1) Assimilation- (from lat. assimila-tio - assimilation, merging, assimilation, association index adaptation) - eng. assimilation; German assimilation. Unilateral or mutual absorption of individuals and groups by other groups, resulting in the identification of the cult, traits and characteristics of the self-consciousness of the constituent individuals of the group. Unlike acculturation, which involves a change in culture as a result of contact with other cultures, A. leads to the complete elimination of cult differences. Unlike amalgamation A. does not require biologists to merge groups. A. is often accompanied by the phenomenon of marginality, characteristic of groups and individuals who have lost touch with the old culture, but who have not fully accepted the features of the new culture.
2) Assimilation- - in ethnography - a type of unifying ethnic processes (see). Under A. already sufficiently formed ethnic groups or small groups that separated from them, being in close contact with other people - more numerous or more developed in the socio-economic. and culturally (and especially being among this people), perceive its language and culture. Gradually, they, usually in subsequent generations, merge with it, classify themselves as this people. A. processes can cover both ethnic groups. minorities of the same country (for example, the Welsh in England, the Bretons in France, the Karelians in Russia, etc.), and immigrants who settled permanently (for example, Italians who moved to France, the USA, etc. . countries). A distinction is made between natural and forced A. Natural A. arises from direct contact between ethnically heterogeneous groups and is conditioned by the needs of a common social, economic, and cultural life, by the spread of ethnically mixed marriages, and so on. is a system of measures of the government or local authorities in the field of school education and other areas of society. life, aimed at artificially accelerating A. by suppressing or restricting the language and culture of ethnic. minorities, pressure on their identity, etc.; in this respect, the policy of A. is the opposite of the policy of segregation. An important step in ethnic A. are cultural A., or acculturation, and linguistic A., that is, a complete transition to another language, which becomes native. Lit .: Kozlov V.I. Population dynamics. M., 1969. V.I. Kozlov
3) Assimilation- - ethnic absorption, almost complete dissolution of one people (sometimes several peoples) in another.
4) Assimilation -
5) Assimilation
6) Assimilation- - the process of mutual cultural penetration through which individuals and groups come to a common culture shared by all participants in the process (merger of one people with another by assimilating its language, customs, etc.).
7) Assimilation- - the gradual merging of a minority group with a dominant culture.
8) Assimilation- - in the social sciences, the process by which members of one ethnic group lose their original culture and acquire the culture of another ethnic group with which they are in direct contact. A. can occur spontaneously and in this case can be considered as one of the types of the process of acculturation and as the result of this process. Often the term "A." is used in a different sense and denotes a special policy of the dominant national group towards ethnic minorities, aimed at artificially suppressing their traditional culture and creating such social conditions under which the participation of minorities in the institutional structures of the dominant group is mediated by their acceptance of the cultural standards of this group.
9) Assimilation- (assimilation) (especially in racial relations) - the process in which a minority, accepting the values, norms of behavior and culture of the majority group, is ultimately absorbed by this group (cf. Accommodation). The process can affect both parties. It is more difficult where obvious signs (in particular, clear differences in "color") form the basis of the original division (for example, the assimilation of black minority groups in the "melting pot" of the United States).
Assimilation
(from lat. assimila-tio - assimilation, merging, assimilation, association index adaptation) - eng. assimilation; German assimilation. Unilateral or mutual absorption of individuals and groups by other groups, resulting in the identification of the cult, traits and characteristics of the self-consciousness of the constituent individuals of the group. Unlike acculturation, which involves a change in culture as a result of contact with other cultures, A. leads to the complete elimination of cult differences. Unlike amalgamation A. does not require biologists to merge groups. A. is often accompanied by the phenomenon of marginality, characteristic of groups and individuals who have lost touch with the old culture, but who have not fully accepted the features of the new culture.
In ethnography - a kind of unifying ethnic processes (see). Under A. already sufficiently formed ethnic groups or small groups that separated from them, being in close contact with other people - more numerous or more developed in the socio-economic. and culturally (and especially being among this people), perceive its language and culture. Gradually, they, usually in subsequent generations, merge with it, classify themselves as this people. A. processes can cover both ethnic groups. minorities of the same country (for example, the Welsh in England, the Bretons in France, the Karelians in Russia, etc.), and immigrants who settled permanently (for example, Italians who moved to France, the USA, etc. . countries). A distinction is made between natural and forced A. Natural A. arises from direct contact between ethnically heterogeneous groups and is conditioned by the needs of a common social, economic, and cultural life, by the spread of ethnically mixed marriages, and so on. is a system of measures of the government or local authorities in the field of school education and other areas of society. life, aimed at artificially accelerating A. by suppressing or restricting the language and culture of ethnic. minorities, pressure on their identity, etc.; in this respect, the policy of A. is the opposite of the policy of segregation. An important step in ethnic A. are cultural A., or acculturation, and linguistic A., that is, a complete transition to another language, which becomes native. Lit .: Kozlov V.I. Population dynamics. M., 1969. V.I. Kozlov
Ethnic absorption, almost complete dissolution of one people (sometimes several peoples) in another.
The process of mutual cultural penetration, through which individuals and groups come to a common culture shared by all participants in the process.
The process of mutual cultural penetration, through which individuals and groups come to a common culture shared by all participants in the process.
The process of mutual cultural penetration through which individuals and groups come to a common culture shared by all participants in the process (the merging of one people with another by assimilating its language, customs, etc.).
- the gradual merger of the minority group with the dominant culture.
In the social sciences, the process by which members of one ethnic group lose their original culture and adopt the culture of another ethnic group with which they are in direct contact. A. can occur spontaneously and in this case can be considered as one of the types of the process of acculturation and as the result of this process. Often the term "A." is used in a different sense and denotes a special policy of the dominant national group towards ethnic minorities, aimed at artificially suppressing their traditional culture and creating such social conditions under which the participation of minorities in the institutional structures of the dominant group is mediated by their acceptance of the cultural standards of this group.
