Table of Contents

Issues of unity in diversity: melting pot approach and bowl of salad approach

Table of Contents

Theoretical overview

Unity in diversity consists of two different words that are “unity” and “diversity”. Any difference between, two or more people is called diversity. In simple words, diversity is in I which the people are not the same. there are some differences that can be related to religion, caste, language, culture etc. Unity means to make a group of people maintain a relationship witJ1 people. So if we mix these two words with each other, it creates the beautiful meaning of unity in diversity that is a group of people in which different types of people stay together. The unity in diversity is defined as the spirit of brotherhood without any discrimination.

The term “Unity in diversity” implies the feeling of oneness or togetherness even after ha ving a lot of diversity.

This diversity can be in the form of religion,  color , cast, creed, culture, practice etc

The American melting pot:

In sociology, the “melting pot” is a concept referring to a heterogeneous  society becoming more homogeneous with the different elements “melting together” into a harmonious whole with a common culture.

The melting pot concept is roost commonly used to describe the assimilation of immigrants to the United States, though it can be used in any context where a new culture comes to coexist  with another. In recent times, refugees from the Middle East have created melting pots throughout Europe and the Americas.

This term is often challenged, however, by those who assert that cultural differences within a society are valuable and should be presented.  An alternative metaphor, therefore, is salad bowl or mosaic, describing how different cultures mix, but still remain distinct.

The Great American Melting Pot The United States of America was founded upon the concept of opportunity for every immigrant, and to this day this right to immigrate to the U.S. is defended in its highest courts. The term first originated in the U.S. around 1788 to describe the culh1res of many European, Asian, and African nationalities merging together in the newfound culture of the new United States. This idea of melting cultures together lasted through much of the 19th and 20th centuries, culuminating the 1908 play “The Melting Pot,” which further perpetuated the American ideal of a homogenous society of many cultures. · However, as  the overtaken in global warfare in the 1910s. 1920s, and again in the 19 30s and l 940, Americans began to establish an anti-globalist approach to American values and large contingent of citizens start calling banning immigrants from certain countries based on their culture and religions .

The salad bowl theory

 A salad bowl or tossed salad is a metaphor for the way a multicultural society can integrate different cultures while maintaining their separate identities, contrasting with a melting pot, which emphasizes the combination of the parts into a single whole.

The salad bowl theory describes a heterogeneous society in which people coexist but retain at least some of the unique characteristics of their traditional culture, write Robert Longley in an article. According to Longley, like a salad’s ingredients, different cultures are brought together, but rather than coalescing into a single homogeneous culture, retain their own distinct flavours.

The salad bowl theory asse1ts that it is not necessary for people to give up their cultural heritage in order to be considered members of the dominant society. For example, African ,Americans do not need to stop observing Kwanzaa rather than Christmas in order to be considered “Americans.” On the negative side according to Longley the cultural difference encouraged by the salad howl model can divide a society resulting in prejudice  and discrimination.

 Salade bowl theory starts in the 1960s however another vision of American pluralism arose captured in the metaphor of the salad bowl. Rather than assimilating, different ethnic groups now would coexist in their separate identities like the ingredients in a salad, bound together only by the “dressing” of law and the market.

Points to remember

  • According to Longley, like a salad’s ingredients, different cultures are brought together, but rather than coalescing into a single homogeneous culture, retain their own distinct flavours.
  • In sociology, the “melting pot” is a concept referring to a heterogeneous  society becoming more homogeneous with the different elements “melting together” into a harmonious whole with a common culture.
  • The melting pot concept is roost commonly used to describe the assimilation of immigrants to the United States, though it can be used in any context where a new culture comes to coexist  with another

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