FAQ

What is the difference between an ethnic group and a race?
Members of an ethnic group share certain beliefs, values, habits, customs, and norms as well as a common language, religion, history, geography, and kinship. A race is an ethnic group that is assumed to have a biological basis. In the U.S., most people use these terms interchangeably, which blurs the important distinction that a race is believed or assumed to have a biological basis, while an ethnicity is not. For example, we do not think that Italians tend to be good cooks because they have a gene for good cooking. However, statements "like white men can't jump" imply that white males lack some gene for jumping. The difference is due to the fact that "Italian" is an ethnic group, while "white" is a racial term in that the qualities that characterizes whites are assumed to have a biological basis.

Is the U.S. a melting pot of cultures like we are taught in elementary school?
The U.S. used to be thought of as a melting pot, but today it is more like a salad. The melting pot model best describes an assimilationist society in which minority groups are incorporated into the dominant culture to the point where they no longer exists as separate cultural units. All of the minority groups are blended into the dominant "flavor" of the melting pot which represents the dominant culture. Is this what we see in the U.S. today? While minority groups in the U.S. have to adopt some of the cultural standards of the U.S., they are encouraged to maintain their own traditional beliefs, values, customs, language, and history. Multicultural societies socialize people into both the dominant national culture and an ethnic culture. As a result, a salad best represents multicultural societies like the U.S. because in a salad, each ingredient remains distinct, although they are all in the same bowl covered with the same dressing. In this model, different ethnic groups are represented by the different ingredients while the dominant national culture is represented by the dressing and bowl containing all of the ingredients.

What are the different ways that ethnic diversity can be expressed?
Ethnic diversity is generally embraced and celebrated or discouraged. Multicultural societies view ethnic diversity as desirable and as something to be encouraged. Assimilationist societies tend to view ethnic diversity as disruptive and as something that needs to be controlled. In certain instances, assimilation is de facto in that it is practiced, but not legally sanctioned. In other instances, assimilation is de jure (legally sanctioned) or forced upon the minority groups. Examples of this include cultural colonialism, or the forcing of other ethnic groups to participate in a different culture; and ethnocide, which is the attempt to destroy certain ethnic practices. The most extreme example of this is genocide, which is the deliberate elimination of a group through mass murder. It is important to understand that while multiculturalism is generally more peaceful, it is not perfect. In the U.S., ethnic identities are often the target of prejudice and discrimination and, in certain instances, violence.