- Assimilation - I Assimilation (from Latin assimilatio) likening, merging, assimilation. II Assimilation (ethnographic) merger of one people with another with the loss of one of their language, culture, national identity. Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- assimilation - The formation in the body of complex substances from simpler ones coming from the external environment. In the broad sense of the word, a synonym for anabolism. At the same time, they often talk about A. of a particular compound, implying the ways of its transformation, assimilation in the body, in the cell. Microbiology. Glossary of terms
- assimilation - ASSIMIL'YATSIYA, assimilation, women. (lat. assimilatio) (book). Action under ch. assimilate and assimilate. Assimilation of sounds (likening one sound to another in a word; ling.). Assimilation of peoples. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
- assimilation - noun, number of synonyms: 7 assimilation 4 melting 10 merging 21 assimilation 13 assimilation 18 assimilation 29 ethnocide 2 Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language
- assimilation - ASSIMILATION (from Latin assimilatio - assimilation, identification), the process of assimilation by the body of substances entering it from the environment, as a result of k-poro, these substances become an integral part of living structures or are deposited in the form of reserves. see also metabolism and energy Veterinary Encyclopedic Dictionary
- assimilation - Assimil / yatsi / i [y / a]. Morphemic spelling dictionary
- Assimilation - (from lat. assimilatio) assimilation, merging, likening. A. - the concept of the concept of intelligence by J. Piaget, which expresses the assimilation of material due to its inclusion in already existing patterns of behavior. It is carried out by analogy with biological assimilation. Pedagogical terminological dictionary
- assimilation - -i, f. 1. Action on verb. assimilate (into 1 value) and state by value. vb. assimilate; assimilation. linguistic assimilation. sound assimilation. 2. ethnogr. The merger of one nation with another, with the loss of one of their language and culture. 3. biol. Small Academic Dictionary
- ASSIMILATION - (from Latin assimilatio - merging, assimilation, assimilation) - in the concept of the development of the intellect by J. Piaget - an attribute, an aspect of adaptation. Content... Big psychological dictionary
- assimilation - ASSIMILATION -and; and. [lat. assimilation]. 1. to Assimilate and Assimilate. A. peoples. Violent, natural a. A. Nutrients. 2. Lingu. Explanatory Dictionary of Kuznetsov
- assimilation - (lat. assimilatio - assimilation). Assimilation of one sound to another in articulation and acoustic relations (cf .: dissimilation). Assimilation occurs in vowels with vowels, in consonants with consonants. Rosenthal's glossary of linguistic terms
- assimilation - ASSIMILATION - see anabolism. (Terminology of sports. Explanatory dictionary of sports terms, 2001) Glossary of sports terms
- ASSIMILATION - ASSIMILATION (from lat. assimila-tio - assimilation, merging, assimilation, Association index adaptation) - English. assimilation; German assimilation. sociological dictionary
- assimilation - orf. assimilation, and Lopatin's spelling dictionary
- Assimilation - ASSIMILATION (lat. "similarity"). In relation to the sounds of speech - the likening of some sounds to others, neighboring or close to them in speech, consisting in changing the articulation of some sounds in relation to others. Dictionary of literary terms
- assimilation - Same as anabolism. Biology. Modern Encyclopedia
- assimilation - Assimilation, assimilation, assimilation, assimilation, assimilation, assimilation, assimilation, assimilation, assimilation, assimilation, assimilation, assimilation, assimilation Zaliznyak's grammar dictionary
- ASSIMILIATION - Here: the acquisition by investors of new securities after a cycle of their complete sale during the underwriting. Economic glossary of terms
- assimilation - ASSIMILATION, and, f. (book). 1. see assimilate, sya. 2. In linguistics: assimilation, the emergence of similarities with another, neighboring sound, for example. pronunciation instead of the voiced b in the word grandmother of a deaf sound n [bapka] as a result of likening the deafness to the next k. | adj. assimilative, oh, oh. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov
- assimilation - assimilation I f. Assimilation of the articulation of sounds within one word or phrase (in linguistics). II well. The fusion of the language, culture and national identity of one people with the language ... Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova
- Assimilation - (lat. assimilatio assimilation, assimilation; synonymous with anabolism) is the process of assimilation by the body of substances entering it from the environment, as a result of which these substances become an integral part of biological structures or are deposited in the body in the form of reserves. Medical Encyclopedia
- ASSIMILATION - ASSIMILATION (from lat. assimilatio) - .. 1) assimilation, merging, assimilation ... 2) In ethnography - the merging of one people with another with the loss of one of them of their language, culture, national identity. Big encyclopedic dictionary
- Assimilation - Or assimilation - the assimilation of substances by a plant or animal. See the articles Animal Physiology and Plant Physiology. Some phytophysiologists call A. carbon by plants simply "assimilation". Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
- assimilation - ASSIMILATION - the process of assimilation by organisms of substances from the external environment and the formation of more complex organic substances inherent in the body. A. occur with the absorption of energy. Botany. Glossary of terms
- - 1. (< лат. assimilatio уподобление, отождествление) 1) Слияние одного народа с другим путем усвоения его языка, обычаев и т. п.; 2) уподобление одного звука другому: свадьба из сватьба (от сватать). 2. Социол. Glossary of linguistic terms Zherebilo
- ASSIMILATION - (from lat. assimilatio - assimilation) - the merger of one people with another by losing their language, culture, etc. In tsarist Russia, under the conditions of the national. and religious oppression was widely practiced violence. assimilation - Russification of the peoples of the Volga region, Europe. Soviet historical encyclopedia
- Assimilation - In petrography (from lat. assimilatio - assimilation, merging * a. assimilation, magmatic digestion, magmatic dissolution; i. Assimilierung, Assimilation; f. assimilation; ... Mountain Encyclopedia
- assimilation - Assimilations, f. [ Latin. assimilatio] (book). Action on verb. assimilate and assimilate. Assimilation of sounds (likening one sound to another in a word; lingv.). Assimilation of peoples. Large dictionary of foreign words
- assimilation - See assimilate Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary
- Assimilation - According to the area of action in which A. takes place, linguistic, cultural and ethnic A. are distinguished: linguistic A. - mastering a foreign language and recognizing it as native; ethnic... Dictionary of sociolinguistic terms
- assimilation - ASSIMILATION and, f. assimilation f., German assimilation. 1. Assimilation, assimilation, merging. BAS-2. In man, as in all past beings of nature. both physically and morally there is the ability to assimilate, i.e. Dictionary of Russian Gallicisms
62. In the literal sense of the word, the Latin term "revolution" ("revolutio") means ...(1 answer)
63. "The midwife of history" called the revolution ...
acculturation- (from lat. ad - around, with and cultura - education, development) - English. acculturation; German acculturation. 1. The process of mutual influence of cultures, when technologies, patterns of behavior, values are assimilated in the course of direct contact
Etc. of a foreign culture, which, in turn, change and adapt to new requirements. See ACCOMMODATION, ASSIMILATION, DIFFUSION. 2. The transfer of cultural elements from one generation to another within the same culture. See SOCIALIZATION.
2) Acculturation- the process of interpenetration and mutual influence of customs and traditions, the spread of cultural values from one social center to another.
