When I started reading this chapter, I could remember the concepts from my course ‘Social Identity and Intergroup Relations’. In that course, I learned about acculturation in the light of social identity theory, especially Berry’s Strategy Model considering the perspective of majority and minority groups. However, this chapter only focuses on the model from the minority group’s perspective.
There is a situation in which the immigrants might behave differently in the private versus public domain, for example, Indian Americans cook and eat Indian food in their homes but prefer to eat American food outside. When reading this example, I wondered about the huge role of the parenting style of immigrant parents in the development of their children’s cultural identity. For instance, Chinese immigrant parents in Turkey raise their children by speaking Turkish with them, discussing Turkish history & politics, feeding them Turkish food etc. This would have a completely different outcome in the second generation immigrants (the children of Chinese immigrants) as compared to a Chinese family that closely holds Chinese culture (food, clothing, language etc)
The chapter fails to discuss the potential effect of an overlap between cultures. How distinct or similar are the heritage and the host cultures? I can talk about my experience as a foreigner in Turkey. I always think that Pakistani culture is close to Turkish culture in many ways, for example the way we view friendships and relationships, gender roles, family structure etc is quite similar. In this way, integrating into a culture very similar to your own culture might be comparatively easier than doing it in a polar opposite culture.
It is important to note that gaining an ultimate ‘cultural competency’ might be impossible as the chapter mentions a long definition of the terminology. I think going more into depth about the elements of cultural competence would be beneficial in explaining the factors involved in acculturation. For example, language plays a vital role in the acculturation process. I can tie this to the interview I took with a Syrian immigrant in Turkey; he explicitly said that language was a huge barrier to socialization and integration into Turkish society but as soon as he learned the language, he could live a normal life. Perhaps going into the details of factors like language or religious/traditional beliefs would be better for the readers to somehow visualize acculturation and understand the possible barriers to acculturation. I said that an ultimate cultural competency is impossible but the real question is: is it necessary? When we talk about acculturation, do we mean that complete cultural competency is our end goal? Or are some elements of cultural competency more important than others?
Is integration always ideal? Let’s talk about this. The chapter somewhat concludes in this way ‘the level of discrimination and inclusiveness determines whether segregation becomes a more beneficial strategy than integration’. I agree to this viewpoint because integration does not always ensure equity or well-being of the minority group. If there are prominent barriers in the system, the minority group might feel pressured to assimilate into the dominant culture at the cost of their heritage culture.
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