Segregation Integration Assimilation

There is a widespread concern today with the role and experiences of ethnic and religious minorities, and their potential for conflict and harmony with 'host communities' and with each other, especially in towns. Interest in historical aspects of these phenomena is growing rapidly, not least in studies of the long and complex history of the towns of Central and Eastern Europe. Most such studies focus on particular places or on particular groups, but this volume offers a broader view covering the period from the tenth to the sixteenth century and regions from Germany to Dalmatia and from Epirus to Livonia, with an emphasis on the territory of medieval Hungary. The focus is on the changing nature of identity, perception and legal status of groups, on relations within and between them, and on the ways in which these elements were affected by the external political regimes and ideologies to which the towns were subjected. Many of the places examined were notable for the complexity of their ethnic and religious composition, and for their exposure to a wide range of external influences, including long-distance trade and tensions between settled and semi-nomadic ways of life. Overall the volume illustrates the variety of ways in which minorities found a place in towns - as citizens, outsiders, or in some other role - and how that could vary according to local circumstances and over time. Dealing with the formative period for modern European towns, this volume not only reveals much about medieval society and urban history, but poses questions still relevant today.

Policy-makers tend to view the residential segregation of minority ethnic groups in a negative light as it is seen as an obstacle to their integration. In the literature on neighbourhood effects, the residential concentration of minorities is seen as a major impediment to their social mobility and acculturation, while the literature on residential segregation emphasises the opposite causal direction, by focusing on the effect of integration on levels of (de-)segregation. This volume, however, indicates that the link between integration and segregation is much less straightforward than is often depicted in academic literature and policy discourses. Based on research in a wide variety of western countries, it can be concluded that the process of assimilation into the housing market is highly complex and differs between and within ethnic groups. The integration pathway not only depends on the characteristics of migrants themselves, but also on the reactions of the institutions and the population of the receiving society. Linking Integration and Residential Segregation exposes the link between integration and segregation as a two-way relationship involving the minority ethnic groups and the host society, highlighting the importance of historical and geographical context for social and spatial outcomes. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.

Segregation is one of the starkest social realities of contemporary societies. Though often associated with explicitly racist laws of the past, it is a phenomenon that persists to this day and is a crucial element for understanding group relations and the wellbeing of different populations in society. In this book, Eric Fong, Kumiko Shibuya, and Brent Berry provide a thorough discussion of the evolving complexity of segregation in its variety and variations. The authors focus not only on past trends and the development of segregation measures, but also the current state of affairs, and demonstrate the connections between the segregation of racial/ethnic groups and immigrant communities, along with poverty concentration. By taking a wide, cross-cutting view, the authors identify commonalities and differences in the causes, mechanisms, and consequences of segregation. Spatial and social segregation together perpetuate and reinforce the unequal distribution of resources among racial and ethnic groups, which in turn can have positive and negative consequences for individuals and groups. This critical overview of segregation will be a valuable and insightful resource for students of sociology, geography, and ethnic studies, as well as those keen to get a handle on this persistent challenge to equal and inclusive societies.

New expanded edition of a classic anthropology title that examines ethnicity as a dynamic and shifting aspect of social relations.

Merry argues that most voluntary separation experiments in education are not driven by a sense of racial, cultural or religious superiority. Rather, they are driven among other things by a desire for quality education, not to mention community membership and self respect.

When Georgia Southern College in the small town of Statesboro opened its doors to its first six colored students in 1965, it did so without much of the very public outcry faced at other schools and colleges as part of desegregation. These six pioneers share their personal memories of integrating the college, which opened doors for those who would follow. In 2014, more than 5,400 African American students enrolled at the school, now known as Georgia Southern University (GSU). The essays of those initial pioneers—as well as those by fifteen other alums through the Class of 1985—demonstrate the perseverance of the human spirit and illustrate how social change can be achieved by boldly confronting difficult and frightening situations to bring about lasting reform. Their stories of integration at the southern school tell of emotional ordeals, some of which led to lasting scars and times of defeat. Life wasn’t easy if you were black on a predominantly white college campus. But in the midst of despair comes triumph. In Our Own Words also shares the determination and dedication of those early students, most of whom went on to successful careers and personal accomplishments. This powerful collection of essays that needed to be written showcases a group of students who never dreamed they would one-day help shape the college’s history and leave a legacy that would allow others to follow in their footsteps.

Groups in Contact: The Psychology of Desegregation uses the contact hypothesis as a point of departure and provides new data obtained in a variety of social contexts. The contact hypothesis states that attitudes toward a disliked social group will become more positive with increased interpersonal interaction. The various chapters provide a picture of the desegregation process as a complex interplay between the cognitive processes within the individual and the structural features of the social environment. What emerges is an expanded theory of contact based on social categorization and social comparison processes. The book is organized into three parts. The chapters in Part I deal with issues of intergroup contact in a wide range of cultures and settings, each focusing on a particular social or political factor that influences receptivity to intergroup interaction and affects its outcomes. The chapters in Part II review the effects of specific interventions that have been introduced into desegregation settings with the intent of improving intergroup acceptance in those settings. Part III provides a systematic integration of the preceding chapters within a common theoretical framework. Although this book is written primarily from the perspective of social psychology, it is intended for students of intergroup relations in all disciplines. It was also written with policymakers, as well as social science researchers, in mind.