SOC3328 CH9 - 12

Despite the fact that the U.S. Constitution would prevent the application of Shariah law in American courts, the ongoing, well-funded campaigns to prevent such a situation from occurring reveals what?

The negative image of U.S. Muslims is perpetuated by an established Islamophobic network focused on irrational fears of an Islamic cultural threat.

What are the implications of a shift among Jewish Americans in increasingly viewing their identity in ethnic rather than religious terms?

The overall importance of religion for Jewish Americans is declining resulting in greater cultural assimilation while serving to transform and ensure a continued Jewish identity.

Why do some Asian Americans feel that they must continually strive to succeed far beyond what is expected for other groups?

The popular image of Asians as exceedingly well educated and studious has created a stereotypical view of high achievement that many feel pressured to match.

What allowed early Italian immigrants to find their occupational niche in building?

Their arrival coincided with the establishment of urban industrial infrastructures.

Why were many Irish immigrants who came to the United States as a result of the Great Famine unprepared for life in American society?

They lacked the skills and education necessary for upward mobility in American society

Why can Jewish Americans be regarded as an ethnic group?

They share a unique cultural heritage and group identity.

What allowed many Arab immigrants of the first wave to rapidly assimilate into American society within one generation?

They were mostly Christian, practicing Eastern-rite faiths

What explains the greater proportion of unskilled Vietnamese immigrants arriving in the second wave between 1975 and 1984 than in the first wave between 1966 and 1975?

Vietnamese immigration at this time primarily consisted of refugees fleeing the Communist government.

Despite Polish-Americans, like many other white-ethnic groups, having been in the United States for well over a century, what does the video reveal about their assimilation?

While they have assimilated greatly, they still retain a degree of their cultural form.

What is the central idea behind the straight-line theory of assimilation?

With each successive generation, assimilation proceeds irreversibly

Why has the United States provided a fertile breeding ground for anti-Muslim and anti-Arab beliefs and actions

A majority of Americans acknowledge they have a limited or nonexistent understanding of Islam.

How was the internment of Japanese during World War II an affront to the ideas and principles of the U.S. government?

American citizens were denied their fundamental civil rights solely on the basis of their ethnicity.

Though anti-Semitism has existed in both Europe and the United States, why were Jews better able to overcome it in the latter and achieve economic prosperity?

Anti-Semitism was not institutionalized in the United States

In what way does the racial status of Arab Americans impact their structural assimilation?

As Arab Americans are considered white by the government and identify as such, they benefit from not facing significant impediments to upward mobility.

What do the figures cited in the video concerning Asian Americans in prestigious universities reveal?

Asian Americans are overrepresented in prestigious universities proportional to their population.

In what way do cultural family values of Asians differ from most other Americans in explaining high levels of motivation?

Asian cultures place a high importance on individuals to fulfill the expectations of family.

In what way does the Asian American population mirror that of the Hispanic American population?

Both are extremely diverse in ethnicity.

The belief that Arab Americans will overcome the negative situation they face in the United States, and will continue to assimilate and adapt to American society, can be best argued by comparing the similar historical situation faced by ________ immigrants integrating into American society.

Catholic

Which of the following shows how radically and relatively quickly the role of religion has changed as a determinant of membership in the American political elite?

Catholics today are overrepresented in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in proportion to their population.

What inherent problem in the Chinese immigrant community caused its population to decline for six decades following 1882?

Chinese immigrants were overwhelmingly male.

Unlike Eastern European Jews, why were early German Jewish immigrants able to largely avoid intense hostility in America?

German Jews benefitted from being dispersed across the country and they lacked deep-seated cultural differences to other Old Wave immigrants.

Why do many aspects of Polish culture survive in Greenpoint today despite Polish Americans being in the United States for so long?

Greenpoint, a mainly working-class neighborhood, is a destination for many first-generation Polish immigrants.

Though having a long history of immigration to the United States, why are Arab Americans increasingly facing prejudice and discrimination?

Increasing numbers of Arab immigrants are Muslim, and their arrival is coinciding with rising anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States.

Which of the following is an example of a view in line with the idea of Yellow Peril?

"Chinese immigrants are a threat to the national security of the United States."

Why can anti-Arab prejudice and discrimination be viewed as exceptional in American society today?

Islamophobic views are publicly expressed, with relative impunity to those making them.

What are many of the protestors concerned about with regards to anti-Semitism in France?

