Inglese - nozioni generali

REGIONALISM VS. AMERICANIZATION

The United States is a wide country: to get from New York to San Francisco one must travel almost 5,000 kilometres. Between the coasts there are forested, mountains, fertile plains, arid deserts, canyon lands. Much of the land is uninhabited; the population is concentrated in the Northeast, in the South, around the Great Lakes, on the pacific coast, and in metropolitan areas. People within a region share common values and economic concerns. The Northeast The Northeast has traditionally been in control of the nation's economic and social progress. During the last two centuries Northeast has produced most of the writers, artist and scholars. New England's colleges and universities are known all over the country for their high academic standards. Harvard is considered the best business school in the nation. After the Second World War the economic and cultural dominance of New England has gradually decreased. Business and industries have been moving toThe South The South was originally settled by English Protestants who came for profitable farming opportunities. Some farmers, capitalising on tobacco and cotton crops, became quite wealthy. African slaves were bought and sold as property. Even after the North began to industrialize, after 1800, the South remained agricultural. Economic and political tensions began to divide the nation and eventually led to the Civil War (1861-65). Most Northerners opposed slavery. With the South's surrender in 1865, Southerners were forced to accept many changes. During the post-war period of reconstruction blacks were given a voice in Southern government. Southerners are more conservative, more religious, and more violent than the rest of the country. Even today, Southerners tend to have higher illiteracy rates than people from other regions. Even their way of talking is different from other regions: the speech tends to be much slower and more musical. The Southern

The South dialect uses more diphthongs: a one-syllable word such as yes is spoken in the South as two syllables, ya-es. The South is also known for its music. In the time of slavery, black Americans created a new folk music, the Negro spiritual. Later forms of black music are blues and jazz.

The West: Most of the Mountain West is arid wilderness, but California has some of the richest farmland in the country, and (along with Oregon and Washington) does not share the rest of the West's worry about the scarcity of water. The Pacific coast is densely populated and highly industrial. The rest of the West is marked by cultural diversity. Utah has little in common with Arizona and New Mexico. Westerners are bureaucrats. They feel alienated by government policies which fail to address the vital interests unique to their region. Western states have troubles with water scarcity. Particularly painful to Westerners is their lack of control over Western land and resources. The federal government owns vast portions.

of land in many Western states. Westerners like to think of themselves as independent, but they feel they cannot control their own destiny. Western life is dominated by resources. Although water is scarce in Mountain West, the region is rich in uranium, coal, and crude oil.

The Midwest

The land is characterized by fertile farmland and abundant resources. Class divisions are felt less strongly here than in other regions; the middle class rules. The Midwest's position in the middle of the continent has encouraged Midwesterners to direct their concerns to their own domestic affairs, avoiding matters of wider interest. However, now that American agriculture has become dependent on insecure foreign markets, farmers are no longer isolationist.

The Midwest is known as a region of small towns and huge tracts of farmland. Dominating the region's commerce and industry is Chicago, the nation's second largest city.

Americanization, migration to the Sunbelt, regional convergence

Distinguishing features of these regions are disappearing. The regions are becoming more and more similar, due to the influence of mass media.

Constant movements from farm to city, east to west, and south to north caused an intermixing of cultures.

Many older couples have moved to the South in order to enjoy retirement. Others have moved to escape problems of urban crime, overcrowding, and high taxes.

The populations of the South and West have been growing rapidly while those of the Midwest or Northeast have grown slowly.

The political South and West is on the rise. Historically, the winners of presidential elections have been Easterners or Midwesterners, but Southerners and Westerners have won the past five presidential elections.

The cultural dominance of the Northeast and Midwest is diminishing as cities in the South and West are gaining reputations as important cultural centres.

The shift in economic strength to the Sunbelt does not mean that the Northeast and Midwest don't have

The most significant trend is a steady converging of the regions' economic status as the formerly isolated Sunbelt states catch up. Regional differences have not altogether disappeared, but they are significantly reduced.