3) Acculturation- a term used to refer to the process during which groups of people with different cultures, entering into direct long-term contacts, assimilate elements of another culture. The exchange of cultural elements is usually unequal; this is especially indicative of groups of immigrants who find themselves in a new ethnocultural environment for them and are forced to adapt to it. Since in the United States and some other countries "culture" is understood, first of all, as a function of the human psyche, it is customary in the study of A. to focus on changing the psychological elements of spiritual culture, in particular, the assimilation of social norms. communication, a new system of values, etc. In some cases, the term A is replaced by narrower and clearer concepts, for example, the concept of "Europeanization" - to refer to the process of spreading elements of European culture, forms of economy, state structure in the countries of Asia and Africa etc. A. as such is usually a stage of ethnic processes (see), most often assimilation, but may not be it; foreign ethnic (for example, immigrant) groups, having adopted elements of material and spiritual culture associated with external communication, can preserve elements of their traditional culture, native language and ethnicity in everyday life for a long time. self-awareness. Lit .: Watch V.M. The problem of acculturation in modern US ethnographic literature//Modern American ethnography. M., 1963; see also lit. to Art. ethnic processes. IN AND. Kozlov.
4) Acculturation- the process of mutual influence of cultures, during which one people learns values, norms, behavior patterns from another.
5) Acculturation- the process of interaction of cultures, as well as its result, which consists in the perception of one of them elements of another culture or the emergence of a new socio-cultural system.
6) Acculturation- in the social sciences - the process of changing material culture, customs and beliefs, occurring with direct contact and mutual influence of various social and cultural systems. The term "A." used to denote both the process itself and its results. According to Linton (1940), the two types of conditions under which A. can take place are as follows: 1) free borrowing by contacting cultures of each other's elements, proceeding in the absence of military-political domination of one group over another; 2) guided cultural change, in which a militarily or politically dominant group pursues a policy of forcible cultural assimilation of a subordinate group. At present, explicit or implicit identification of A. with assimilation has given way to a broader understanding of A. as a process of interaction between cultures, during which they change, assimilate new elements, and form a fundamentally new cultural synthesis as a result of mixing different cultural traditions.
7) Acculturation- (acculturation) - 1. (especially in cultural anthropology) the process in which contacts between different cultural groups lead to the acquisition of new cultural patterns by one or perhaps both of them, together with a full or partial perception of another culture. 2. Any transfer of culture from one group to another, including transfer from one generation to another (although in this case the concepts of enculturation and socialization are more often used).
Accommodation- (from lat. accomoda-tio - adaptation, adaptation) - eng. accomodation; German accomodation. Passive form of adaptation to social. relationships. See ADAPTATION, ACCULTURATION.
2) Accommodation- (from lat. accomoda-tio - adaptation) - a passive form of adaptation to social. relationships.
3) Accommodation- (accommodation) - 1. (In racial relations) the process by which ethnic groups adapt to each other's existence and coexist without the need to resolve major differences and conflicts (cf. assimilation). 2. (In a broader sense, for example, in politics or in family life) individual or group behavior of the above kind. 3. (As used by the Chicago School, eg, Park and Burgess, 1921) a fundamental social process, analogous to biological adaptation, by which societies adapt to their environment. The vagueness and conservatism of this interpretation are criticized by Myrdal et al. (1944). 4. (In Piaget's theory of child development) one of the mechanisms through which the transition from one state to the next is achieved. See Assimilation and Accommodation.
Adaptation- English. adaptation; German adaptation. 1. Adaptation of self-organizing systems to changing environmental conditions. 2. In the theory of T. Parsons - material-energy interaction with the external environment, one of the functional conditions for the existence of social. systems along with integration, goal achievement and preservation of value patterns.
2) Adaptation- (from lat. adaptare - to adapt) - 1. Adaptation of self-organizing systems to changing environmental conditions. 2. In the theory of T. Parsons A. - material-energy interaction with the external environment, one of the functional conditions for the existence of social. systems along with integration, goal achievement and preservation of value patterns.
3) Adaptation- - adaptation of a self-organizing system to changing environmental conditions.
4) Adaptation- (adaptation) - the way in which social systems of any kind (eg family group, business firm, nation-state) "govern" or respond to their environment. According to Talcott Parsons, "Adaptation is one of the four Functional Conditions that all social systems must meet in order to survive." He argues that in industrial societies the need for adaptation is satisfied through the development of a specialized subsystem - the economy. See neoevolutionism.
Assimilation- (from lat. assimila-tio - assimilation, merging, assimilation, association index adaptation) - eng. assimilation; German assimilation. Unilateral or mutual absorption of individuals and groups by other groups, resulting in the identification of the cult, traits and characteristics of the self-consciousness of the constituent individuals of the group. In contrast
From acculturation, which implies a change in culture as a result of contact with other cultures, A. leads to the complete elimination of the cult, differences. Unlike amalgamation A. does not require biologists to merge groups. A. is often accompanied by the phenomenon of marginality, characteristic of groups and individuals who have lost touch with the old culture, but who have not fully accepted the features of the new culture.
2) Assimilation- - in ethnography - a type of unifying ethnic processes (see). Under A. already sufficiently formed ethnic groups or small groups that separated from them, being in close contact with other people - more numerous or more developed in the socio-economic. and culturally (and especially being among this people), perceive its language and culture. Gradually, they, usually in subsequent generations, merge with it, classify themselves as this people. A. processes can cover both ethnic groups. minorities of the same country (for example, the Welsh in England, the Bretons in France, the Karelians in Russia, etc.), and immigrants who settled permanently (for example, Italians who moved to France, the USA, etc. . countries). A distinction is made between natural and forced A. Natural A. arises from direct contact between ethnically heterogeneous groups and is conditioned by the needs of a common social, economic, and cultural life, by the spread of ethnically mixed marriages, and so on. is a system of measures taken by the government or local authorities in the field of school education and other spheres of public life, aimed at artificially accelerating A. by suppressing or restricting the language and culture of ethnic. minorities, pressure on their identity, etc.; in this respect, the policy of A. is the opposite of the policy of segregation. An important step in ethnic A. are cultural A., or acculturation, and linguistic A., that is, a complete transition to another language, which becomes native. Lit. : Kozlov V. I. Dynamics of the number of peoples. M., 1969. V.I. Kozlov
3) Assimilation- ethnic absorption, almost complete dissolution of one people (sometimes several peoples) in another.
4) Assimilation
5) Assimilation- the process of mutual cultural penetration, through which individuals and groups come to a common culture shared by all participants in the process.
6) Assimilation- the process of mutual cultural penetration through which individuals and groups come to a common culture shared by all participants in the process (the merging of one people with another by assimilating its language, customs, etc.).
When cultures interact, they not only complement each other, but enter into complex relationships in which they mutually adapt by borrowing their best products. The changes caused by these borrowings force the people of this culture to adapt, adapt to them, mastering and using these new elements in their lives. As a result, a person, to a greater or lesser extent, achieves compatibility with the new cultural environment. It is believed that both in the interaction of cultures and in the adaptation of a person to the elements of a new culture, the process of acculturation occurs.
