Soci–231
ASSIMILATION, IMMIGRATION, AND CULTURAL CHANGE
Course Description
Debates about immigration often implicate “culture.” Do immigrants share our cultural worldviews and moral orientations? What will happen to the culture of “mainstream” society—the symbols, myths, and traditions that anchor our sense of peoplehood—when immigrants move in, changing the distribution of ideas, values, and beliefs in our neighborhoods and cities? To be sure, immigrants and their descendants often worry about culture, too, and lament being stuck between cultural worlds that are, at times, not straightforwardly compatible. More concerningly, immigrant-origin people often encounter rigid cultural boundaries (e.g., in the form of prejudice) that forestall their inclusion in greater society. The classical theory of assimilation was developed over a century ago to wrestle with these questions and challenges—and it will, along with its many successors, be the focus of this course.
During the semester, we will discuss the long history of assimilation theory in sociology and adjacent fields, consider its problematic origins, and map how newer theoretical models (e.g., neo-assimilationism, segmented assimilation theory) have pushed sociological analyses of “cultural assimilation” in a more productive, normatively defensible, and empirically tractable direction. At the same time, we will chart some of the limitations of these newer approaches to theorizing assimilation and discuss potential paths forward that bring the study of international migration into conversation with cultural and cognitive sociology.
Structure
Design of Synchronous Class Sessions
Most classes will follow a simple structure. I will begin with a lecture that goes through some of our assigned readings and summarizes conversations from our online discussion board (more on that later).1 Then, I will toss the baton over to all of you. You will get into small groups (comprised of 3 to 4 students) and provide answers to the prompts highlighted in the screen before you. These group discussions will only last about 20-30 minutes, but they are vital—i.e., they will set the stage for our plenary discussions and serve as a key indicator of your participation grade for the course. To end each synchronous session, we will get together as a broader collective and discuss the themes that emerged during group discussions.
1 In an ideal world, my lectures would all be short and to-the-point, but these things are difficult to predict.
Distribution of Topics & Readings
We will cover over a century’s worth of assimilation theory in this class. Some of the material will be exciting, others less so. Some readings may seem eminently topical, others like a distressed relic from a bygone era that has little bearing on the social world as we understand it today. It is important to critically engage with all these studies and disquisitions, from the canonical work of Robert E. Park and Milton Gordon to “timelier” research that is being published on the pages of the International Migration Review and Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies today. This is how we will come to understand the evolution and genealogy of a theoretical program that has, despite its many critics, survived the passage of time.
Part I of the course will provide theoretical foundations. More specifically, we will explore classical assimilation theory and its successors in sociology and cognate fields—and in doing so, gain a sense of what assimilation theory means and how the basic assumptions of the paradigm have evolved with time. Part II should add some life and vividness to these theoretical abstractions. Concretely, we will go through a series of case studies and analyze whether different perspectives on assimilation “fit the data” or help us understand (i) the lived experiences of immigrant-origin populations in America; and (ii) political debates about the cultural incorporation of immigrant-origin people in the United States and beyond. Finally, Part III—which coincides with the final weeks of class—will feature presentations related to students’ term papers and augur the end of the fall semester.
Readings
Readings are available through the mystifying power of Moodle. As you plan for the semester, it may be useful to bookmark the eReserves page on our course website. New readings may be introduced as the world around us evolves, whether via the incremental march of science or in response to social, economic and political shocks that warrant further reflection.
Optional Readings
As a forewarning: readings underlined in the Weekly Schedule section are optional.
Evaluations
A Bird’s Eye View
| Task | Description | Weight | Deadline or Evaluative Time Horizon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Memos | On a weekly basis, students will engage with—and respond to—questions posed on our Moodle Discussion Board. Responses must be between 250–400 words, or a penalty will be applied. | 10% | 8:00 PM on Mondays. Evaluated from Week 3 onwards. |
| Participation | Students must actively participate in class discussions by raising their hand to share their thoughts or by meaningfully contributing to small group conversations. | 20% | Evaluated during class sessions throughout the term. |
| Midterm Exam | Students will complete a midterm exam split across two sessions. The first will feature a series of multiple-choice questions, the second a set of short-answer questions. Taken together, the exam will assess students’ grasp of the material covered in Part I of the course. | 25% | During Week 8. |
| Final Paper Proposal | Students are required to submit a term paper on a topic of their choice, subject to my approval as the course instructor. Students must meet with me during office hours to discuss their initial ideas for the paper. Topics must be related to the cultural incorporation of immigrants and their descendants in any part of the world. To finalize the approval process, students must submit a brief (1–2 page) proposal that outlines their selected topic, explains its relevance to the course, and highlights their provisional arguments. | 5% | Friday, November 20th at 8:00 PM. |
| Final Paper Presentation | Students will deliver a 5–7-minute presentation based on, or informed by, their term paper. Guidelines detailing my basic expectations will be uploaded in the coming months. | 10% | During Part III of our class. |
| Final Paper | As noted, your term paper must grapple with the cultural incorporation of immigrant-origin people and be approved by me, the course instructor. Papers should be 8–12 pages long, double-spaced, and written in 12-point font. Other expectations will be posted later in the semester. | 30% | Deadline for Comments Monday, December 14th at 8:00 PM Hard Deadline Friday, December 18th at 8:00 PM. |
Guidelines for key deliverables will be gradually uploaded online as deadlines come into focus.
