Inheriting the city
The Children of Immigrants Come of Age
SUMMARY: “Inheriting the City” is a culmination of a decade-long research project by a large team of researchers who interviewed members of the second and 1.5 generation immigrants, in and around New York City. By researching what life is like for them in America, the project was sought to understand the long term consequences of immigration for American society. However, the study has also come to include what is is like to be a young adult in New York today.
The study also set out to draw conclusions about American ethnic and racial relations. In the chapter on the children of the immigrants, Warner and Srole explore the causes affecting children’s relationships with their parents’ generation and the wider society. They argue that the parents orient the child’s early socialization to the values and beliefs of the old country. However, as the child enters into social relations in public, they begin to orient themselves to the wider American society. Many second generation immigrants will adopt traits, like become fluent in dominant language, in order to succeed in society. |
ANALYSIS: Through the study, the report’s conclusions indicate that second generation immigrants integrate into American society, in order to achieve social and economic success. In order to integrate, second generation immigrants must assimilate with the dominant society. Thus, integration in society allows individuals to become a contributing member of society and, thereby, contributing to America’s national prosperity. In addition, this integration through preceding generations is changing the face of America, literally.