1. The Nation as a Kaleidoscope
Multiculturalism
The Nation as a Kaleidoscope

2. Metaphors for a Multicultural Society
The Melting Pot AKA the Alchemists Cauldron
Insufficient?
The Salad Bowl
The Kaleidoscope?

3. Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
What progress has been made?
In what areas is progress still needed?

4. The Model Minority
A group who has experienced discrimination and prejudice, but appears to have succeeded economically, socially, and educationally
1. Asians still experience prejudice, discrimination and violence
2. As a whole, Asian Americans have high rates of school enrollment and educational attainment, but it varies greatly by subpopulation
Many groups experience high rates of poverty and educational difficulty
3. Experience the Glass ceiling in American Business
4. Despite having higher rates of educational attainment than white, they earn about the same

5. What is wrong with the idea of the “Model Minority”?
What are the negative effects of a positive stereotype?
Identity issues
“Blaming the Victim”

6. The Persistence of Inequality
The effects of Cultural and Social Capital on perpetuating inequality-(Pierre Bourdieu)
Cultural Capital
Noneconomic forces such as family background and past investments in education that is then reflected in knowledge about the arts and language
Forms of knowledge, skills, education, and advantages that a person has, which give them a higher status in society.
Parents provide their children with cultural capital by transmitting the attitudes and knowledge needed to succeed in the current educational system and society at large
Societies value certain lifestyles and knowledge over others
This of course does not mean that one culture is “better” than others, but some ways of living, speaking, acting, and believing are more respected and rewarded
Examples?

7. Social Capital
Collective benefits of social networks and their patterns of reciprocal trust
people gain access to powerful positions through the direct and indirect employment of social connections
disposition to create, maintain and develop networks
Segregation makes developing social capital difficult
As barriers to privilege fall, and racial/ethnic minorities continue to find their ways into positions of power and prestige, people of all colors will advance through use of cultural and social capital