Abstract
This paper takes a look at why culture-clash often occurs when different cultures meet and explains that it is often due to ignorance about the other culture, as well as excessive feelings of pride and superiority by the members of one or both cultures.

From the Paper
"Despite its many claims and indeed efforts to the contrary, the United States of America has always been a country of division and segregation. Race, gender and class differences thus even today play an important role in the construction of society, ethnicity and indeed the social construction of prejudicial views. This means that these prejudicial views regarding the superiority or inferiority of any group of people are socially rather than biologically constructed (Lorber in Rothenburg, 2004, p. 54). The tragic thing about such social constructs is the fact that children grow up without critically examining the potentially erroneous views with which they grew up. Indeed, young boys and girls often grow up voicing and strengthening within themselves the very prejudices advocated to them by their parents. The derogatory phrase, "like a girl" (Messner in Rothenburg, 2004, p. 57), is an example of this. Such expressions signify the deep-seated inequalities still prevalent in society, and how these are reinforced in the young generation."

Tags:superior, position, inferiority, inequality, lower, classes, gender, identity, self-concept

Abstract
This paper discusses Nathan Glazer's "The Emergence of an American Ethnic Pattern". The paper explains Glazer's opinion that affirmative action is creating a 'tribal' America. The paper contends that rather than a cohesive American identity, Glazer argues that Americans are becoming increasingly identified with their personal racial, religious and ethnic differences. The paper disagrees with Glazer's views and states that affirmative action acknowledges a historical past that cannot be ignored when creating the future and also offers a potential vision of a new America, based upon a vision of a beautiful, pluralistic mosaic of identity.

From the Paper
"True, civil rights and voting rights have remedied some of the abuses codified in American law. Still, the social ramifications of the legal disenfranchisement of African Americans, Indian Americans, and other disenfranchised groups still exist with these once legally discriminated against communities. The social actions of lynching, local laws discriminating against Chinese and Catholic Americans, the denial of land rights to American Indians, and other social abuses still have long-standing social effects that do not disappear as the words of the 'Jim Crow' laws disappeared from the law books of the South. Discrimination today exists, even if it is not in law, it does in fact and common, often unspoken practice."

Tags:affirmative, action, racism

Abstract
This essay critically analyzes what it means to be an American. The author attempts to investigate how the way in which we define ourselves within our racial or ethnic categories affects our identities as Americans.

From the Paper
"One's identity and self esteem is constantly being molded by a number of ongoing factors. Culture a factor of many. A persons cultural upbringing predetermines how that specific person will live his or her life. It also determines how that person will respect other cultures, as well as his own. A complex nation is America, and the opinions of Americans can vary greatly. Mary C. Waters relays the concept of "ethnic options," which is a term which means the freedom to choose your ethnicity, based on the specific situation. Waters strongly believes that Americans with European ancestry are at a significantly greater advantage over non-Whites in America. Therefore, according to Waters, the ways in which we define ourselves within our racial and ethnic categories, can compliment or vanish our identities as Americans."

Tags:american, ethnic, racial, identity, value, attitude, self-esteem

Abstract
The paper explores the theme of racial identity in these three novels. The similarities in plot are highlighted For example; each novel's plot is centered on a character's attempt to transcend their racial otherness in order to be accepted by American society. The paper concludes with a discussion on Randolph Bourne's essay "Trans-national America", relating it to Morrison's desire to avoid racial hierarchy, and showing how the protagonists of the novels do not fit into this multi-cultural scheme.

From the Paper
"The crisis at the center of Abraham Cahan's story is presented as a conflict between Jake's ethnic past, his racial otherness in America and his ambition to be, in his words, "a Yankee". Early on in the story, Yekl, in his ambition to be an American, changes his name to Jake, because the name Yekl is associated with a Russian past he is not able to "reconcile with the actualities of his American present". Essentially, one cannot be a Russian Jew and an American, to be an American one needs to repudiate their ethnic past. This crisis gets even further developed when Jake's wife arrives from Russia.

To Jake, his wife is an embodiment of the ethnic identity he wishes to efface. When he first sees her off the boat "his heart had sunk at the sight of his wife's uncouth and un-American appearance." For her part, she looks at Jake in his American garb and sees barely a semblance of the man she married. For Cahan, the process of assimilation and Americanization is a process that destroys one's ethnic identity, and the foil of Jake and Gitl illustrates a sort of before and after picture meant to demonstrate that."

Tags:racial, similarities, plot, society, acceptance, Randolph, Bourne, trans-national, hierarchy, protagonists, multi-cultural

Abstract
This paper discusses Cope's study on attempts at racism in colonial Mexico and the reasons why racism never truly flourished. The paper concludes by agreeing with Cope's study and the light it sheds on racism and class and self-identity.

From the Paper
"The failure of Spanish elites to impose their own definitions of race on the people of the traza shows the difficulty of imposing one's cultural ideas and definitions on another society. In the case of colonial Mexico, for example, the Spanish clearly wanted to establish a social order based on race. To them, a person's social mobility hinges on how much Spanish blood they possess."

Tags:social, constructs, racial, categorization, Mexican, colonialism, ethnic, division

Abstract
The paper discusses how America, despite having achieved some progress over recent years, is still facing burning issues concerning cultural, social and economic inequality among ethnic groups. The paper compares the characters of Percola Breedlove of "The Bluest Eye" and Willie Spearmint of "The Tenant". The paper portrays how both characters have accepted Western world views pertaining to personal success and achievement and how their African identity is being eroded by white values and perceptions.