Little is being done to stem anti-Semitism in France.

What accounts for the high socioeconomic status of Egyptian Arab Americans?

Many Egyptian Americans came to the United States highly skilled and educated.

Why can it be argued that the economic success of Jewish immigrants during the New Wave is largely tied to their arrival in the United States at the right time?

Many Jews came with skills that at the time were in demand in America as it industrialized.

How do the second and third waves of Arab immigration to the United States primarily differ from the first wave?

More immigrants were motivated by negative political factors in their homelands.

Why are Iraqi Americans among the lowest of Arab groups in socioeconomic status?

Most Iraqi Americans are foreigners and came from a country racked by economic and political instability.

What complicates the assessment of Asian American assimilation going forward?

Most of the population today is foreign born and from groups that are relatively new to the United States

Why is it unrealistic to believe that new Arab communities will duplicate the first wave of Arabs in adapting to American society?

New Arab immigrants are entering a society with negative political overtones and are more highly visible than those of the first wave, who seemingly blended almost unnoticed into society.

Why do white ethnics remain discernible ethnic populations in American society?

None have completely lost their cultural form through assimilation.

In speaking of faith and the young Polish American community, what does the Catholic priest in the video imply?

Over time, immigrants tend to shed aspects of their culture, including religion, as they assimilate.

Why might surveys that show Americans having a high favorable opinion of Jews be inaccurate?

People tend to hide their socially or politically incorrect opinions of minority groups.

Which of the following accurately characterizes the position of Jewish Americans in the modern political realm?

Relative to their population, Jewish Americans are overly represented in the political realm

Why is it difficult to estimate the number of Jewish Americans in the United States?

Religion is not an item that is counted on the U.S. census.

Unlike German Jews, what characteristic was shared by Sephardic and Eastern European Jewish immigrants?

Sephardic and Eastern European Jews came to North America to escape institutional discrimination.

Why have so many Jews historically taken up occupations such as tradesman and professionals?

Such occupations allowed for Jews to quickly find employment in many locales.

While serving to restrict Japanese immigrants from entering the United States, how did the Gentleman's Agreement of 1907-1908 actually benefit Japanese communities already in the country?

The Gentleman's Agreement of 1907-1908 created the conditions necessary for the Japanese American community to become self-sustaining in terms of population.

Why have all Arab Americans been subject to effects of Islamophobia that have developed over the decades in the United States?

The distinction made between Arabs as an ethnic group and Islam as a religion in American society is limited.

The fact that Japanese in the United States were interned in large numbers during World War II, unlike Germans and Italians, reveals what?

The internment of Japanese was racially motivated.

Despite increasing Arab immigration over the past few decades, why does the largest Arab American group, the Lebanese, have so few foreign-born members in the United States compared to other Arab groups?

The majority of the U.S. Lebanese population are descendants of those who came during the first wave.

Those in America who see Islam as being basically incompatible with Western values, and see its adherents as intent on imposing Islam on society in this instance subscribe to the view of Muslims as ________.

a cultural threat

Which of the following would be considered an example of symbolic ethnicity?

a third-generation Irish American celebrating Saint Patrick's Day

In what way do negative images and anti-Arab prejudice generally resemble anti-Semitism?

both are based on historical myths and fabrications

When comparing the upward mobility of ethnic groups during the New Wave of immigration, what must be taken into account in addition to ethnic traits?

changing opportunity structures

What can be attributed to the swell of Jewish-American intermarriage in recent decades?

collapse of structural and social barriers once faced by Jews

Why do all Arab Americans face uncertainty as to whether or not they will be accepted as Americans in the future?

conflation in American minds of "Arab" and "Muslim"

What might explain for the disparity between Jewish Americans and the general public in expressing concerns over the existence of anti-Semitism in American society?

conflicting definitions and perceptions of what constitutes anti-Semitism

What has served to create an irrational fear of Muslims in the United States over the past decade?

connections between Muslims and Middle East terrorism

Compared to other immigrant groups, Arab immigrants are more rapidly becoming American citizens, thus showing a high rate of ________.

cultural assimilation

What has allowed a high number of recent Asian Indian immigrants to rapidly adapt economically and socially in the United States?

experience as students in advanced fields in American universities

Why did the Asian American population grow faster than any other racial/ethnic category between 2000 and 2010?

high immigration rates

With half of the population found in seven cities, Jewish Americans are ________.

