The differences between multiculturalism and melting pot?

Question

What is the differences between multiculturalism and melting pot??? i really don't get it...

Answer 1

Multiculturalism is a mixture of cultures that retain their identity, only in one place. Like a tossed salad. Everything is individual, you can tell the ingredients, but they are brought together in one place, bound by one thing, like US citizenship, or a language, or belief. A melting pot is like a cookie. The ingredients all started out as individual things, but then morphed into one new and different thing. you can't see the sugar, flour, etc, you know it's in there, but it has worked with the other ingredients to make a new whole. In society, assimilation of immigrants would be a good example. It used to be that when people immigrated to America, they wanted to become as American as possible, so they shed most of their traditions and customs, in order to fit in. This is a melting pot. Now, integrity of customs, traditions, language and heritage for immigrants to America is very important. That's why our country is now more multicultural (tossed salad). America is one of the few countries where our national identity is made up of other cultural identities. We are very lucky to be allowed such freedoms.

Answer 2

Melting pot implies assimilation, blending resulting in a sort of move to the "middle" that ends up defining what is "American," for example. Meanwhile, multiculturalism is many different cultures coexisting in a particular place but essentially retaining their own cultures, rather than mixing or altering.

I've often heard it described using the metaphor of a "stew" (melting pot) vs. a "salad" (multiculturalism), if that helps.

Answer 3

The term "melting pot" refers to a group--a society or a city, usually, that adds a varilety of immigrants. The sense of the term is that these will gradually be assimilated--"melt into" the dominant culture.

"Multiculturalism" is a specific approach (political/social/ideological) that focuses on the diversity of a setting comprised of different cultural groups. The idea is not to suppress or devalue any of the component coulutres, but rather to embrace and value that diversity and the interaction of and opportunity to experience multiple cultures.

Multiculturalism doesn't preclude assimilation--but it does value the heritage and differences of all the members of the society/group.

Answer 4

Multiculturalism refers to a situation where more than one culture (i.e. ethnicity, religion, customs, etc.) are coexisting in one particular place...this could happen/be virtually anywhere, not just USA. "Melting Pot" is a term used years ago to describe the USA and the various groups of immigrants the were coming to America...I'm thinking late 1800s and early 1900s.

Answer 5

I believe melting pot would have more assimilation into one culture. Cultures melding together. Multiculturalism would be many different cultures near in geography but retaining their specific cultural identities.

Answer 6

Melting Pot. My family came to the U.S. in 1909 from Czechlovachia. They spoke Bohemian and Czech. They are proud of their heritage but they are also proud to be American. My relatives learned English, went to school, and made good lives for themselves in the U.S. We always call ourselves American. We do not use Czech-American. We still have our customs from the old country.

Multiculturalism. These are the immigrants whether legal or illegal that come to live in the U.S. They don't want to learn English or really become American. They believe Americans should accommodate them in every way.....language, customs, etc. What they want is to live here and make no changes. Same language and same customs. You will not ever hear them refer to themselves as American. This is where bi-lingual education came from.

If back in the 1900's this was allowed to happen, the U.S. would have never prospered. I would be speaking Czech and there would have been no education for me. I think it is very sad when immigrants don't become Americans. There is so much for them to gain.