andreeva_ln_volkovinskaia_lv_korziuk_nn_liudi_i_obshchestvo

U N I T IV

LIVING IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

Our own society is the only one, which we can transform and yet not destroy, since the changes, which we should introduce, would come from within.

Claude Levi-Strauss

The importance of maintaining one’s cultural identity — and therefore the need to preserve, protect and defend one’s culturally shared values — often leads to the overestimating of the uniqueness of this or that nation. On the other hand, the hightened emphasis on culture is accompanied by growing opportunities to interact with people whose cultural background is different from one’s own. To some extent, national images may obstruct international understanding because they are, in a way, negative and misleading, and generally may cause international and national friction. No nation can afford cultural isolation as well as no country has the right to impose its merits on the whole civilization. We need to understand our co-inhabitants on the earth so that we can compete effectively in an increasingly global economy.

While working on the material of this unit be ready to discuss the issues of the intercultural connections, the problem of changing the place of living or citizenship, some racial or national prejudices and the variety of the national peculiarities which have to be accepted to avoid cultural shocks.

53

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

Task 1. Match the words on the left with the words or phrases of similar meaning on the right.

Task 2. Match the word with its definition.

Task 3. a) Give the opposite to the following words.

Sensitive, good-mannered, quiet, refined, generous, modest, admirable;

b) Here are some other words commonly associated with certain nationalities. From the list below find as many pairs of opposites as possible.

Reserved, lively, talkative, polite, aggressive, boring, hard-working, inflexible, lazy, inscrutable, cheerful, frank, hypocritical, genuine, eccentric, fun, well-organized, male-chauvinist, flamboyant, unpunctual.

54

c) From the list below find as many synonymous pairs as possible.

Generous, diligent, hospitable, firm, industrious, sociable, feeble, full or due to pride, solid, polite and gracious, gregarious, weak, arrogant, courteous, noble-minded, friendly and solicitous towards guests.

Task 4. Arrange the adjectives into two groups as for the positive and negative features of character.

Industrious, gregarious, strong willed, suspicious, mercenary, arrogant, snobbish, superstitious, stubborn, tolerant, trustworthy, gentle, superiour, reserved, conservative, friendly, thrifty, hospitable, lazy, solid, intelligent, cautious, talkative.

Task 5. Fill in the blanks with the suitable words from the box.

To outlaw, expulsion, to dissent, to adjust, mourner, to intervene, bias

1.Countries like Spain and France ordered mass … of ethnic or religious minorities.

2.I strongly … from what the last speaker has said.

3.Skinheads beat up … who gathered by the bomb site. The police did not….

4.The first important piece of legislation in the US … discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex or national origin was the Civil Rights Act 1964.

5.Muslims in particular, is the strongest of all … against ethnic, racial and religious groups.

6.I was trying … to the demands of a society with which I was relatively unfamiliar.

Task 6. Fill in the gaps using the words in the box.

A. There is no such thing as a … American, but there are some views of Americans which many think are fair.

Ordinary Americans are friendly and not afraid of showing their feelings. They are not as … or class-conscious as the English, and the way people speak is not … to them. A University professor can talk to his students in a broad Brooklyn or Southern accent. However, there is “money …” in the USA which sometimes takes strange forms.

The American’s dream is … in his job, success … by his own skill and hard work. There is no one an American … more that the self-made man, no matter what kind of family he comes from, whereas upper-class people in Britain still tender to dislike … men and find them socially unacceptable.

55

Self-made, success, typical, important, snobbish, earned, admires, snobbery

B. Englishmen are naturally … and are never tired of saying “Thank you” and “I’m sorry”. They are generally …, you never hear loud talk in the street. They do not rush for seats in buses and trains, but they take their seats in queues at bus stops. They will never shut the door in your face but will hold it open for you.

English people do not … … when meeting one another, they just smile and say “Hello!” they say “How do you do” sometimes, but not very often, only to people they meet for the … …. .

