Literary notes about Assimilation (AI summary)
Literary usage of the term assimilation encompasses a wide range of meanings, from the integration of cultures and races to linguistic shifts and even metaphorical comparisons with processes like digestion. In sociological works, for instance, assimilation is portrayed as both a mechanism of cultural unification and a contentious process that can obscure individual identities, as seen in discussions of immigrant integration and racial merging ([1], [2], [3], [4]). Scholars also extend the term into realms of political policy, examining how state-directed efforts—such as Benevolent Assimilation—attempt to shape national identity ([5], [6], [7]). Meanwhile, in texts on language and philosophy, assimilation is likened to natural processes of organic adaptation, where ideas or sounds are absorbed and transformed ([8], [9], [10]). This multifaceted treatment underscores assimilation’s dual role as an agent of change that promotes cohesion while simultaneously raising questions about preservation of distinctiveness ([11], [12]).
- Does the segregation of immigrants make for or against assimilation?
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - [246] From Robert E. Park, "Racial Assimilation in Secondary Groups," in the Publications of the American Sociological Society , VIII (1914), 66-72.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - Instances of this are furnished by the partial assimilation of the Negro and the Indian of the United States.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - The ideal of assimilation was conceived to be that of feeling, thinking, and acting alike.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - In the last chapter we saw the début of the Benevolent Assimilation programme at Iloilo.
— from The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912 by James H. Blount - Moreover, General Otis tried to think till the last along lines in harmony with the original theory of Benevolent Assimilation.
— from The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912 by James H. Blount - Unmasked, this is what the policy of Benevolent Assimilation now is.
— from The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912 by James H. Blount - P p , changed to b , 164, 2 ; development of, between m and s , m and t , 167 ; assimilation of, 164, 3 and 4 ; 166, 2 .
— from A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges by George Martin Lane - It originally appears in generatio æquivoca ; afterwards in assimilation to the given germ, organic moisture, plant, animal, man.
— from The World as Will and Idea (Vol. 1 of 3) by Arthur Schopenhauer - The metaphors of digestion and [Pg 210] assimilation, that so readily occur to mind in connection with rational elaboration, are highly instructive.
— from How We Think by John Dewey - Not by the suppression of old memories, but by their incorporation in his new life is assimilation achieved.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - He must assimilate them to himself, for he must have them to hold intercourse with others; but the assimilation is always imperfect.
— from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim