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Post by Ms. English on May 30, 2023 7:42:31 GMT -5
Post your answers to the discussion question here. Make sure to read the responses of those posted before you and respond directly to them when appropriate before posting your own.
Looking further When the book from which this excerpt comes was published in 1987, much attention was being paid to multiculturalism and reactions against it -- a conflict often called the "culture wars." Read up on this controversy and discuss the different political and philosophical values informing the conflicting positions. Where do you stand on the issues raised by multiculturalism? Do you think our model today should be the melting pot or what then-New York City mayor David Dinkins called the "gorgeous mosaic"? (Also: how have the "culture wars" changed and evolved since 1987?)
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brynn
New Member
Posts: 10
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Post by brynn on Jul 4, 2023 10:14:09 GMT -5
In the 1950s 60s and 70s there was a movement called multiculturalism which fought for/against ideas of exclusion and identity in politics, art, schools, and more. This movement intersected with the culture wars in the 1980s which was happening over things like abortion and gun policies. At the time, the idea that a lot of Americans had of culture was the "melting pot" which meant that all cultures were to be melted down to become stronger and united. This idea, however, was viewed by the multiculturalism movement as getting rid of individual cultures and heritage that makes up a part of the identity of a person. Some articles note that the word "multiculturalism" started getting a lot of different meanings as the movement went on, for some it was the idea "gorgeous mosaic" of different cultures but for others it started to be more of the melting pot again. I think that we should embrace the differences in culture and values between people groups like the gorgeous mosaic idea, it makes life more interesting and colorful. Today, culture wars are different because of social media and the internet, anyone can share their story or opinion for anyone to see which leads to more arguments but also more information and different views that are easily accessible to anyone.
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Post by johnhawver on Aug 1, 2023 16:18:58 GMT -5
Multiculturalism's main positions are conservative and traditionalist or progressive and liberal. Multiculturalism in American history concerns the many cultures in America and how to represent and embrace those cultures without making them assimilate into the dominant culture. In America, culture wars have exposed conflicting morals regarding how to represent everybody and make everybody equal in America. I believe that it is important to have many different cultures in America, and I believe we should embrace it. I enjoy the idea of the gorgeous mosaic, because we can embrace cultures from the entire world. My problem with the melting pot is that we lose some variety and color in society. I do think a melting pot is necessary to some extent for society to function, but not to a huge extent. These culture wars in America have changed focus on issues, and today they concern schools, particularly critical race theory, inclusion, and what to teach kids. Additionally, culture wars today include LGBTQ and trans people fighting against backlash for recognition and more rights.
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Post by addisen on Aug 15, 2023 16:50:10 GMT -5
The basic defenition of multiculturalism is the co-existence of diverse cultures. The phrase 'culture' refers to the religious, racial or cultural groups and is often represented by the behavior, assumptions, patterns of thinking, communicative styles and values of those in said group. The original culture war originated in the 1920's and pinned conservative/traditionalist views against those considered liberal/progressive. Reintroduced in 1991 with James Davison Hunter's publication of "Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America", topics often referred to as 'hot-button' issues were widely discussed leading to polarization that transformed American politics and culture. I think of muliculturalism as the main goal, an almost utopian state. It appears as the ideal, but being aware of the large percentage of our society who are not as welcoming and open to the idea.
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Post by rubydrzick on Aug 30, 2023 21:56:12 GMT -5
multiculturalism is a movement that took place in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. the movement was working against ideas like exclusion of identity in the arts, schools and many more. the multiculturalism movement however collided with other movements such as the abortion movement and many other policy's. one of Americas better qualities is its diversity although not the best the united states does have many different groups ranging from different religions, to ethnicity races,gender, ect. i believe that the more diversity in a place, the more we can learn. i think the concept of the melting pot has a lot of potential and if created well and maintained to its standard it could be a good idea and have good results. i think the culture wars have opened up a lot of eyes as well as made a lot of people speak about how they are feeling i think that the culture wars have had their pros and their cons through out the last decade.
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