highly urbanized for an ethnic group

Why have many Asian immigrants to the United States over the past half century been highly skilled?

immigration laws that gave preference to highly skilled Asian workers

What external factor can be attributed to the historical lag in assimilation among early Chinese Americans?

limited interaction with others due to extreme prejudice and discrimination

Despite the dubious evidence against Sacco and Vanzetti, the guilty verdict reached in court against them can be attributed to what?

nativism and intolerance against Italian Americans manifesting itself in the judicial process

What, it is argued, drives ethnic exclusion of successful Italian Americans from joining America's intellectual elite?

perseverance of traditional, demeaning Italian American stereotypes

What has served as the most critical factor in distinguishing white ethnics such as Italian Americans and Irish Americans from the dominant Anglo group?

religious beliefs

What serves to sustain Jewish American identity despite continued cultural and structural assimilation?

remembrance of the Nazi Holocaust, which instills a sense of collective commitment to the preservation of the Jewish people.

Korean immigration to the United States in the late 1950s can be seen as primarily resulting from what factor?

repercussions of the Korean Civil War

The rapid and substantial upward mobility of many Asian Americans today can be attributed to what structural condition?

the abundant opportunities available to highly skilled workers in the United States, unlike in home countries

What is allowing for the creation of a new, pan-European ethnic group in the United States?

the blurring of ethnic lines and increasingly voluntary ethnic self-identification

Why is the Italian American ethnic culture--much like that of other white ethnic groups that have been in the United States for a long time--primarily a working-class phenomenon?

As more members move into middle-class occupations and neighborhoods, they grow more culturally assimilated.

Which of the following is evidence of a high degree of secondary-level structural assimilation among Asian Americans?

Asian Americans are the least residentially segregated among all American racial/ethnic categories.

Compared to other voluntary immigrant groups, what makes the vast success of Asian Americans in American society today all the more incredible?

Asian immigrants suffered some of the most severe forms of prejudice and discrimination in their settlement experience in the United States.

Why were Chinese immigrants treated with hostility from the onset of their migration to the western United States?

Being a mostly male population, they were perceived by white workers as a labor threat.

Why did Jews in the early twentieth century face barriers to gaining admittance to elite colleges and professional schools in the United States?

Due to their own successes, Jewish Americans faced a backlash intended to limit their entrance into educational institutions in which they were overrepresented.

Why did so many Eastern European Jews accept the brutal housing conditions of the early twentieth century while displaying a high degree of determination?

Faced with little prospect of returning to their homelands, most first generation Jewish immigrants accepted the idea that conditions would improve for later generations through hard work.

How did Italian immigrants of the New Wave primarily differ from Irish immigrants of the Old Wave?

Most who came to the United States did not expect to stay permanently.

In what way can the lower educational aspirations of Southern Italian Americans compared to Jewish Americans be explained by past experiences?

Negative attitudes towards the importance of education were a reflection of economic and social realities that had existed in the homeland.

The presence of Iran in the Middle East reveals what?

Not all Middle Eastern countries are Arab.

Why does the view of Italian Americans as being involved in organized crime persist today?

Prevalent media depictions of Italian Americans reinforce this view.

What did the California 1996 banning of race-based admission decisions in all public institutions, including Berkeley, reveal?

Prospective Asian American students had been unfairly discriminated against.

What allowed the Irish to assimilate so greatly into American society so much more easily than other European immigrant groups?

The Irish shared the same language as the dominant Anglos and were familiar with their ways.

Why was the anti-Japanese movement in the 1910s and 1920s stronger in California than elsewhere in the United States?

The Japanese were demographically concentrated in California

Which of the following statements characterizes the Muslim population of the United States?

The Muslim population in the United States is incredibly diverse in origin.

What explains for Jews in immigrant societies such as Canada and Argentina attaining comparable economic success to Jewish Americans?

a group culture that was individual-achievement oriented

To what did the Muslim man in the video attribute Juan Williams's fear of Muslims, which is prevalent in American society?

a lack of knowledge regarding Islam

Historically, anti-Semitism has been rooted in ________.

connections of Jews to money

What has historically made it difficult for Asian Americans to build a power base that can elevate their position nationally?

diverse and factionalized nature of the population in the United States that limits cohesion

What limited the advancement of many first- and second-generation Italian Americans from moving into professional positions?

entry into the labor force at an early age

Why is the figure of the swastika linked to anti-Semitism?

