Peer Response 1
" what we are doing to ease their process and aide them in developing their own multicultural individuality. "Your words pushed me to do a little research about assimilation. What is it? Is there a process that one typically goes through?
The most concise answer was on Wikipedia, describing a Fourfold Acculturation Model. It describes the process as assimilation, separation, integration, marginalization. I have also done a little research on repatriation; it describes stages of 're-entry' - Disengagement; Initial euphoria; Irritability & hostility; Readjustment & Adaptation. I find a lot of my student suffer from repatriation stress after living abroad.
I also like the cognitive and affective continuum behind the Intercultural Competence post on Wikipedia - it has a nice graphic showing how the three areas of regional expertise, cross cultural confidence and language proficiency only have a little overlap at first, and then move towards more overlap as the person moves from stage to stage cognitively and affectively.
Your last questions about Americans who have 'lost' their culture. There are several good books, but one that helps to identify why different ethnicities at different times have acculturated is Ethnic families in America by Mindel, Habenstein and Wright Jr. It really helped me understand my own family and culture of the Polish American immigrant family.
