilation involves "replacing the attitudes,
mores, and customs of one's county of origin with
those of the new country."
Hybridity
"Nation of Immigrants" From Emma Lazarus' 1883 poem "The New
Colossus" engraved at base of the Statue of
Liberty. The "nation of immigrants" is a potent cultural myth that
omits Native Americans and African Americans. It has contributed to an incomplete and overly
sentimental understanding of the period. At the time of the poem's dedication,
Congress was passing several laws designed to impose greater restrictions on
marginalized groups.
Monologic Seeing something from only one perspective. Greg Sarris
argues that cultural myths can be
reinterpreted from multiple perspectives. Individuals must exercise
AGENCY--participate in
the naming and reinterpretation of myths.
Melting Pot First used in Britain in reference to "the Irish
question" in 1887. In 1900
in U.S., it came to refer
to assimilation. The pressure to assimilate in the early 20th century was very
great. What do you see as problems (and advantages) in this metaphor?
Ethnocentrism a tendency to privilege the norms of one culture
over those of another;
a belief in cultural
superiority.
Acculturation The expectation that the culture (language,
religion, values) of American Indians would be
dramatically modified and supplanted by the new immigrants.
Manifest Destiny The United States' supposed divine right and
duty to expand West. This ideology was
extremely significant in determining American policy toward Indian tribes and
other nations including Mexico, the Philippines, and several Caribbean counties
and also reveals ethnocentrism. It was used in Congress and adopted by presidents to
defend foreign policy decisions.
It first appeared in an
editorial by John L. O'Sullivan in 1820s. It had disastrous effects for Native
peoples and for the environment. Nature was seen as being at the service of humans and
if nature impeded progress, it was to be managed even if natural resources were
depleted in the process. It forced a view of the cultural superiority of Euro
Americans over indigenous peoples.
The Frontier During the course of western expansion in the 19th
century, imagined as the place where civilization met savagery. Both the people
and nature at and beyond the frontier were untamed and in need of taming. The
terms border and borderlands are more often used now as they indicate the exchange
and intermixing which is more reflective of reality.
The American Dream The OED calls it "a catch-phrase for American
values in general." Generally it is thought of as the dream of opportunity for
success, material prosperity, but again it is marked by ethnocentrism since it
doesn't acknowledge the exclusionary practices put in place by the mainstream
that prevented many groups from achieving "the American Dream." Krupat claims
Americans have tended to define themselves against the continent's indigenous
people, creating a binary model of US/THEM, CIVILIZED/SAVAGE.
Multiculturalism For some it means the loss of "traditional" core
American culture; for others it means the inclusion (especially in curriculum
and literary canon) of marginalized groups to reflect more fully the diverse
nature of American people. Krupat argues that multiculturalism must do more than
expand a given canon in the interest of diversity; "it also prompts an
interrogation of systems of thought to examine the power structures at their
base." In other words, celebrating diversity does not create equality.
What is "white
privilege"?
"Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack of White Privilege"
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