The concept and essence of acculturation
Acculturation processes began to be studied at the beginning of the 20th century. American cultural anthropologists R. Redfield, R. Linton and M. Herskovitz. At first, they considered acculturation as the result of long-term contact of groups representing different cultures, which was expressed in a change in the original cultural models in one or both groups (depending on the proportion of interacting groups). However, researchers gradually moved away from understanding acculturation only as a group phenomenon and began to consider it at the level of the individual's psychology, presenting the process of acculturation as a change in the value orientation, role behavior, and social attitudes of the individual. Currently, the term "acculturation" is used to refer to the process and result of the mutual influence of different cultures, in which all or part of the representatives of one culture (recipients) adopt the norms, values and traditions of another (from the culture of the donor). We can say that at the level of an individual, acculturation is the process of mastering the knowledge and skills necessary for living in a foreign culture.
Research in the field of acculturation was especially intensified at the end of the 20th century. This is due to the migration boom that humanity is experiencing and which is manifested in the ever-increasing exchange of students, specialists, as well as in mass migrations. According to some estimates, more than 100 million people live outside their country of origin today.
Basic acculturation strategies
In the process of acculturation, a person is forced to simultaneously solve two problems - the preservation of his cultural identity and inclusion in a foreign culture. The combination of possible solutions to these problems gives the main acculturation strategies:
- assimilation- a variant of acculturation, in which a person fully accepts the values and norms of another culture, while refusing their own norms and values;
- separation— negation of a foreign culture while maintaining identification with one's own culture. In this case, members of the non-dominant group prefer a greater or lesser degree of isolation from the dominant culture. The isolation strategy advocated by the dominant culture is called segregation;
- marginalization- a variant of acculturation, manifested in the loss of identity with one's own culture and the lack of identification with the culture of the majority. This situation arises from the inability to maintain one's own identity (usually due to some external reasons) and the lack of interest in obtaining a new identity (perhaps due to discrimination or segregation from this culture);
- integration Identification with both the old culture and the new one.
Until recently, scientists called complete assimilation with the dominant culture the best acculturation strategy. Today, the goal of acculturation is to achieve the integration of cultures, the result of which is a bicultural or multicultural personality. This is possible if the interacting majority and minority groups voluntarily choose this strategy: the integrating group is ready to accept the attitudes and values of a new culture, and the dominant group is ready to accept these people, respecting their rights, values, adapting social institutions to their needs.
Integration, both the minority and the majority, can only be accepted voluntarily, since this process is a mutual adjustment of these groups, recognition by both groups of the right of each of them to live as culturally different peoples.
However, members of the non-dominant group are not always free to choose the acculturation strategy. The dominant group may restrict choice or force certain forms of acculturation. Thus, the choice of a non-dominant group may be separation. But if the separation is of a forced nature - it arises as a result of the discriminatory actions of the dominant majority, then it turns into segregation. A non-dominant group may choose to assimilate, indicating a willingness to accept the idea of a "melting pot" of cultures. But if they are forced to do this, then the “cauldron” turns into a “pressure press”. It is very rare for a minority group to choose marginalization. Most often, people become marginalized as a result of attempts to combine forced assimilation with forced segregation.
At the same time, integration corresponds to positive ethnic identity and ethnic tolerance, assimilation - negative ethnic identity and ethnic tolerance, separation - positive ethnic identity and intolerance, marginalization - negative ethnic identity and intolerance.
Acculturation as communication
The basis of acculturation is the communicative process. In the same way as the locals acquire their cultural characteristics, i.e. are inculturated through interaction with each other, so visitors get acquainted with new cultural conditions and master new skills through communication. Therefore, the process of acculturation is the acquisition of communication skills in a new culture.
Any communication, including personal, has three interrelated aspects - cognitive, affective and behavioral, as I proceed in communication! - processes of perception, processing of information, as well as actions aimed at objects and people surrounding a person. In this process, the individual, using the information received, adapts to the environment.
The most fundamental changes occur in the structure of cognition, in the picture of the world through which a person receives information from the environment. It is on the differences in the picture of the world, in the ways of categorizing and interpreting experience, that the differences between cultures are based. Only by expanding the sphere of acceptance and processing of information, a person can comprehend the system of organization of a foreign culture and adjust his processes of cognition to those that are inherent in the bearers of a foreign culture. A person defines the mentality of "strangers" as difficult and incomprehensible precisely because he is unfamiliar with the system of knowledge of another culture. But a person has the potential to expand his knowledge about the cognitive system of a foreign culture, and the more a person learns about a foreign culture, the greater his ability to know in general. The reverse is also true: the more developed a person's system of cognition, the greater the ability to understand a foreign culture he demonstrates.
In order to develop fruitful relationships with representatives of a foreign culture, a person must not only understand it on a rational level, but also on an affective one. It is necessary to know what emotional statements and reactions are acceptable, since in every society a certain criterion of sentimentality and emotionality is accepted. When a person is adapted to another affective orientation, he can understand the causes of humor, fun and delight, anger, pain and disappointment in the same way as local people.
Decisive in adapting a person to a foreign culture is the acquisition of technical and social behavioral skills for acting in certain situations. technical skills include skills that are important for every member of society - language skills, the ability to shop, pay taxes, etc. Social Skills usually less specific than technical ones, but more difficult to master. Even the bearers of culture, naturally "playing" their social roles, very rarely can explain what, how and why they do it. However, by trial and error, a person constantly improves behavior by forming algorithms and stereotypes that can be used automatically without thinking.
Full adaptation of a person to a foreign culture means that all three aspects of communication proceed simultaneously, coordinated and balanced. People adapting to the conditions of a new culture usually feel the underdevelopment of one or more of these aspects of communication, resulting in poor balance and coordination. For example, it is possible to know a lot about a new culture, but not have contact with it on an affective level; if such a gap is large, there may be an inability to adapt to the new culture.
Results of acculturation. The most important goal and result of acculturation is long-term adaptation to life in a foreign culture. It is characterized by relatively stable changes in individual or group consciousness in response to environmental demands. Adaptation is usually considered in two aspects - psychological and socio-cultural.
Psychological adaptation represents the achievement of psychological satisfaction within the new culture. This is expressed in well-being, psychological health, in a clearly and clearly formed sense of personal or cultural identity.
Sociocultural adaptation is the ability to freely navigate in a new culture and society, to solve everyday problems in the family, at home, at work.
Since one of the most important indicators of successful adaptation is employment, satisfaction with work and the level of one's professional achievements and, as a result, one's well-being in a new culture, researchers began to single out as an independent aspect of adaptation. economic adaptation.
The process of adaptation may not lead to a mutual correspondence between the individual and the environment, and then it will be expressed in resistance, in an attempt to change one's environment or change mutually. Therefore, the range of results of adaptation is very wide - from a very successful adaptation to a new life to the complete failure of all attempts to achieve this.
The results of adaptation depend on both psychological and sociocultural factors, which are quite closely interrelated. Psychological adaptation depends on the type of person's personality, events in his life, as well as social support. The effectiveness of socio-cultural adaptation is determined by the knowledge of culture, the degree of involvement in contacts and intergroup attitudes. Both of these aspects of adaptation are successfully implemented if the person is convinced of the benefits of the integration strategy.
SCIENTIFIC NOTES OF KAZAN STATE UNIVERSITY Volume 150, book. 4 Humanities 2008
MINORITIES, ASSIMILATION AND MULTICULTURALISM: THE EXPERIENCE OF RUSSIA AND THE USA
L.R. Nizamova Abstract
The issues of preserving cultural pluralism and assimilation of minorities are considered through the prism of a comparative analysis of modern Russian and American practices. Similarities and differences in the current ethnic policy of Russia and the United States are revealed, the place and specifics of multiculturalism, the features of interethnic and interracial relations in these countries are determined. The empirical basis of the central provisions of the work was the results of the case study "American Tatars", which made it possible to reveal the main mechanisms of "resistance" to assimilation and reproduction of a distinctive cultural identity.
Key words: multiculturalism, cultural pluralism, assimilation, ethnic minorities, national minorities, nation-building, Russia, USA, Volga Tatars, American Tatars.
Introduction
The rejection of multiculturalism in Russia and the unprecedented growth of xenophobia and intolerance have many diverse and multilevel reasons. Among them, the transitional period that Russian society is going through, inevitably accompanied by a fierce struggle of interests, the low standard of living of significant segments of the population and the deepening socio-economic inequality, defects in the upbringing and education of the younger generation, aggravation of intolerance and distrust of "others" in the media are often rightly named among them. Nevertheless, in our opinion, there are also fundamental macro-social reasons for the rejection of the multiculturalist "agenda".
At the beginning of the 21st century, Russian society entered a qualitatively new stage in its development, the main characteristics of which are determined by at least two groups of factors. First, it is an "external" factor of increasing globalization and Russia's increasingly active inclusion in the system of all-encompassing international economic, political, communication, migration, cultural relations and ties. Secondly, a no less significant "internal" factor is the increasingly confident assertion of a nationally oriented political vector. After the collapse of the USSR at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, Russia received a new historical chance to become a national state. Under the new presidency, this possible prospect has been recognized as an indisputable political goal and, at the same time, a means of realizing specific political programs.
One can speak of a “new” stage of nation-building in a broad sense, counting it from 1992-1993. - the time of the signing of the new Union Treaty and the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. However, the 1990s proved to be predominantly a period of transition in terms of state building. The main features of the current stage in the formation of the Russian nation-state have been most clearly and firmly identified in the last eight years. This means that, in a narrow sense, the “new” stage in the formation of the Russian national state is associated with the policies of President V. Putin and the federal authorities.
The stage of the 1990s and the current period differ significantly from each other in the content of ethnic policy, the nature of interethnic and ethnopolitical relations, and the assessment of the importance of the ethnic factor in the country's domestic policy. If the most noticeable and characteristic expression of B. Yeltsin’s policy in public discourse was his words “Take as much sovereignty as you can swallow,” then the line of President V. Putin is justifiably associated with strengthening the “vertical of power” and a gradual rethinking of the previous practices of implementing multinational federalism, allegedly not passed the test of strength, according to skeptics, referring to the example of the collapsed USSR. Accordingly, the ethnic policy, which led to the decentralization of governance and the strengthening of regional elites, who often pursued selfish and narrowly territorial interests, was replaced by a repeatedly strengthened federal policy aimed at maintaining and consolidating the general civic consciousness of Russians. These efforts are also supported by a gradual change in the principles of building a federation: multinational federalism is increasingly being replaced by federalism of the American type, that is, its administrative-territorial version. Thus, the enlargement of regions carried out in recent years (apparently inevitable and true in itself) is carried out by eliminating the former national-territorial units from the map of the Russian Federation: Komi-Permyatsky, Koryaksky, Evenki, Taimyr, Ust-Ordynsky Buryat, Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrugs which for many years acted as a means of realizing the internationally recognized right of peoples to self-determination and corresponding to the federalist principles laid down in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
Such reforms are evidence of a significant change in Russian national policy towards minorities. By default, assimilation becomes the dominant ethnopolitical vector - a typical variant of state policy in the 19th - early 20th centuries. regarding the minorities of the period of the formation of nation-states in Western Europe and America. On the one hand, assimilation makes all citizens living in a given territory equal and gives them the same rights and obligations, regardless of their ethnic and racial origin. On the other hand, the acquisition by minorities of equal rights with the dominant majority is “paid for” by the loss of their own culture, name, history, or their noticeable marginalization. The manifestation of ethno-cultural (racial) distinctiveness and originality in this context can be perceived by representatives of the majority as a challenge or “disrespect” from “others” or “outsiders”.
Today, the ethnic is increasingly being squeezed out of politics and economics, in general, the public sphere. The deinstitutionalization of ethnicity and its "movement" into the sphere of purely private, personal, family began. The first and most significant step in this direction was the introduction in the early 2000s of new internal passports for Russian citizens, which eliminated the mention of ethnic origin and brought to the fore the civil and state identity of passport holders. This pushed ethnicity into the background and equated it with the private matter of the individual and the family.
The current ethno-national changes in Russia and the ethno-racial policy of the United States, for all their noticeable differences, have obvious similarities and similarities: 1) the predominance of efforts to form an inclusive (unifying) civic identity of the country's inhabitants; 2) designing the political and administrative division of the country deliberately contrary to the principles of multinational federalism and in accordance with the ideology of the "melting pot"; 3) in the long term, the inevitable “inheritance” of the “multinational™” factor (national republics in the Russian Federation and the special political status of Indian tribes, Puerto Rico and Guam in the USA), while the administrative-territorial principle remains dominant in politics; 4) formal freedom of ethnic self-expression, localizing the "ethnic" primarily in the family, in the private circle and at the local level. (And in Russia, these may be the results of the deinstitutionalization of ethnicity, its displacement from the sphere of public and "silent" assimilation.)
