soc244- lc 8 - nov 8 2011
Impact of Immigration on Families
Erick fong - 2055 - 2 / 10 were immigrants.
- 1910- 1919- 1.9 million immigrants - slowed down in 20s & 30s and picked up after
ww11.
- 1960s - canada introduced the point system - where the govt looked at specific
characteristics that certain immigrants had. - the introduction of the point system substantial number of individuals still came under the unification act or political refugees.
The govt focused on skills & education. Recent immigrants have far higher levels then
the immigrants coming in at the turn of the century.
- changes to professional schools - makes it much more difficult for an overseas engineer
come in and work and participate in engineering.
- women came into 1960 s- they had come as nurses to fulfil the labor need of nurses in
canada and fit in very easily into nursing schools - very successful careers - however its
much more difficult for someone to come in despite high levels of education because
Canada produces its own doctors now, own nurses, etc. So professional schools are
increasingly becoming more restrictive in the ways in which foreign professionals are
able to practice.
- difficult for university graduates to get work with Canadian degrees- real change in
where the individuals were coming from - and how they were finding work - it was very
hard for immigrants.
- most immigrants in the 20th century that were coming - moving to the west and rural
areas - now the trend changed- as Canada itself went through urbanization - the
distribution of immigrants reflects the general population - but immigrants are always
settled evenly throughout Canada- vast majority settle in cities- because of jobs, or for
cultural reasons.
- largest proportions of immigrants in Toronto and Vancouver - around 80% from 1991 to
recent years.
- the population of those cities are in immigrant form.
How have families been shaped through govt policies:
- immigrant experinces have shaped how our families have formed nad who we are large dynamics o resources - employment and jobs - the process of immigrantion - shows
that it always hasnt been so great.
- women face also this double pressure - being racialized - but being a women a well.
Chinese Families:
chinese community was considered a bachelor community - becuase its a community of
only men - there were a smal portion of chinese merchants - that were allowed into the
country with their wives - but only chinese men were wanted to come into canada.
- looks at how chienese mascuinity was represented as dangerous and feminie- chinese
men were seen as looking after european women - Madge- they tried to seduce european
women.
- how the group themselves internializes those perceptions or reject them.
- very similair bariers in terms of coming into cnada.
South Asian Families : indentured labor, - a certain group of commercial migrants.
- the biriths tended to exploit the labor of indians - the indenture system = replace the
slaves working in the plantations.
- they were subjected to similar immigration policies as the Chinese.
- the first Indians arrived in births columbia in 1889. - punjabi Indian groups that were
stationed in hong kong - were travelled to canada - for the coronation of Edward the 2.
- lots of them worked on the railway - they were not able to participate with the
Columbian militia - based on racist ideologies.
- early historians researching southasiasn -there was a deeply imbedded racist ideologies
that made them look like threats.
-- 1910 - raising ni which to prevent south asian from coming into canada. only in 1932
this changes.
Japanese Families :
- historically they tended to live primarly male.
- regulation of immigration - japanese govt restricted the number of poeple from coming
into canada to prevent diplomatic ties with Canda. after 1928 - Japanese immigrantswere placed on a very strict quota system.
- anti Japanese sentiments rose to its peaks after Pearl Harbor.
- the authority of first generation parents really weakened as a result of tis force
movement - this force evacuation by the federal govt - this was the basic denial of human
rights.
- the disruption of Japanese families continues through the end of the war.
- men were giving priority until 1932.
- this dependent status - when we look at women in violence.
Radhakrishnan - 2003 - looked at the ways in which the indian immigrant identity.
- the first processes if the indian immigrant is to surpress and to hide and assimilate a
strategy for assimilation.
- WEB Du Bois - after periods of time - reasseting more ethnic,
- merging of the ethnic identity - is this new construction of the immigration is it
powering or not?
Assimiltion - taking in the dominante group over the other groups.
- segregation - intergroup relations - physical seperpation of differnt groups.
multiculturaism - one way of managing differnt groups of poeple - subordinate groups do
not have to dismiss who they are - their cultural patterns and so on - in theory pluraism is suppose to be based on mutual respect.
- Canadian Youth Culture - Brian Wilson and Shanoon Jette - looks at youth and family.
- begins at leisure patterns - what are they doing and igves a good literature review
section - and his case study is on the rave culture.
- prior to industrial revolution - they are seen as young adults - children. and alreayd had
to work.
- from agrarian to industrial lifestyl e- gave rise to what we are more familiar with - in
terms what youth is all about - also gave rise how we think aobut youth.
