Assimilation theory frames whiteness as the default outcome of immigrant incorporation

Evidence

Nonetheless, when it comes to research on the immigrant second generation, racialization frameworks are secondary to theories of assimilation, which remain the default framework through which the incorporation and well-being of ethnic and racial minorities is assessed. Segmented assimilation rests fundamentally on the notion that upward trends in education, income, and wealth lead to political and social incorporation into an American mainstream that is implicitly and sometimes explicitly described as white. Rates of intermarriage and spatial integration, which are often used as proxies for political and social incorporation, are then extended into conclusions about the “whitening” of some immigrants or the “honorary white” status of others. — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness, 59

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines segmented assimilation theory’s core claim and its whiteness-centric assumptions, useful baseline for the reader’s Foucauldian/Saidian critique of the field.
• XREF: connects to: Assimilation theory fails to predict Iranian Americans’ exclusion from whiteness — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian…, 63; Whiteness is a shifting construction that immigrants seek by excluding others — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 1066; Ethnicity theories of race assume whiteness is the normalized standard — Michael Omi, Howard Winant, Racial Formation in the United States, 58 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Ethnicity theories of race assume whiteness is the normalized standard #corroborates (0.85) — Michael Omi, Howard Winant, Racial Formation in the United States, 58
• Whiteness is a shifting construction that immigrants seek by excluding others #expands (0.82) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 1066
• English whiteness formed simultaneously with othering of internal and external populations #qualifies (0.75)