Blog 4 - Assimilation in Literature

Assimilation in Literature

Reading Schlesinger’s article, followed by Goebel’s rebuttal, I am more confused than ever. Schlesinger (1992) provides a history of views on assimilation and the “melting pot” ideal throughout his article, then he calls “the ethnic upsurge [. . .] a gesture of protest against the Anglocentric culture. It became a cult, and today it threatens to become a counter revolution against the original theory of America” (79). These views are absurd! An ethnic group wanting to maintain a common heritage is a cult?! He makes sure to pander to his audience by making comments like “Law [. . .] has from time to time (and in my view often properly so) acknowledged the claims of groups,” but assures it is the exception, and not the rule (80). Goebel (1992), on the other hand, encourages a more diverse curriculum to open up a dialogue with unfamiliar cultures or situations. His seemingly good advice is to provide a spectrum of perceptions to allow students to discover their own truths and common understandings, which is the overall goal I believe Schlesinger had in mind.

After reading through both of the articles, I became interested in how these views of assimilation are applied in the classroom. I found a research article by Yoon, Simpson, and Haag, titled “Assimilation Ideology: Critically Examining Underlying Messages in Multicultural Literature.” The authors studied twelve multicultural picture books to determine the message multicultural texts were presenting themselves (favoring assimilation or cultural pluralism). The first author, Yoon, is often asked to review literature by his students and colleagues because he is Korean, and he noticed a trend of assimilation being glorified in American literature. This is what led to his investigation into the multicultural literature.

The twelve picture books were chosen by the librarian at random from a rural north Texan middle school’s library. Yoon and his colleagues found the majority of the books (seven) to be neutral or unclear in regards to multicultural ideology. They determined three were assimilationist, and two were pluralistic in nature. Within the assimilationist stories, two themes were identified: the transformation of the main character from resistance to full assimilation and America as the land of opportunity. The authors wish for educators to keep these ideologies in mind when selecting texts, and provide a variety of ideals in their classrooms.

When selecting a text, the authors suggest teachers ask the following questions:

• How does the text ensure that the central character(s) maintain identity in the native culture?
• How does the text support the native culture in the resolution of the story?
• How does the text provide readers from both the dominant and the native cultures with opportunities to see the values of both cultures?
• How does the text challenge the traditions of the dominant culture rather than assimilation into the dominant culture? (116)
  

What I have gleaned from the reading is it is best to choose a variety of differing perspectives in order to open a dialogue in the classroom.

References

Goebel, B. A. (1992). Diversity, conformity, and democracy: A critique of Arthur M. Schlesinger’s The disuniting of America: Reflections on a multicultural society. http://mtprof.msun.edu/Win1992/goebrev.html.

Schlesinger, A. M. (1992). The disuniting of America: Reflections on a multicultural society. In Jana Noel (Ed.), Classic edition sources: Multicultural education (3rd ed.) (pp. 77-80). New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill.

Yoon, B., Simpson, A., & Haag, C. (2010). Assimilation ideology: Critically examining underlying messages in multicultural literature. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 54(2), p 109-118.