Warm-up: In a 7-10 sentence paragraph, answer the following question: How do you think ethnic diversity affect a nation’s culture?

21 st -Century United States Culture & Rights

Culture Defined the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action the total range of activities and ideas of a group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and reinforced by members of the group a particular civilization at a particular period the artistic and social pursuits, expression, and tastes valued by a society or class, as in the arts, manners, dress, etc the enlightenment or refinement resulting from these pursuits the attitudes, feelings, values, and behaviour that characterize and inform society as a whole or any social group within it

American Culture Today Music Food Entertainment Clothing Religion

Diversity Ethnic separation – “melting pot” vs “salad bowl” – assimilation vs separation Racism / Prejudice Stereotyping Inequality Mass Culture – Standardization / Segmentation

Rights/Liberties Human Rights: – fundamental rights, especially those believed to belong to an individual and in whose exercise a government may not interfere, as the rights to speak, associate, work, etc. Civil Rights: the personal rights of the individual citizen, in most countries upheld by law, as in the US of, relating to, or promoting equality in social, economic, and political rights

Affirmative action, introduced in the 1960s, remained hotly debated as a means to improve opportunities for minorities and women.

African Americans and women made social and political gains. Legislation enforcing equal pay for equal work and punishment for sexual harassment was passed. The Violence Against Women Act passed in 1994.

Others felt it wasn’t a good way to measure knowledge. Education policy took center stage as the merits of standardized testing were debated. Some felt it was a good way to hold schools accountable.

Americans now live longer, and the elderly exert more influence than they did just 100 years ago. President Bush proposed privatizing Social Security, but critics defeated the idea. Debate continues on how to resolve the problem. But no matter the challenge, Americans looked forward to the new millennium with optimism and strength. The demographic shift to an older population has also strained the Social Security and Medicare systems.

Activity: Human Rights & Civil Rights