its connection to the Nazis and the Holocaust

Why were many Irish immigrants unable to establish themselves as farmers, as German and Scotch-Irish immigrants had done?

lack of capital to establish farms and rudimentary farming skills

Why have some Asian Americans founded their own high-technology enterprises in the United States?

limited opportunities for advancement to managerial positions in U.S. technology companies

In New York City especially, high poverty rates among Jews can be attributed to what?

low rates of economic success among highly religious Jews

By operating convenience stores in areas underserved by large chain stores, Arab Americans often ______.

play the role of middleman in communities

Why did the United States become a primary destination for Italian immigrants beginning in the 1880s?

political and economic downturn in Argentina and Brazil

What was the root cause for the second wave of Arab migration to the United States beginning in 1948?

political fallout as a result of decolonization and the independence of Israel

What event in the latter half of the twentieth century has primarily allowed for the perseverance of questions over the loyalty of Jewish Americans?

the establishment of the state of Israel

Which of the following shows the prevalence of anti-Catholicism in American society into the latter part of the twentieth century?

the expression of anti-Catholic prejudicial beliefs against presidential nominee John F. Kennedy

The large influx of Asian immigrants into the United States in the latter half of the twentieth century can be primarily attributed to ________.

the liberalization of immigration laws

What aspect of Asian Americans has often made them targets of inner-city, minority ethnic groups, such as occurred during the Los Angeles riots of 1992?

their role as middleman minorities in many inner cities

Why are a growing number of mosques in the United States holding open houses primarily to reach out to non-Muslim members of the community?

to encourage non-Muslims to learn about Islam and see it as something not to be feared

Why must the corrupt, Irish-led, urban political machines of the nineteenth century be evaluated in a historical context?

In the absence of a welfare state, these machines offered assistance in various forms to a population that was ill-equipped to survive in a discriminatory, capitalist system.

In what way was Irish immigration different from other European groups during the Old Immigration Wave?

Irish immigrants represented the first large-scale movement to America of non-Protestants

How does the experience of Irish in America demonstrate the fluid nature of "race"?

Irish moved over time from a racially "in-between" status to that of being considered white.

What is the importance of Detroit to the Arab American community?

It represents the largest concentration of Arabs in the United States.

Why did the overwhelming number of employed Irish female immigrants take up work as domestic servants?

It was a rational choice necessitated by economic need.

In America throughout the twentieth century, what has allowed for the common assumption that Jewish Americans wield inordinate economic power?

Jewish Americans have a dominate influence in several highly visible industries.

What ethnic quality of Jewish Americans helped them to achieve greater upward mobility than Italian Americans?

Jewish Americans put a greater emphasis on individual achievement than family needs.

Despite the incidents of anti-Semitism occurring in France, why are Jewish Americans protesting?

Jews in the United States are more conscious of their heritage and have a sense of collective commitment to the preservation of the Jewish people.

Overall, what has allowed the Arab American population to exceed the general population of the United States in almost all socioeconomic measures?

Many Arab Americans have come highly educated and are employed in professional fields.

Why is the fact that Asian Americans are the highest-income and best-educated racial group in the United States misleading?

There exist significant socioeconomic differences among specific groups that are classified as Asian Americans.

How did the formation of concentrated Jewish residential areas in the United States differ from that of black ghettos?

They developed due to in-group choice, which provided Jews with safety and psychological comfort

In what way have the policies of the U.S. government over the past several decades served as a catalyst for Arab immigration to the United States?

U.S. interests in oil and Israel have been translated into political policies and actions that have caused political instability in the Middle East.

Why does ethnicity of successive generations of white ethnics lose importance as a determinant of jobs, schools, neighborhoods, and lifestyles?

Upward mobility parallels assimilation, and thus social class becomes more relevant

In what way did the English experience in Ireland during the seventeenth century pave the way for their colonial policies in North America?

When faced with natives who were uncooperative in ceding lands, the "savage" image could be invoked, thus justifying brutal tactics.

What advantage overall do white ethnics have over racial-ethnic groups in the United States in influencing upward mobility and daily life?

ability to choose ethnic identification

In the United States, many misperceptions concerning Arabs and Muslims are propagated because both terms ________.

are incorrectly used interchangeably

What accounts for the greater cultural compatibility of Filipino immigrants to the United States than that of other Asian countries?

close and longstanding ties between the Philippines and the United States