Englishmen do not … their emotions even in tragic situations. They seem to remain … and … under difficulties.

First time, polite, show, good-tempered, shake hands, well-bred, cheerful

C. First of all, let us see, what has been influencing the formation of the Belarusian national … . Let’s start with natural and climatic conditions.

Sharp contrasts outside, inside and in the souls are not … for Belarus. The Belarusian character has no … and tense readiness for unexpected dangers. The nature of Belarus doesn’t know storms or any cataclysms in general. Therefore, the Belarusians are … and on the whole optimistic, they never … a misfortune.

The Belarusians are accustomed to work hard, so as to produce something on this soil, sand or clay, that is why they are patient and … . The environmental peculiarities require our universality. Diligence and universalty are helping us … . Moreover, the Belarusians are undemanding and … . A Belarusian does not need very much any external demonstrations, he is more oriented at internal work.

Modest, hardworking, typical, character, somberness, expect, to survive, trustful

READING PRACTICE

Pre-reading Activity

Task 1. Answer the following questions.

1.Why do people migrate from one place to another?

2.When do you think were the largest migrations of people in human history?

Task 2. Look through the following word combinations and make sure you know how to translate them.

a)Sophisticated civilizations.

b)To be bound in place and traded like chattels.

56

c)To designate others as outsiders.

d)To exercise the right to leave.

e)To dismiss asylum claims.

f)To bring another exodus.

g)To deny access to smb.

h)To lose much of the distinctiveness of smth.

i)To retain one’s language.

j)To face hostility.

k)The renewed proliferation of smth.

Reading Activity

(!) Read the text and answer the following.

How have governments and rulers tried to control people’s freedom of movement?

T E X T 1

THE HISTORY OF BORDERS

1. Ancient migrations

Human history is the history of migrations and the most sophisticated civilizations arose where human traffic was heaviest. The ancient land near East, the Indian sub-continent, China — all had constant influxes of migrants bringing new ideas and change.

2. Bonded serfs

Large-scale restrictions were imposed with the introduction of serfdom in Europe under the Roman Empire during the third and fourth centuries AD. By mediaeval times a large part of Europe’s population was bound in place and traded like chattels.

3. Nation states

During the early Renaissance period a new social order emerged founded on wage laborers and serfdom started to die out. People were viewed as wealth, and rulers even encouraged immigration by offering newcomers citizenship, tax incentives and other benefits. The ideology of nationalism united a vast range of cultural groups and classes on the basis of loyalty to the state while designating others as “outsiders”. Countries like Spain and France ordered mass expulsions of ethnic or religious minorities.

57

4. Slave labor

More horrific than these expulsions, however, was the shipment of millions of West Africans to slavery in the Americas — the largest involuntary migration in history. In all, between eight and ten million Africans were taken to the Americas from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century.

5. Right to leave

By the end of the seventeenth century “liberal” thinkers like John Locke were questioning a ruler’s right to restrict the movement of the individual. Border controls were relaxed and monied people in the West could largely choose where they went. The New World was settled in the nineteenth century by people exercising this right to leave.

6. War wounds

Waves of refugees swept across Europe in the early twentieth century. The post-World War One political realignment of territories that occurred after the four great European empires collapsed made many thousands homeless. By the 1920s immigration controls were tightened and passports — which had fallen into disuse in many places — were reintroduced. The Second World War brought another exodus as intensified aerial bombardment left massive numbers homeless.

Post-reading Activity

Mark the sentences as “True” or “False” according to the text.

1.The most sophisticated civilizations arose where the population was bound in place and traded like chattels.

2.By mediaeval times a large part of Europe’s population could largely choose where they went.

3.During the early Renaissance period people were viewed as wealth and rulers even encouraged immigration by offering newcomers citizenship, tax incentives and other benefits.

4.Slave labor caused the largest involuntary migration in history.

5.The New World was settled in the 19th century by people exercising the right to relax border controls.

6.World War II brought another exodus.