Norms, Rules & Regulations
Please review the Amherst College Honor Code, which can be accessed here.
Violations of the Honor Code will be promptly reported to the Dean of Students. As Section 1.1 of the Honor Code indicates, plagiarism is a serious offense. In most cases, students who plagiarize the work of others will fail this class and may face additional disciplinary penalties. Moreover, as detailed in Sections 1.2 to 1.4 of the Honor Code, students must respect others in the classroom, including those whose views deviate from their own. Failure to do so will prompt disciplinary action.
Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools are proliferating. At colleges and universities, chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are increasingly used by students and researchers alike. This represents a profound ethical quandary, with some speculating that our reliance on AI will produce an epistemic crisis that deepens sectarian conflict, impoverishes democratic institutions, and accelerates environmental degradation. Others believe this view is naively alarmist—a kind of reactionary aversion to change that inevitably emerges in the fog of technological revolutions that destabilize our taken-for-granted assumptions about how the world works. I have my own opinions,2 and you are free to have yours.
2 I happen to generally agree with what Andrew Heiss writes here, but lean more agnostic—indeed, large language models have been deployed in some of my ongoing research projects.
Whatever your orientation towards AI, we must acknowledge that the floodgates have opened. GAI tools are everywhere and thus difficult to avoid. The College has even provided access to Gemini and Notebook LM to all students, faculty, and staff. Consequently, you are free to use ChatGPT and its analogues for class assignments, but you must cite the GAI you are using. Failure to do so is plagiarism.
To reiterate:
If you use a GAI tool (like ChatGPT or Claude) and do not cite it, it is a form of plagiarism.
You are expected to attend each and every class. If you do not, you will lose points for participation. That said, I am aware that you are all human beings whose lives are often fraught with uncertainty. If something comes up, please let me know and I will do my best to be as accommodating as possible. Extended absences may, however, require additional documentation (e.g., note from a physician).
Provisionally, I have decided to allow students to use laptops and tablets in class. This is, however, highly conditional. If I observe students using their electronic devices for non-academic pursuits (e.g., shopping, consuming social media and so on), I will institute a sweeping ban on electronics.
Do not be the one to contravene our social contract.
On weekdays, I will respond to emails within two days. If I fail to meet this standard, please send me a follow-up message with a gentle reminder. On weekends3 and breaks, I will not respond to emails unless you have an emergency. If you do, please remember to include EMERGENCY in the subject line.
3 Concretely, Friday at 5:00 PM to Monday at 8:00 AM.
Assignments must be submitted on time. A late submission will result in a penalty of 5% for each day beyond the deadline.4 However, as noted, I am well aware that life can present unexpected challenges. If you anticipate missing a deadline or have an emergency, please let me know soon as you can. Extensions may be granted on a case-by-case basis.
4 If an assignment is due at 8:00 PM and you submit it at 8:01 PM, you will be considered a day late and lose 5%.
A Note On Office Hours
I will hold my in-person office hours on Fridays from 12:30 to 2:30PM in Morgan Hall (Room 306), although students can also schedule meetings during an Open Meeting Slot.5 All meetings—even during office hours—must be scheduled in advance via Google Calendar.
5 Generally via Zoom.
To reiterate:
All meetings, even during office hours, must be scheduled in advance via Google Calendar.
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Accessibility and Accommodations
If you require accommodations, contact Student Accessibility Services as soon as possible and submit an application through the AIM Portal. More generally, if you have any suggestions about how this class can be more accessible or inclusive, please let me know.
Weekly Schedule
As noted, all readings can be accessed via the eReserves page on Moodle.
Readings underlined below are optional.
