Paper 1 – Fundamentals of Sociology – Chapter 10 – Social Change in Modern Society
- Sociological theories of social change.
- Development and dependency.
- Agents of social change.
- Education and social change.
- Science, technology and social change.
Acculturation is a process through which a person or group from one culture comes to adopt the practices and values of another culture, while still retaining their own distinct culture. This process is most commonly discussed regarding a minority culture adopting elements of the majority culture, as is typically the case with immigrant groups that are culturally or ethnically distinct from the majority in the place to which they have immigrated.
USAGE OF THE TERM ACCULTURATION
The first known use of the term “acculturation” within the social sciences was by John Wesley Powell in a report for the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology in 1880. Later, in the early 20th century, acculturation became a focus of American sociologists who used ethnography to study the lives of immigrants and the extent to which they integrated into U.S. society.
ACCULTURATION AT ALL LEVELS
At the group level, acculturation entails the widespread adoption of the values, practices, forms of art, and technologies of another culture. These can range from the adoption of ideas, beliefs, and ideology to the large-scale inclusion of foods and styles of cuisines from other cultures.
At the individual level, acculturation may involve all the same things that occur at the group level, but the motives and circumstances may differ. For example, people who travel to foreign lands where the culture differs from their own, and who spend extended periods of time there, are likely to engage in the process of acculturation, whether intentionally or not, in order to learn and experience new things, enjoy their stay, and reduce the social friction that can arise from cultural differences.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACCULTURATION AND ASSIMILATION
Assimilation is the process by which a person or group adopts a new culture that virtually replaces their original culture, leaving only trace elements behind, at most.
Though they are often used interchangeably, acculturation and assimilation are two different things. Assimilation can be an eventual outcome of acculturation, but it doesn’t have to be. Also, assimilation is often a largely one-way process, rather than the two-way process of cultural exchange that is acculturation.
CONCLUSION
The process of acculturation is complex and is not a simple matter of the cultural majority forcing its culture upon the cultural minority. The ‘‘melting pot’’ is inclusion as a result of a merging of cultures and assimilation. The ‘‘salad bowl,’’ also known as cultural plural ism, is another metaphor to denote inclusion. The cultures within the ‘‘salad bowl’’ do not assimilate but instead maintain their cultural traits and group identities. Both ‘‘melting pot’’ and ‘‘salad bowl’’ are in contrast to cultural exclusion, which fosters segregation by race, ethnicity, and religion.