Case study "American Tatars": assimilation versus multiculturalism
The case study1, which set, among other things, the task of studying the features of the ethnic and multiculturalist policy of the United States, as well as the mechanisms and methods of assimilation into the host society, makes it possible to predict with a high degree of probability the results of the policy of deinstitutionalization of ethnicity that has emerged in Russia. Statistically small peoples will experience its effects most quickly: assimilation and Russification, which began in the years of Soviet modernization, will noticeably intensify and lead to the extinction of minorities and even the complete disappearance of languages, cultures, traditions and customs of small peoples. Here one can also refer to the example of the United States, where a multiculturalist policy that promotes ethnocultural self-preservation and self-expression, encouraging tolerance for the other, nevertheless
1 The project "Reclaiming the Ethnic: Multiculturalist Values and Practices in the Context of Globalization", focused on getting to know the American Tatar community and studying the features of the US multiculturalist policy, was carried out in New York City with the support of the Fulbright Program. In the collection of empirical data were used: the method of researching personal biographies and family histories through free non-formalized interviews and the participant observation method. In general, about 70 meetings-acquaintances were held and 24 free biographical interviews were conducted using three languages (Tatar, Russian, English - at the choice of the respondent) with Tatars who have US citizenship or a permanent residence permit ("green card") and mainly living in the country for at least 6 years. Most of these meetings took place in New York City and the surrounding areas of Long Island and New Jersey; in addition, respondents living in Washington DC, Chicago and other cities took part in the interview. In this article, quotes from interviews in Tatar and English are translated into Russian.
cannot prevent the action of powerful assimilation factors and mechanisms that erase and level cultural distinctiveness.
The assimilation "pressure" experienced by immigrant groups in the United States is very strong and often unstoppable. However, there are also numerous channels and mechanisms of "resistance" to them and the reproduction of a distinctive ethno-cultural and religious identity, even if we are talking about very small groups. They are based on economic and political freedoms, the principle of equal citizenship, and relatively new multiculturalist values and attitudes for the United States. Consideration of the example of the diaspora of the Volga Tatars in the USA made it possible to identify the following practices that ensure the survival and development of "their" culture in the new homeland: 1) the preservation of the native language and its adaptation to the new socio-cultural environment (teaching the Tatar language at home, communicating in the native language with family, relatives and in the Tatar Association); 2) following the Muslim tradition: celebrating Muslim holidays, visiting a mosque, broadcasting religious traditions to children, in particular through teaching in Sunday schools; 3) the desire to marry “with one’s own” and thus preserve one’s ethnic name and identity (which is most common in the middle and older age groups); 4) the desire to preserve and pass on to children various elements of Tatar culture: ideas about the history of the people, their culture (including literature, music, etc.) and customs, the skills of preparing Tatar food and organizing family meetings and collective meetings; 5) creation on a voluntary basis of Tatar societies and associations as sustainable centers of the "Tatar world" in a different ethnic environment (organization of annual evenings dedicated to the classic of Tatar literature G. Tukay, and regular celebration of Sabantuy), which in recent years have also become a channel connecting with Tatarstan and its capital (participation in the events of the World Congress of Tatars in Kazan); 6) maintaining personal informal and, less often, official ties with the homeland of the ancestors or the territories of residence of the Tatars in the former USSR (for example, attending concerts and performances by artists from Tatarstan); 7) use of the Tatar Internet and inclusion in network communities and a number of others. Depending on the time and trajectory of emigration, the Tatar ethno-cultural consciousness in the United States is supplemented or corrected by elements of Soviet, Russian, territorial (for example, Tashkent or St. Petersburg) or Turkish, Turkic and Muslim identities.
The example of the Tatars of America also shows that Russian instrumentalist interpretations of ethnicity are one-sided. The ethnicity of the American Tatars was preserved not because it was institutionalized, enshrined in any official documents, but because it was an expression of a deep and relatively stable identity - the core of a person's "I" and an important component of his family and personal life. All this suggests that in addition to the instrumentalist ethnicity, it also performs an expressivist function.
A generalized assessment of the dynamics of the life of the Tatar diaspora in the United States can be used as the basis for a forecast regarding the possible consequences and effects of the reorientation of Russian ethno-national policy towards
the direction of the administrative-territorial version of federalism and the implementation of the project of civil nationalism in Russia, which only at first glance seems to be ethnically neutral. In the case of the Tatars, who make up the second largest ethnic group in the Russian Federation, the purposeful deinstitutionalization and depoliticization of ethnicity may in the long run mean the extinction and disappearance of state structures and political will that today ensure the existence and development of the Tatar “infrastructure” in Russian society. Its core and predominant share are Tatarstan institutions of education (from preschool to higher), science, book publishing, broadcasting in the Tatar language (television, radio, press, Internet), as well as Tatar cultural production (theater, fine arts, etc.) and religious worship. In other words, given the already obvious disregard for the ethno-cultural demands of minorities at the federal level, the situation will not only not be improved, but, on the contrary, will noticeably worsen if the regional (republican) and local levels of government also step aside from running the affairs of ethnic groups and managing interethnic relations.
The new stage of Russian nation-building is being carried out in conditions fundamentally different from the era of the formation of the first modern nation-states in Western Europe and America in the 19th and 20th centuries. It takes place in the context of growing globalization and the legitimization of the collective rights of peoples and minorities at the international level. It will be able to acquire a different content, while fully maintaining the goal, if the Russian version of the policy and ideology of multiculturalism is chosen as a guideline and then gradually built. The new Russian multiculturalism can be based on critically revised, brought into line with the agenda of modern society and “cleansed” of internal inconsistencies and defects in the practices of Soviet multiculturalism, which are inertially reproduced today. The implementation of multiculturalist attitudes in the country's domestic policy will make Russian demands in the spirit of nationalism of the "external historical homeland" (definition by the American theorist of nationalism R. Brubaker) to protect the rights of ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers outside the Russian Federation, primarily in the post-Soviet space, justified and legitimate.
Ethno-racial relations and multiculturalism in the USA and Russia
Despite the appearance of a number of features of closeness and similarity between the ethno-racial policy of the United States and the current ethno-national changes in Russia, there are also important differences that noticeably separate the considered national models from each other. Among them are the following.
1. Different types of “multiculturalism” dominate in the USA and Russia: “po-ethnicity” in the first case and “multinationality” in the second. The distinction between the two named types of multiculturalism was introduced into scientific circulation by the famous Canadian researcher W. Kimlika. Multinationality is the historical result of the unification of previously independent
telnyh, self-governing, territorially isolated cultures in one state. The formation of new states often took place involuntarily - through conquest, colonization, transfer of rights from one ruler to another; a variant of voluntary association through the formation of a federation that satisfies the interests of two or more parties is also possible. The second type of multiculturalism is "multi-ethnicity", which is the result of immigration to the country. After the Second World War, the multi-ethnicity of Great Britain, France, Germany and other European states increased. Post-Soviet Russia is also becoming more and more multi-ethnic due to the massive influx of labor from abroad (immigration from the former republics of the USSR, Vietnam, China, Afghanistan, etc.). In turn, the United States has the characteristics of multinationality, although marginal in terms of the formation of American national identity.
