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Acculturation And Its Discontents: A Case For Bringing Anthropology Back Into The Conversation, Peter J. Guarnaccia, Carolina Hausmann-Stabile

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

Anthropologists’ contribution to the study of cultural change is urgent in light of the increasing number of people of different backgrounds who are migrating around the globe and settling in new communities, and the opportunities and challenges that come along with that process. By examining the anthropological literature on acculturation going back to the 1936 Memorandum by Redfield, Linton and Herskovits, this paper reviews and assesses the discipline’s perspective on acculturation, and lays out the case for why it is critical for anthropologists to re-engage the concept. Although other disciplines, particularly psychology and sociology, have dominated the field of acculturation …