Critical analysis : definitions of race and ethnicity - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... If one was to outline the primary argument that was made by the author in the piece of writing in question, one would have to cite the title: “We all will be minorities”. In order to prove the validity of such claims Takaki should have used a considerable amount of data. Indeed, the introduction features references of census and different calculations. For example, closer to the end, the author presented the way in which the population that included African Americans as well as Hispanic Americans together could grow and account for almost one fourth of the entire population. Simultaneously, he showed that the idea that the Americans are white is consistent with the facts since the number of people of this cultural background has decreased from eighty percent to sixty. One would have to argue that all this contributes greatly to the validity of the claims which are made by the authors since it shows that the notion of being a minority in the United States of America should be reevaluated.
Another point that should be made about the argument that is made by Takaki is that it is quite consistent. He argues that it would be rather logical to stray away from the traditional division of the Americans with the help of ethnic groups. This might be backed up by outside researches, for example: “these 13,3 million “unhyphenated Americans ” who answered American … despite the ongoing “ethnic revival” that was all the politically, chose to be “American” first and foremost” (Holli and Jones 2). It is clear that as the disparity in the distribution of a particular ethnicity is equalized by the processes that are described in the introduction, there will no longer be a need to specify cultural background of a particular citizen since it would not matter: American will finally retain its correct meaning. What is more important is that the views that are expressed by the author ...Download file to see next pagesRead More