2. In contrast to Russia, in the United States, the topic of racial inequality and deprivation of the African American minority is still dominant and most acute. While the country's ethnic pluralism is undeniable, it is generally less of a concern. In Russian society, on the contrary, for obvious reasons, interest in the study of interethnic relations noticeably prevails over the study of racial hierarchies (although the topic of racism is becoming increasingly relevant in the context of identifying the causes of the growth of xenophobia and chauvinism in Russia in the early 2000s). So, if the All-Russian census of 2002 recorded 160 nationalities, among which Russians make up about 80% of the population, then in the US census of 2000, racial groups were counted. Among them were traditionally distinguished:
1) Americans of European origin, or "whites", - 70% (199.3 million);
2) Hispanics, or "Latinos", people from Spanish-speaking countries - 13% (37 million); 3) African Americans, or "blacks", - 13% (36.1 million); 4) Asian Americans - about 4% (12.1 million); 5) Native Americans, or Indians - less than 1% (data from the U.S. Census Bureau). The past decade has seen remarkable growth in the Hispanic population, more than twice the rate of growth in the African American population; as a result, for the first time in history, Latinos became the largest minority in the United States.
3. The American version of multiculturalism is perhaps the historical successor to the ‘affirmative action’ policy of the 1960s, aimed at overcoming centuries-old forms of racial and ethnic inequality. It aims to accommodate ethnic and racial diversity and recognize the rights of minorities, including outside the private sphere - in the public sphere (primarily in the education system, which is becoming more and more pluralistic and serves to form a culture of equality and tolerance in society). In Russia, on the contrary, ethnicity, once protected and defended by protectionism, is gradually withdrawn from the public sphere at the federal level. This is contrary to the international focus on the protection of the rights of minorities and runs counter to the increasingly widespread multiculturalist values and practices in the world. Today, the attitude towards them in Russia is highly biased, characterized by a pronounced
significant rejection, both in political discourse and in mass attitudes and behavior. This largely explains the unprecedented growth of xenophobia, racism, extreme forms of nationalism and chauvinism in contemporary Russian society.
The dynamics of interethnic relations in the Russian Federation is determined, on the one hand, by ethnopolitical stabilization in the regions in which, after the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s, there was a noticeable increase in ethno-nationalism of the titular ethnic groups of the national republics (Tatar, Yakut, Bashkir, etc.). A notable exception was the crisis situation in the Chechen Republic, the North Caucasus region and the territories adjacent to them. On the other hand, inter-ethnic distrust and negative heterostereotypes, fueled by the war in Chechnya and the actions of terrorist forces in the region and on the territory of Russia as a whole, aggravated in the early 2000s in the context of the progressive growth of Russian ethnic self-consciousness and the establishment of Russian nationalism, which clearly outpaced and challenged spreading the inclusive idea of all-Russian civic nationalism. Russia began to be more and more thought of as a "state for Russians"; Russians as an ethnic majority were declared a "state-forming" (or "empire-forming") nationality and, accordingly, became "legal owners of the state" .
The logical consequence of such views is the legitimation of the practices of exclusion and political and cultural marginalization of significant segments of the population (all migrants, ethnic minorities, foreigners, non-Christians, etc. - in a word, all "strangers"). This means that inter-ethnic relations in the Russian Federation have entered a new, very problematic and alarming stage, characterized by a noticeable increase in xenophobia, racism and chauvinism. Russian experts rightly qualify xenophobia as a "systemic factor" of modern Russian society, as a form of mass "negative consolidation" that runs counter to the modernization program of the country's development. The fears are confirmed by the results of sociological studies in recent years, which indicate that people of other nationalities living in Russia are increasingly perceived as a "threat to security and order", and this point of view is beginning to prevail. According to the opinion of the mass respondent, foreigners and migrants are “dangerous”, “behave arrogantly and aggressively”, “cash on the indigenous population” and there are too many of them: in Russia there is “the dominance of visitors” . A distinctive feature of the current stage of interethnic relations is that the social base of xenophobia and chauvinism has noticeably expanded and today includes not only the deprived mass "lower classes", but also the political and cultural elite of Russian society. Of course, in such an ideological atmosphere, the possibility of using the potential of multiculturalism is not even indicated.
Interviews conducted as part of the case study "American Tatars" made it possible to discuss the state and problematic "zones" of interethnic and interracial interaction in the United States. The following aspects were considered: the nature of relations between representatives of different races and nationalities in New York City and in the United States as a whole; existence of facts of tension, discrimination or
insults based on ethno-racial principle; the impact of ethnic origin on the opportunity to get a good education, job or career; cases (or lack thereof) of hiding one's ethnicity or religion; the impact of the tragic events of September 11, 2001 on the life of the respondent, the attitude towards the Tatars as a Muslim group and towards Muslims and Islam in general.
Perhaps the most significant factors that influenced the answers and comments of American Tatars were: the assignment of Tatars by the host society to the socially prosperous racial group “whites, or Americans of European descent” (which coincides with the dominant racial self-assessment of the Tatars in the USA), on the one hand, and self-identification with the Muslim population of the United States - on the other. In general, a positive assessment was given to the general state of interethnic relations in American society, especially in cosmopolitan New York:
“Every nation has its own communities. There are associations. Each nation with its associations lives very well” [I. 6].
"Well, I<дискриминации или оскорбления по этническом признаку>did not meet. I haven't met this. People are friendlier here” [I. 3].
“I told you, everyone lives here: ‘I don’t care’<Меня не касается>. He doesn't care how you live; you don't care how someone lives. Therefore, there can be no conflict. Because they don’t care about anyone” [I. 5].
"Not really. Nobody cares at all. The issue of nationality does not concern anyone here. You can ask out of pure curiosity. From the pure" [I. 7].
“They live very well. Surprisingly good. There are many Koreans here. You go... like in a Korean village<... >If you go to the Chinese... to the Chinese shop... the inscriptions are in Chinese. And they write in Arabic. And there are newspapers. But when I was in Moscow, I never saw inscriptions in Tatar” [I.14].
At the same time, many of the respondents are well aware that the situation is not without problems. One of the most acute and visible problems is the persistence of racism in changed forms and the reproduction of dividing lines between "whites" and the African American population:
“People get along. When I arrived in this country, and I had the first impression that racism practically does not exist here. That is, people do not even have such a concept as racism.<...>But<теперь>I still understand that people just get along. Everyone has different emotions though. Some people, yes, are distrustful. Especially people from the South” [I. 13].
“Racism is alive and well. I think now... with the increase in Latin<имеется в виду латиноамериканского>population problem becomes even more dramatic. Perhaps it is not yet felt on our coast. And, for example, in California, in states close to Mexico, this is a huge problem” [I. 8].
“Racial conflicts exist between blacks and whites, between blacks and Jews.<...>Sometimes it is fueled by the press.<...>Well, ethnic conflicts - to a lesser extent, they probably exist...” [I. 1].
According to a number of American researchers, the adoption of multiculturalism in the United States is the "price" that America pays for its inability (or unwillingness) to incorporate African Americans into its society in the same way as many other ethnocultural groups have been integrated. Indeed, in hidden and latent forms, racial discrimination, as well as various manifestations of ethnic mistrust, is reproduced, but racism as an ideology and practice is outlawed and is severely persecuted by it. The principle of equality, which underlies the idea of a civil nation, is strictly protected by the state and is quite deeply rooted in the mass consciousness:
"Maybe there is<этнические предрассудки и предубеждения^ Но нам с этим сталкиваться не приходится. Здесь закон серьезно работает в этом отношении. То есть люди здесь взаимно вежливы и уважительны» [И. 7].
" Not here<комментарий о наличии напряженности и дискриминации в эт-норасовых отношениях>. This is a violation of the law here. And if you really feel like an American, you don't think about it" [I. 12].
Most of the interviewees did not establish any influence of ethnicity on their life chances - the opportunity to find a job, get an education, make a career. However, several respondents with a good education and a relatively high socio-economic status made a number of reservations in response to this question:
«<О влиянии этничности на карьеру, возможность получить образование и работу:>No. No. I don't know... Unless I'm going to be there... a member of the US Supreme Court.<... >To the level of a cabinet member, I think it makes no difference” [I. 8].
“Yes, I think so. In the entire history of America, there has not been a single President of a black or any other ethnic group" [I. 13].
“I am an immigrant in this country... Although I am an American citizen... I know that I most likely will not be able to reach any high administrative positions.<... >I think there are certain relationships among people, especially in politics, that don't allow certain or racial minorities or ethnic minorities to be on top... on top of the cake, shall we say. Where is the cream" [I. 1].
The greatest concern, however, was the rise in distrust and prejudice against Muslims after the series of terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The overwhelming majority of respondents noted a deterioration (more or less) of attitudes towards Muslims, expressed in interpersonal insults and accusations, acts of vandalism, attacks on Muslims and Muslim organizations in the period immediately after the terrorist attack:
"Here we go<в Америку, потому>what exactly is... a free country; that they do not oppress; no one will tell you anything ... Well, now, you see, the policy has changed radically. After September 11th. Muslims suddenly became guilty of all sins” [I. 2].
“I believe that after September 11, the attitude towards the Muslim faith has changed.<... >Well, maybe even hostile. Although they say there that not everyone is the same...” [I. 3].
"This is not true.<... >After all, what do they think ... Once the Muslims did it, then all Muslims are like that. This is wrong" [I. 14].
Other respondents paid tribute to the public position of the authorities, who explained in the media that the perpetrators were terrorists, not adherents of the Muslim faith:
“... It was very well said on TV here that it was terrorism, not Muslims.<... >I, for example, as a Muslim, did not feel this either.<... >They didn't let it all blow up in time. These are laws again, and thinking<то есть умение тех, кто управляет>look forward" [I. 7]
Among the positive effects of the increased attention to Muslims were noted: the desire of Americans to know Islam better and a significant increase in the amount of information about it; introduction of teaching in universities; new facts of the adoption of the Muslim faith; rapprochement and unity of the Muslim community in the United States:
“Usually I considered myself a Tatar-American or a Turkic-American, and to a much lesser extent a Muslim-American. But after 9/11, we all inevitably became much more Muslim Americans.<...>I am very saddened that US civil liberties are being eroded, especially for Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans, and the future is apprehensive” [I. 15], - noted one of the respondents in 2003. However, time has shown that American multiculturalism has largely passed the test: thanks to the principle of equality and observance of civil rights and freedoms, on the whole, it was possible to maintain the former quality of the climate of interethnic and interfaith relations in the United States.
Conclusion
The example of the implementation of multiculturalism in the United States and in other countries, both New and Old Worlds, testifies, firstly, that in the conditions of the beginning of the 21st century, nation-states can no longer ignore the demands of ethnocultural and racial minorities and need to create mechanisms and institutions for their accommodation and integration into the civil society, meeting the norms of international law and contributing to the realization of both individual and collective freedoms. Secondly, the world experience of following the multiculturalist path convinces us that there is no single normative “form” of multiculturalism; on the contrary, there is a huge number of national models of accommodation of cultural pluralism that meet national-specific challenges and needs. Consequently, in Russia, the formation and implementation of an acceptable model of multiculturalism should also be focused on relevant national goals and objectives: 1) management of Russia's primordial multinationality in the context of the development of genuine federalism, including, among other things, the systematic implementation of the practices of multinational federalism; 2) assistance in solving the ethno-cultural problems of numerous Russian diasporas; 3) integration into society of the growing flow of migrants and immigrants, legal labor from abroad; 4) creation of a favorable internal political
a basis for protecting the interests of "compatriots" and the Russian-speaking population outside the borders of the Russian Federation in the spirit of "nationalism of the external historical homeland" (the latter essentially means Russia's recognition of multiculturalism in the international dimension); 5) countering the spread of extremism, chauvinism, extreme manifestations of nationalism, racism and intolerance, which are a serious obstacle to the realization of national interests, (for example, in the development of the tourism industry, the internationalization of Russian education and the inclusion of Russia in the world educational space, in general, strengthening international positions and prestige of the country in the world community).
Currently in Russia there is a deep contradiction between the urgent need to adapt Russian cultural diversity and give it contours that correspond to the spirit of the times and national interests, and the expressed rejection of the discourse of multiculturalism, both in mass attitudes and behavior, and in political action. This discrepancy has not yet been properly recognized, and the existing de facto cultural pluralism is considered rather an unfortunate obstacle to the consolidation of a single Russian citizenship. Nevertheless, the future of the country depends on how soon erroneous and one-sided ideas about the potential and limits of the variability of multiculturalism will be overcome and the compatibility of ethnic, cultural, religious diversity with the formation of a single common civil identity will be realized.
L.R. Nizamova. Minorities, Assimilation and Multiculturalism: the Cases of Russia and the USA.
The issues of preservation of cultural pluralism and assimilation are studied within a comparative analysis of contemporary Russian and American social and political practices. Common features and differences of the ethnic policy of Russia and the USA have been displayed; the role and specific character of multiculturalism and inter-ethnic relations have been identified. Conclusions of the article are based on the data of the empirical case study “American Tatars” that have helped to reveal the mechanisms of ‘resistance’ to assimilation and reproduction of the cultural ‘otherness’.
Key words: multiculturalism, cultural pluralism, assimilation, ethnic minorities, national minorities, nation-building, the USA, Russia, Volga Tatars, American Tatars.
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Received 21.01.08
Nizamova Liliya Ravilievna - Candidate of Sciences in Sociology, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Kazan State University.