- they were employed in many factories - the roles of young girls - workingin factories and young poeple were seen as a threat to the labor force and they had to look at the ways
in which they can limit the rights of young people.
- then we get the rise of humanitarian youth - increasinginly more restirctions placed on
the use of young pl in labor - the rise of cumplosory education at the same time.
- after ww2 that Wilson writes- you see an emergence of teens.
- becuase you have young people not working in factories but much more time spent with
their firends. - becomes a group that can buy tings and goods - the rise of the teen market.
- the rise of discretionary spending - teen magazines, fashions, exclusively marketed
towards that age group.
- seperation of teenagers against their aparents - spending more time with their firends
rather then their families.
- the rise of the teen market - age 9 - 14 - distinct group as opposed from 15 - to 19.
- the purchasing power of that group of children from 9 - 14 - very high in 2055 - they
spent 2.9 billion $ of their own money on entertainment and on clothing. while at the
same time influencing 20 billion dollars.
- very important in terms of discretionary purchasing the power that they have.
- young both male and female - use the computer - spend a good chunk of their time on
the computer and tlking on the cellphone, males - spend a lot of time playing video
games, women kess only 25% of them do.
- interesting, the role of other teenagers in their own lives- when they are adcing issues there is a greater tendcey for young poeple to turn to other younger poeple rather then
parents. The desocializatoin of the parents rols.***
- The use of the Frankfurt school:
hes usig the writing of the school in combination of gramscis writing of autonomy.
- new york california - what they found of another mass control - thru culture.
- the frankfurt theorist look at the cultural industry - and how individuals are manipulated
in the culture industriy. - fall into the consumption of the culture industry.
- youth in particular are vulnerable to the culture industry - creates a homogeny culture together with population culture - what they lack is resistance - what are the ways in
which as individuals that we resist popular culture. eg. buy this, this is who you are. etc.
- Wilson uses Gramsic to illustrate this resistance. _ the Frankfurt school known for the
focus of cultural industry and how it creates us to be the passive consumers of society and
we are uncritical of our desires. Wilson also talks about in terms of: what are the ways in
which we resist these messages from the dominate media? - Hegemony: Gramsci
discussed the ways in which groups - particularly the upper classes - the elite - are able to
maintain their privileged power through consent. What are the wyas in which those are at
the bottom - how do they agree to a particular social arragenment when they are always
placed in the bottom. The media plays an important role in how privdlged groups
maintain their dominance.
Counter hemenoney - looks at the ways in which groups resist. the resistance to the
dominate cultural aesthetic. That in itself is empowering.
- rave culture - studied the rave as a form of resistance to mainstream cultural form. he
says: for some poeple its a weekend to get away for others its a pro active form of
resistence - part of a social movement. He uses the frankfurt school to understnad
passitivity adn in terms how resistance is playing out.
- we see forms of resistance globally around the world.
- important to see how individuals resist dominace , hegemony.
Amita Handa - second generation children that feel more: who am i, where do i belong
etc.
- she begins by deconstructing traidtional cultural clash theories.
- cultura clash theory, weak becuase1: has to do with two cultures that are competing individuasl are torn apart - the idea that you are looking at these cultura as some how
equal - this is error.
- a tendency to view - that are conflicting - how historically groups have been placed by
each other. Young south asian women - they were blinde in terms of working with
racism - they were putting it aside.
- a discourse thats rooted in colonial history she says.
Avtar Brah - British writer - points to the relationhip of ethnicity and identity. - looking
between the birtish and the south asisan - pointing to the power hierarchies that exist
within these different nations.
Stuart Hill - sociologicla subject -is about an identiy that emerges through social
interaction. - becuae who we are is alwys in relation to the other. - we alwys need some
confirmatoin. the self is always a derived self - incomplete and dependent on difference.
the post modern subject is seen as not fixed.
- cultural identity- becoming and being - Stuart - in the post modern world - its a world
thats constantly struct by change. - what we mght become, who we might be in the future
- specifically looking are movement of transtional people - the constant changing of
individuals and families.
-this idea that cultural identies are always changing. **
- cultures are never static - they evolve through histroy - the process of transformation.
- keeping secrets - coping strategy - where youth feels very pressured - overwhelming
importance of second generation - prove this sort of good girl image - of younger girls because they have received racialized experiences.
- multicultirams - put canada in encourgaging cultural identiyt and then trying to forge a
common citizenship.