Outline:
Introduction
Seeing the World Through Black Eyes
Aspects of Americanization

From the Paper
"It was during the late nineteen-thirties when Percola Breedlove, a social 'case', went to live at the MacTeers house. America, during this period, was still suffering from the effects of the Great Depression, and Europe had recently gone to war. Percola, at just eleven years old, was a young girl at the beginning of puberty, who was only just beginning to understand society's standards concerning physical attributes and characteristics. However, it was not long before she discovered the truth about herself; she was an ugly, black bitch - the proof of which was clearly evident through the fact that she was both unwanted and unloved by both her family and society."

Tags:identity, African-American, values, Willie, Spearmint, Percola, Breedlove

Abstract
This paper applies the identity theory to the case of immigration in the United States. It asks if the United States should continue to allow Immigrants to enter the U.S. seeking refuge and citizenship, when the nations states are already overly populated? It questions whether immigrants should be allowed to enter the U.S. and work when there are hundreds of citizens and native-born Americans already unemployed and desperately searching for work. It uses these questions as example of the conflicting messages immigrants and their children face in modern day society, and explains how they add to the increasingly complex problem of finding identity in a torn nation.

From the Paper
"The United States is world known for its ethnic diversity, due in part to the immigration allowed over several years. Many people however, fail to find a means to foster inter-racial and ethnic identities, thus causing much conflict and a lack of a uniform sense of identity. The social issue relates to finding a common identity in a nation of multi-ethnicities. Children of immigrants are now coming of age, and from a social psychological stand will make the most lasting impression on society. The character of society will be shaped by their experiences."

Tags:ethnic, diversity, america, racial, employment, population

Abstract
This paper examines the role that ethnicity and race play in determining one's identity and how this can have both positive and negative consequences. The negative consequences are best demonstrated when a person's race or ethnic background prevent him from integrating into society. The paper looks at this aspect of ethnic and racial identity and the role the social worker has in helping people of different ethnicities and races integrate into society. The problems that arise as social workers take on this role are discussed as well.

From the Paper
"People often identify along racial and ethnic lines. This usually isn't antagonistic; it usually consists of maintaining traditions and values and thereby forms the basis for social interaction. For such people, ethnicity provides a sense of purpose in their own identity. Celebrations like Diwali and Rosh Hashanna remind people (in this case, Indian and Jewish people) of their traditions and are a source of pride. Among the most lively and endearing parts of any city are its ethnic communities, as they allow us to experience not only different holidays, cuisine and customs but also to gain a more circumspect appreciation of human nature and the way that people interact."

Tags:mainstream, multiculturalism, foregin, born, communities, equal, rights, discrimination-free, environment, racism

Abstract
Culture is a critical variable in career counseling and should enter into every part of the career counseling process. This paper explains that, in order to effectively utilize a valid frame of reference in which to place cultural variables, counselors need to be familiar with theories of acculturation, world-views, aspirations and expectations, societal barriers and intra-group socialization, and racial and ethnic identity development.The writer explains that it is clear that career counselors working with multi-cultural students must be trained in such a way as to ensure that they are completely sensitive to and well-versed in matching individual students to the appropriate work environment. It discusses how career counseling is a process occurring between two or more individuals and designed to help students reach a career decision. It concludes that, in order to be effective as a career counselor with racial and ethnic minority students, counselors must become skilled in cross-cultural counseling.

From the Paper
"Good career counseling always takes place within a cultural context, which is true regardless of ethnicity. Current theoretical models may not be adequate to explain the career behavior of racial and ethnic minorities. Vocational assessment has to be culturally sensitive, and only culturally appropriate tools should be used in vocational assessment. The goal of career counseling is to help clients make career choices that are culturally appropriate, rather than to try to have all clients make the same choices. Today, with the changes in the balance of ethnic representations in the United States, and a greater recognition of the changing needs of racial and ethnic minority members, it is generally agreed that counselors must be competent to work with a diverse population and effectively deliver vocational counseling services to racial and ethnic minorities."

Tags:minority, cross-culture, student, work

Abstract
In this paper, the writer explains that multicultural psychology is a branch of study that focuses on cultural diversity and aims at providing strategies and solutions in dealing with racial, ethnic or cultural differences in the course of interpersonal relations. The writer discusses that traditional psychology usually studies the individual and the intra-psychic phenomena, whereas multicultural psychology focuses on the extra-psychic factors that influence the development and the social identity of a person, such as belonging to a particular culture or ethnicity. The writer points out that multicultural psychology needs to use an interdisciplinary theoretical basis and take into consideration all the factors that might influence the development of a certain individual.
The writer concludes that every ethnic group faces certain problems when trying to adapt to a different cultural space.

From the Paper
"Multicultural competencies enable an individual to work well and interact properly in a cross cultural environment. The major and indispensable multicultural competencies are: cultural self- awareness together with cultural awareness of the others' views and attitudes, cultural knowledge including historical background, traditions and customs and cultural skills that help communication and integration in a multicultural situation. Thus, multicultural competencies consist primarily of specific cultural knowledge regarding the other ethnicities, and of an appropriate understanding of their different worldviews and attitudes. Different races and ethnicities have different perspectives on life and respect different sets of value."

Tags:psychic, values, training, identity