Ethnic Organizational Dynamics

How is the culture of an immigrant group kept alive in a new country? Voluntary organizations play a significant role, according to the author, in preserving the cultural heritage of Poland for Polish immigrants and their descendants in Canada. However, participation in these organizations is declining. The author explains why in this sociological study. The first part of the study describes Polish organizations in Canada between 1860 and 1973. The second part describes field research carried out in Metropolitan Toronto in 1974. Results of the research indicate that Polish organizations continue to contribute to the maintenance of a distinctive Polish culture, but that the long-term survival of these organizations is not assured. The study will be useful to sociologists, students of Polish culture, and those interested in ethnic organizations in general.

Annotation The collected writings of a leading authority on Canada's ethnic and linguistic diversity.

Multicultural aspects of psychology have received some attention in the literature in the last decade. A number of texts currently address these significant concerns, for example, Counseling the Culturally Different (Sue & Sue, 2008); Handbook of Multicultural Counseling ( Poterotto et l., 2009); and Handbook of Multicultural Counseling Competencies (Pope-Davis & Coleman, 2005). In their most recent editions, several of these books address more nuanced complexities of diversity, for example, the intersections of gender or social class with race-ethnicity. Meanwhile, other texts have addressed gender issues in psychology (Handbook of Counseling Women, Counseling Men), with some attention paid to racial-ethnic and other diversity concerns. Clearly the progression of scholarship in this field reflects the importance of incorporating multiple aspects of diversity within psychology. However, no book currently exists that fully addresses the complexities of race-ethnicity and gender together. Better understanding of the dual impact of race-ethnicity and gender on psychological functioning may lead to more effective conceptualizations of a number of mental health issues, such as domestic violence, addictions, health-related behaviors and achievement. Exploring the impact of race-ethnicity and gender also may provide a broader understanding of self-in-community, as this affects individuals, families and other social groups and work and career development. Topics of interest may include identity development, worldviews and belief systems, parenting styles, interventions for promoting resilience and persistence and strategies for enhancing more accurate diagnostic and treatment modalities. Today’s world is comprised of multiple and intersecting communities that remain in need of psychological models and interventions that support and promote both individual and collective mental health. We believe that utilizing unidimensional conceptual models (e.g. focusing solely on race-ethnicity or gender) no longer adequately addresses psychological concerns that are dynamic, complex and multi-faceted. The proposed Handbook will focus on timely topics which historically have been under-addressed for a number of diverse populations.

Four overarching themes underscore the essays in this book. These are the creation of African diaspora community and institutional structures; the structured and shared relationships among African immigrants, host, and homeland societies; the construction and negotiation of diaspora spaces, and domains (racial, ethnic, class consciousness, including identity politics; and finally African migrant economic integration, occupational, and labor force roles and statuses and impact on host societies. Each of the thematic themes has been chosen with one specific goal in mind: to depict and represent the critical components in the reconstitution of the African diaspora in international migration. We contextualized the themes in the African diaspora as a dynamic process involving what Paul Zeleza called the "diasporization" of African immigrant settlement communities in global transnational spaces. These themes also reflect the diversities inherent in the diaspora communities and call attention to the fluid and dynamic boundaries within which Africans create, diffuse, and engage host and home societies. In this context, the themes outlined in this book embody the diaspora tapestries woven by the immigrants to center African social and cultural forms in their host societies and communities. Collectively, the themes represent pathways for the elucidation of understanding African immigrant territorialization. Our purpose is to map out and identify the sources and sites for the contestations of the myriad of cultural manifestations of the new African diaspora and its depictions within the totality of the shared meanings and appropriations of the essences of African-ness or African blackness. The vulnerabilities, struggles, threats (internal or external to the immigrant community), and opportunities emanating from the diasporic relationships that these immigrants create are accentuated within the nexus of African global migrations. We view the African diaspora in terms of spatial and geographic constructions and propagations of African cultural identities and institutional forms in global domains whose boundaries are not static but rather dynamic, complex, and multidimensional. Simply stated, we approach the African diaspora from a perspective that incorporates the historical, as well as contemporary postmodern constructions of the Africa's dispersed communities and their associated transnational identity forms.

Immigration and Settlement, 1870-1939 includes twenty articles organized under the following topics: the "Opening of the Prairie West," First Nations and the Policy of Containment, Patterns of Settlement, and Ethnic Relations and Identity in the New West. The second volume in the History of the Prairie West Series, Immigration and Settlement includes chapters on early immigration patterns including transportation routes and ethnic blocks, as well as the policy of containing First Nations on reserves. Other chapters grapple with the various identities, preferences, and prejudices of settlers and their complex relationships with each other as well as the larger polity.

For many Americans, participation in community organizations lays the groundwork for future political engagement. But how does this traditional model of civic life relate to the experiences of today's immigrants? Do community organizations help immigrants gain political influence in their neighborhoods and cities? In Civic Hopes and Political Realities, experts from a wide range of disciplines explore the way civic groups across the country and around the world are shaping immigrants' quest for political effectiveness. Civic Hopes and Political Realities shows that while immigrant organizations play an important role in the lives of members, their impact is often compromised by political marginalization and a severe lack of resources. S. Karthick Ramakrishnan and Irene Bloemraad examine community organizations in six cities in California and find that even in areas with high rates of immigrant organizing, policymakers remain unaware of local ethnic organizations. Looking at new immigrant destinations, Kristi Andersen finds that community organizations often serve as the primary vehicle for political incorporation—a role once played by the major political parties. Floris Vermeulen and Maria Berger show how policies in two European cities lead to very different outcomes for ethnic organizations. Amsterdam's more welcoming multicultural policies help immigrant community groups attain a level of political clout that similar organizations in Berlin lack. Janelle Wong, Kathy Rim, and Haven Perez report on a study of Latino and Asian American evangelical churches. While the church shapes members' political views on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, church members may also question the evangelical movement's position on such issues as civil rights and immigration. Els de Graauw finds that many non-profit organizations without explicitly political agendas nonetheless play a crucial role in advancing the political interests of their immigrant members. Recent cuts in funding for such organizations, she argues, block not only the provision of key social services, but also an important avenue for political voice. Looking at community organizing in a suburban community, Sofya Aptekar finds that even when immigrant organizations have considerable resources and highly educated members, they tend to be excluded from town politics. Some observers worry that America's increasing diversity is detrimental to civic life and political engagement. Civic Hopes and Political Realities boldly advances an alternative understanding of the ways in which immigrants are enriching America's civic and political realms—even in the face of often challenging circumstances.

This new edition looks at the many recent changes in the arena of Human Sevices Organizations.

The changing demography of the workforce presents challenges and opportunities to individuals and to the organizations of which they are a part. This volume examines how diversity in organizations affords benefits such as a broader talent pool, but at the same time can lead to tension, misunderstanding and, at times, outright hostility.