U5L7 page 10

Question

A mix of many distinct peoples and cultures have created Texas culture. Texans have viewed this mixing of cultures in different ways at different times. Some have argued for cultural assimilation. This is the process by which people from one cultural group adopt the culture of another. Usually people assimilate to the culture that is larger or more socially dominant than their own. In this way, those who are assimilating give up their old culture. They may blend some aspects of that old culture into the new one, such as foods or styles of music. But the result is that the person is absorbed into the dominant culture. Sometimes dominant cultures have used violence and coercion to try to force people to assimilate.

On the other hand, people may choose to embrace aspects of a dominant culture while they maintain most of their native culture. This is called cultural accommodation. This approach allows many distinct cultures to coexist. These cultures share certain aspects of the dominant culture that bind them together as a society. But cultural groups can still practice their own distinct culture. Again, each group may add a part of its own culture to what is shared. New foods, new styles of clothing, new music, new languages, or new religions might then become a part of the common shared culture. As different cultural groups accommodate themselves to the dominant culture, the dominant culture, in turn, accommodates itself to different cultural beliefs. This works so long as the beliefs of any one cultural group do not conflict with any aspect of the shared culture. If this happens, accommodation can create social tension.

Texas history is full of examples of both cultural accommodation and attempts at cultural assimilation.

In 3–5 sentences, differentiate between cultural assimilation and cultural accommodation. Focus on how Tejanos reacted to the newly dominant Anglo-American culture after Texas became a U.S. state.
Your answer could include: (U5L7 page 10)
● cultural accommodation – individuals adopt aspects of a society’s shared dominant culture in public while maintaining the practice of their own distinct culture in private (people change things to fit in)
● cultural assimilation – individuals from a certain culture are absorbed into the culture of a dominant group (people blend in)
● After Texas joined the United States, what did many Tejanos do to take on Anglo-American culture? Did they fully assimilate?
● How did they accommodate their own culture?

Answer 1

After Texas became a U.S. state, many Tejanos chose to culturally assimilate to the dominant Anglo-American culture in order to fit in and be accepted. This may have included adopting language, clothing, and customs of the Anglo-Americans. However, they did not fully assimilate as they still maintained their own distinct cultural practices in private, such as speaking Spanish at home and participating in traditional Hispanic celebrations. This can be seen as a form of cultural accommodation, where Tejanos embraced aspects of the dominant culture while still preserving their own cultural identity.