Part I: Theoretical Foundations
Week 1: Introduction to the Assimilation Paradigm
September 1st & September 3rd
Assimilation as Concept and as Process
(Hirsch 1942)
Assimilation
(Alba and Nee 2014)
Demographic Change and Assimilation in the Early 21st-Century United States
(Alba and Maggio 2022)
The Return of Assimilation? Changing Perspectives on Immigration and Its Sequels in France, Germany, and the United States (Brubaker 2001)
Week 2: Early Assimilation Theories (Chicago School)
September 8th & September 10th
Racial Assimilation in Secondary Groups
(Park 1914)
Introduction to the Science of Sociology
(Park and Burgess 2019)
- Chapter XI
- Pp. 734-737
- Pp. 769-774
Robert E. Park’s Theory of Assimilation and Beyond
(Kivisto 2017)
Week 3: Straight-Line Assimilation Theory
September 15th & September 17th
Remaking the American Mainstream
(Alba and Nee 2003)
- Chapter 1
- Pp. 1-5
The Social Systems of American Ethnic Groups
(Warner and Srole 1945)
- Chapter I
- Pp. 1-3
- Chapter X
Assimilation in American Life
(Gordon 1964)
- Chapter 3
Ethnicity and Race: Making Identities in a Changing World
(Cornell and Hartmann 2007)
- Chapter 3
Week 4: Neo-Assimilation Theory
September 22nd & September 24th
Remaking the American Mainstream
(Alba and Nee 2003)
- Chapter 2
Assimilation as Rational Action in Contexts Defined by Institutions and Boundaries
(Nee and Alba 2013)
Week 5: Segmented Assimilation Theory
September 29th & October 1st
The New Second Generation: Segmented Assimilation and its Variants
(Portes and Zhou 1993)
Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation
(Portes and Rumbaut 2001)
- Chapter 3
Week 6: Acculturation
October 6th & October 8th
Memorandum for the Study of Acculturation
(Redfield et al. 1936)
Theories and Models of Acculturation
(Berry 2017)
The Psychology of Ethnic Groups in the United States
(Organista et al. 2010)
- Chapter 4
- Pp. 99-118
Rethinking the Concept of Acculturation
(Schwartz et al. 2010)
Week 7: Boundary-Making
October 15th
Why Islam Is Like Spanish: Cultural Incorporation in Europe and the United States
(Zolberg and Woon 1999)
Bright vs. Blurred Boundaries: Second-Generation Assimilation and Exclusion in France, Germany, and the United States (Alba 2005)
Claiming Membership: Boundaries, Positionality, US Citizenship, and What It Means
to Be American (Bloemraad 2022)
Week 8: Midterm Exam
October 20th & October 22nd
No Assigned Readings.
The midterm exam falls on this week. It will be split across two sessions: the first, on October 22nd, will feature a battery of multiple choice questions; the second, on October 24th, a series of short-answer questions. Both evaluations will begin at 10:10 AM and end at 11:20 AM. They are not designed to be punitive, and you may finish well before the end of class.
Part II: Case Studies
Week 9: European and Black Immigrants (in the United States)
October 27th & October 29th
Ethnic Options
(Waters 1990)
- Chapter 2
Symbolic Ethnicity: The Future of Ethnic Groups and Cultures in America
(Gans 1979)
The Twilight of Ethnicity Among American Catholics of European Ancestry
(Alba 1981)
Black Immigrants and the Changing Portrait of Black America
(Hamilton 2020)
The New Noir: Race, Identity, and Diaspora in Black Suburbia
(Clerge 2019)
- Chapter 1
Week 10: Asian and Latino Immigrants (in the United States)
November 3rd & November 5th
The Asian American Assimilation Paradox
(Lee and Sheng 2024)
Racialized Assimilation of Asian Americans
(Lee and Kye 2016)
The Asian American Achievement Paradox
(Lee and Zhou 2015)
- Chapter 9
Who Identifies as “Latinx”? The Generational Politics of Ethnoracial Labels
(Mora et al. 2022)
Rock, Rap, or Reggaeton? Assessing Mexican Immigrants’ Cultural Assimilation Using Facebook Data (Stewart et al. 2019)
Contraction as a Response to Group Threat: Demographic Decline and Whites’ Classification of People Who Are Ambiguously White (Abascal 2020)
Week 11: The Politics of Immigration (in the United States and Germany)
November 10th & November 12th
Red and Blue Immigrants: Political (Mis)Alignment, Immigration Attitudes, and the Boundaries of American National Inclusion
(Okura 2026)
Explaining Hispanic Support for Donald Trump: A Longitudinal Analysis of Competing Explanations, 2016–2024
(Gómez et al. 2026)
The Electoral Politics of Immigration and Crime
(Alizade 2025)
The Intergenerational Transmission of Majority-Group Ties and Their Political Consequences (Karim 2026)
Week 12: Review and A Work Session
November 17th & November 19th
Assimilation Theories in the 21st Century: Appraising Accomplishments and Future Challenges (Drouhot 2024)
A Framework for Bridging Conventional and Critical Perspectives on Immigrant Assimilation
(Asad and Dahir 2026)
No Assigned Readings.
Week 13: Thanksgiving Break
November 24th & November 26th
Part III: Final Presentations
Week 14: Presentations
December 1st & December 3rd
No Assigned Readings.
Week 15: Presentations
December 8th
No Assigned Readings.
Term papers are due by 8:00 PM on Monday, December 14th for those who would like comments or feedback. The hard deadline for the paper is 8:00 PM on Friday, December 18th.
Should be available within 24 hours of a class session.
Optional Readings
Just to drive the point home: underlined readings are optional, not required.