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ACCULTURATION OF IRANIANS IN U.S.
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Research proposal to determine how & to what degree Iranian immigrants achieved acculturation.... More...

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Paper Abstract:
Research proposal to determine how & to what degree Iranian immigrants achieved acculturation.

Paper Introduction:
Research Proposal: Acculturation of Iranians in America Background of the Problem The United States has been variously characterized as either a "melting pot" or a society that reflects cultural pluralism (Hess, Markson, & Stein, 1990). The "melting pot" model suggests that differences among groups are "melted down" over time and cease to exist, creating a social system of a high degree of homogeneity. In the model of cultural pluralism, it is proposed that the special contributions of immigrant groups and cultures add to the diversity and vitality of American cultural life (Hess, Markson, & Stein, 1990). Cultural pluralism implies an acceptance of differences in relatively personal matters such as food, family, religious rituals, and community associations. Further,

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Further, it suggests that a countrysuch as the United States is engaged in a process of becoming more diversewith respect to such variables as race, ethnicity, country and language ororigin, and other factors. (199 ). Most immigrant groups experience several barriers to these processes.Prejudice, discrimination, and institutionalized racism are institutionalbarriers internal to the majority society; linguistic differences, economicstatus, a lack of job skills or education, resistance to acculturation, andother barriers are said to be external to the society and internal to theimmigrant (Henretta, Brownlee, Brody, Ware, & Johnson, 1997). Chicago Tribune, December 19, A18.Bernal, M., and Knight, G. Acculturation, sometimes called"cultural assimilation," occurs when the people in a minority group adoptas their own the norms, values, and behavior patterns of the dominantsociety but are still not admitted to more intimate social groups (Hess,Markson, & Stein, 199 ). United States Immigra tion.Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.----------------------- 7 The ChicagoTribune (1992), based upon data provided by the Census Bureau,characterized today's immigrant population with respect to the followingdemographics: - immigrants rapidly move out of poverty and after less than ten years, less than one-third of foreign born families in the U.S. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press.Glassman, B. In 1991, some 1.1 percent ofall immigrants to the United States reported Iran as their country oforigin (Glassman, 1996). Sociological theories of acculturation will alsobe explored in the proposed study. Research Proposal: Acculturation of Iranians in AmericaBackground of the Problem The United States has been variously characterized as either a"melting pot" or a society that reflects cultural pluralism (Hess, Markson,& Stein, 199 ). The report willoffer a summary and discussion of findings. Ed. (1996). Iranian immigrants constitute no more than .1 percent of the totalUnited States population (Glassman, 1996). Relatively few in-depth, detailed, or extensive studies ofMiddle Eastern immigrant groups in this most recent "wave" of immigrationhave been conducted. Cultural pluralism implies an acceptance ofdifferences in relatively personal matters such as food, family, religiousrituals, and community associations. A search of several electronic (Internet) data baseswill also be undertaken. In the model of cultural pluralism,it is proposed that the special contributions of immigrant groups andcultures add to the diversity and vitality of American cultural life (Hess,Markson, & Stein, 199 ). 1992). It will conclude with aprospectus for the future of Iranian Americans and for further immigrationfrom Iran to the United States. Others arrived as students andsecured permanent visas. Both statistical and narrative/historical studieswill be reviewed in the study to provide an answer to the research questionand related areas of interest. In the past and today aswell, it has been argued that these diverse ethnic groups may have adamaging effect upon the culture of the United States. A theoretical overview of the processes ofimmigration and acculturation will be provided as well. New York: MacMillian, 1996.Henretta, J.A., Brownless, W.E., Brody, D., Ware, S., and Johnson, M.S. The literature suggests that the process of immigration can bepsychologically and emotionally traumatic (Bernal & Knight, 1993). In the present study, the focus is upon the acculturation of aspecific group of immigrants - Iranians. (1997). Though a relatively small portion of both thetotal American population and of Middle Eastern and other immigrant groups,Iranians are a growing presence in the United States.Statement of the Research Problem The research problem to be addressed in the proposed study is posedin the form of the following question: To what degree, and how, have Iranian immigrants to the United States achieved acculturation?Related issues to be examined include an identification of the reasons forimmigration among Iranians, barriers to acculturation and assimilation,lifestyles and cultural traditions of this population, changes occurringwithin Iranian's family and lifestyle after immigration, and futureprospects.Methodology The research methodology to be employed in the proposed studyconsists of a narrative, qualitative, library-based review and analysis ofrelevant literature. The final report will present an introduction and background of theproblem and the review of literature, along with an expanded explanation ofthe research methods employed. The resulting thesis willconsist of a carefully constructed narrative in which these secondary datasources and scholarly reviews will be interwoven to create a profile of thelife experiences of Iranian immigrants to the United States. Ethnic Identity. live below the poverty line; - in the same time period, immigrant households earning less than $15, per year, dropped by one third; - one household in seven of new arrivals has an income of $5 , per year or more, and after a decade, one in five reports these income levels; - one in every four immigrants has a college degree while one in three has a high school diploma (Chicago Tribune, . Though largely Muslim, Iranians are not Arabs anddo not share many of the cultural traditions of other Muslim groups whichare Arabs by ethnicity. The MacMillan Visual Almanac. Selected historical sources will also be used to provide an overviewof the culture, norms, values and traditions of the Iranian people and thehistory of their country. At present, more than twenty million citizens, or more than one intwelve, are foreign born (Miller & Miller, 1996). Certainimmigrant groups may experience greater difficulties in achievingacculturation than others due to any or all of these factors or,alternatively as a consequence of extraneous social or political concerns. The "melting pot" model suggests that differences amonggroups are "melted down" over time and cease to exist, creating a socialsystem of a high degree of homogeneity. Sociology. (1992). The number ofEuropean immigrants has declined while non-European immigration hasincreased, including immigration from Middle Eastern, Asian, African, andLatin American nations.Despite concerns about immigrants, the nation's 1.6 million most recentarrivals are neither the "huddled masses" of the past nor a crowd of low-wage workers threatening to take American-born workers' jobs. Typically, social scientists consider there to befive stages or processes in the integration of minority groups into amainstream culture: segregation or isolation, accommodation (during whichminority group members become aware of the dominant norms and values of asociety but do not necessarily change their own norms and values),acculturation (as defined above), assimilation (entry into the dominantsociety through close associations), and amalgamation (the creation of anew cultural and/or ethnic/racial type) (Hess, Markson, & Stein, 199 ). Few immigrants stay poor for long. Middle Easterners as a group (and a diverse group as well) haveemerged in the past several decades as a more and more visible urbanminority in the United States (Henretta, at al, 1997; Hess, Markson, &Stein, 199 ). America's History. New York: MacMillan, 199 .Miller, E. New York: Worth.Hess, B.B., Markson, E.W., Stein, P.J. Otherwise, most data and studies willbe from the period from 1985 to the present. It is, however, recognized that the population ofimmigrants born in the Middle East is inherently diverse. W., and Miller, R.M. Many Iranians chose to live in the United Statesfor political reasons, perhaps in protest of the regime of religiousfundamentalists in Iran (Glassman, 1996). Many experience what has come to be characterized as "cultureshock." Marital and family problems are commonplace, as is nostalgiclonging for the homeland. Manyimmigrants, regardless of the country of origin, feel socially isolated andalienated from (and even by) the mainstream culture in which they findthemselves. (1993). ReferencesAssociated Press. The studies and literature employed in such a projectare drawn from the scholarly and popular press, including academicjournals, educational reports, dissertations and other studies, governmentmaterials, newspaper reports, and empirical studies also reported inscholarly journals.

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