Beyond the Melting Pot 35 Years Later: On the Relevance of a Sociological Classic for the Immigration Metropolis of Today

Abstract

The following essays were originally presented at a symposium at the 1998 annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society. The charge to the authors was to revisit Beyond the Melting Pot, the classic statement about ethnicity, race, and the American city, first published in 1963, and to assess how well its interpretations apply to the contemporary immigration metropolis. The commentators included two New Yorkers (Nancy Foner and Philip Kasinitz), since New York City was the terrain of the book, and two non-New Yorkers (Elijah Anderson and Alejandro Portes). Their commentaries touch on many points in the immigration landscape of today, from immigration's impacts on African Americans to immigrant transnationalism, and identify a number of continuities and discontinuities between the contemporary metropolis and that of nearly four decades ago. Further, Nathan Glazer's response provides, for the first time in a widely accessible form, his reflections on how well the book's portrait and predictions have held up. I am grateful to the IMR editor, Lydio Tomasi, and the journal's board for the opportunity to present this symposium to readers.