7.Large-scale restrictions have been imposed to the movement of the individual during the 20th century.

58

T E X T 2

Pre-reading Activity

Answer the following question.

Traditionally the United States has welcomed immigrants from other countries. What reasons have they had for settling there?

Reading Activity

(!) Read the text and answer the following.

What does an immigrant have to go through to become a citizen of another country?

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddling massesyearning to breathe free.

(Inscription beneath the Statue of Liberty)

NATION OF DIVERSITY

The United States is a country of many ethnic groups. An ethnic group is made up of people who share one or more characteristics which make them different from other groups. They may share specific racial or physical traits, speak their own language or practice a distinctive religion. They are usually bound to one another by common traditions and values, and by their own folklore and music.

The Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups lists 106 major groups in the United States today, including Native Americans, Albanians, Afro-Americans, Arabs, Burmese, Chinese, Eskimos, Filipinos, Greeks, Irish, Italians, Jews, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Swiss.

Most members of ethnic groups long established in the United States have lost much of the distinctiveness of their culture. Third generation Germans, for example, may only speak English and may think of themselves as “plain” Americans. Third generation Chinese, however, often retain their language and many cultural and family traditions. They will usually define themselves as Chinese Americans.

Black Americans are only now beginning to overcome the effects of 250 years of slavery.

Since the 1950s, Black Americans have been moving into the mainstream of American life. Though a fairly large black middle class has emerged, many blacks continue to exist on the economic margins.

59

The situation of the Native Americans, many of whom must choose between living in reservations or moving outside remains difficult, as well.

Racial prejudice and discrimination against the African-Americans, Chinese and Native Americans has often meant that many members of those groups have been forced to live and work in narrow sectors of American life. Recent Hispanic immigrants such as Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, also have encountered discrimination based on their ethnicity.

Those ethnic groups which suffer systematic economic or social disadvantages are called minority groups. About one of every five Americans is a member of such a group.

In the past, many minority groups overcame the barriers that confronted them. The Irish, the Italians and the Germans, the Catholics and the Jews all faced hostility and discrimination which severely restricted their opportunities for decades. In time they largely overcame these barriers and became fully integrated into national life. There are many signs that today’s minorities are following the same path. For several decades, it has been an official aim of public policy to encourage such an outcome.

Post-reading Activity

Task 1. Explain in other words what the following things mean.

a)to share one or more characteristics

b)to lose much of the distinctiveness of…

c)to retain one’s language

d)to define oneself as…

e)to exist on the economic margins

f)to face hostility and discrimination

g)to encourage such an outcome

Task 2. Choose the best ending.

1.An ethnic group is made up of the people who… a) grow up rooted in some soil or some community.

b) who are bound to one another by a common birthplace.

c) who share one or more characteristics which make them different from other groups.

2.Most members of ethnic groups long established in the US…

a)have been moving into the mainstream of American life.

b)are no longer designated as outsiders.

c)have lost much of the distinctiveness of their culture.

60

3.Racial prejudice and discrimination against the African-Americans, Chinese, Native Americans…

a)no longer exist in the US as they used to be.

b)tend to vanish gradually.

c)have often meant that many members of those groups have been forced. to live and work in narrow sectors of American life.

4. Since the 1950s Black Americans…

a) have been living on reservations or moving outside.

b) have been suffering systematic economic or social disadvantages. c) have been moving into the mainstream of American life.

5. In the past many minority groups… a) faced hostility and discrimination.

b) worked and lived in narrow sectors of American life. c) overcame the barriers that confronted them.

Task 3. Read the poem “Prospective Immigrants Please Note” by Adrienne Rich and explain in your own words who it is addressed to and what the author means to say by its lines.

PROSPECTIVE IMMIGRANTS

PLEASE NOTE

Adrienne Rich

Either you will

go through this door or you will not go through.

If you go through there is always the risk

of remembering your name.

Things look at you doubly and you must look back and let them happen.

If you do not go through it is possible

to live worthily

61