Date of Award
12-1989
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Sociology
First Advisor
Dr. Susan Caringella-MacDonald
Second Advisor
Dr. Lewis Walker
Third Advisor
Dr. Subhash Sonnad
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
Recent literature on Hispanic-Americans has determined that Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority in the United States. Both the high rates of immigration and a high birth rate mean it is only a matter of time before Hispanics will form an extensively large population. Hispanics, however, generally remain unassimilated. This study focuses on the influences on the attitudes towards assimilation of Hispanic-Americans in a university setting.
Survey methods were utilized to gather data from a sample of 100 individuals at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. A survey return rate of 57% was obtained from Hispanic students questioned. The data showed that there were several variables that influenced the attitudes towards assimilation of Western Michigan University Hispanics. These were their dominant and home language, their perceived experiences of discrimination and the ethnic composition of their social events. Conclusions suggest that cultural pluralism may be a more relevant concept than assimilation in relationship to describing Hispanic-Americans in the United States.
Recommended Citation
Rodriguez, Ramon, "An Empirical Examination of Hispanic-Americans in a University Setting and the Influences on Their Attitudes Towards Assimilation" (1989). Masters Theses. 3839.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3839