How are local cultures sustained?

Assimilation The process through which people lose originally differentiating traits. Ex. – dress, speech and traditional customs The US public school system was primarily created for this function Often described when dealing with conquered peoples or immigrants The West ep 7 - 55:22

Habit – a repetitive act that a particular individual performs Custom – is a repetitive act of a group, performed to the extent that it becomes characteristic of the group Culture – a collection of social customs

Customs What is the importance of customs? What are some ways in which people keep customs alive? Separation/isolation Family customs Festivals Holidays

Avoid Cultural Appropriation Cultural Appropriation- The process by which other cultures adopt customs and knowledge and use it to its own benefit? Some places in the world try to keep outside knowledge out to avoid outside customs. Can you think of any?

Rural and local cultures fight Pop Culture Rural – residing in the countryside rather than in town Using rural settings to avoid pop culture Amish and Mennonites Rural is more insulated than Urban areas examples Neolocalism – rediscovering and promoting old local ways

Urban Cultures fight Pop Culture Ethic Neighborhoods Ethnic - relating to a population subgroup (within a larger or dominant national or cultural group) with a common national or cultural tradition Examples in Atlanta?

Wow is Pop Culture Diffused? Communication and Migration Agriculture took 10,000 years to diffuse Industrial Revolution – 100 years Today – Months, weeks, days or even hours Effects of Pop culture diffusion?

Nativism and Immigration Restrictions – 1920s & 30s As cities underwent explosive growth, rural populations and traditionalists sometimes felt threatened by foreign cultures and modernism. As Catholic and Jewish immigrants from southern and eastern Europe began to outnumber those from northern and western Europe, nativist sentiments inflamed by WWI coalesced into a "100% American" movement. Ellis Island, 1920

Nativism and Immigration Restrictions The 1921 Immigration Act: limited new arrivals to 350,000 and set caps for European countries- the maximum number of immigrants from a given country could not exceed 3 percent of the number of its natives already in the United States as counted by the 1910 census. The 1924, the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act: further restricted immigration by cutting the maximum total of immigrants to 164,000 changed the caps to 2 percent from a given country

The Resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan One of the most disturbing manifestations of nativist sentiment in the US during 1920's was the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. KKK video – 20:26 Originated after the Civil War as an instrument of white terror against the newly freed slaves, the Klan's influence and membership faded by the 1870's. In the 1920's, the new Klan added advocacy of "100% Americanism" to its agenda, which engendered hatred of Jews, Catholics, foreign born citizens, and communists in addition to African Americans.

The Resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan The Klan's "law and order platform" made it appealing to those who rejected modernism and saw the organization as a champion of patriotism, female purity, temperance and Christian morality. The Klan represented itself as an opportunity for people to socialize and feel connected by ritualized gatherings. In many states Klan members were influential in politics and law enforcement.

The Resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan The membership of the KKK rapidly declined from around 3 million in 1925 to several hundred thousand in the late 1920's, due in part to the implication of its leaders in various scandals. In response to growing disillusionment and defection by its members, the KKK staged a march down Pennsylvania Avenue in August 1928.