Chapter 4

MINORITIES

Background information

America is view as a land of wealth and opportunities, but there is discrimination too, because of colour, culture, age, sexual habits. The 1960 was a decade of turbulence and social change, minorities became politically active and new laws were passed to compensate for inequalities. However, laws alone cannot eliminate discrimination.

For America's blacks the struggle for equal rights has been bitterly opposed. The 13 Amendment (1870s) abolished slavery, the 14 gave blacks the rights of citizenship and the 15 gave them the right to vote. Despite these Constitutional provisions, Southern whites found ways to circumvent the intention of the amendments. Racial prejudice was rationalized and

Institutionalised in the South. Blacks were denied access to public places such as restaurants, hotels, theatres, schools. There were separate facilities marked "coloured only" for blacks, racial segregation was legal as long as "separate but equal" facilities were provided.

With goals as desegregation, fair housing, equal employment opportunities and fair voting laws the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s had the momentum of a social revolution. Dr Martin Luther King supported non-violent tactics. This was a success in the areas of voting rights and public accommodations and facilities.

In 1957 Congress passed the first civil rights legislation (it was illegal to administer voting laws in a discriminatory manner, it was prohibited discrimination in public accommodations such as restaurants and hotels and also outlawed job discrimination by employers and unions). Voter registration among blacks has increased and black political power has also grown.

Affirmative

actions laws match the racial and sexual composition of the working place with the composition of society. Employers are encouraged to hire and promote blacks, women, and others who had been denied opportunities.

Critics charge that it results in reverse discrimination against qualified white males.

The inequality gap between blacks and whites has been closing but wide disparities remain in income and employment.

The poverty rate for blacks is alarmingly high and unemployment marks the breakdown of the urban black family (lots of unmarried mothers); violence is the leading cause of death among young black men (death by murder) that account for half of the male prisoners.

Black Americans are the largest ethnic minority, but there are also Hispanics. The increase of their immigration has had a dramatic impact on American society (Spanish has become a major language in many areas and some cities are officially bilingual). Some Americans fear that the country's ethnic identity is at stake.

Many people want to restrict immigration quotas in order to preserve the cultural dominance of non-Hispanic whites, but there's always a stream of illegal immigration across the Mexican border. Toward the end of the 1960s, Native Americans also protested. City life weakened tribal customs and bonds. Many urban Native Americans reacted against these conditions and began to take pride in their heritage. The American Indian Movement demanded reforms that would give them political autonomy and recognize their special cultural needs. The elderly, the handicapped, and the homosexuals are minorities that suffer from discrimination. With the number of older Americans on the rise, the demands of the elderly are becoming harder to ignore. People have distorted perceptions of them as weak, senile, and helpless. In 1967, the Age Discrimination Act prohibited discrimination against people between the ages of 40 and 65. For years, disabled people were institutionalized or segregated and considered incapable.

of working and living as productive members of society. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 required employers who receive federal aid or work on government contracts to hire qualified disabled persons. Public schools have to admit disabled children and colleges have to make their buildings accessible to the blind and those confined to wheelchairs. Equal rights for homosexuals has been a more controversial issue. Conservatives fear that tolerance of homosexuality undermines the nation's morality, as they want to conserve traditional values and social patterns. Consequently, minorities are experiencing a less favorable political climate. Free to succeed or fail.

An article of the Economist, 6 August 2005, concerning the situation of Blacks in America nowadays: blacks and whites work together in tolerable harmony, but beneath the surface, there's racial tension. Their problems include violent crime, family breakdown, and a failure by children to fulfill their academic potential. Black men are more likely.

To be stopped and searched for drugs and are punished more severely than whites for similar offences. The disparity between blacks and whites rate of incarceration stems from real differences in criminal behaviour. Prejudices. Ghetto crime pays very badly: ghetto youths often grow up without positive adult role models. Then, there's the problem of family disintegration. Children who grew up with only one parent are far more likely to end up poor, illiterate or in jail. The causes: some men choose not to assume paternal responsibilities.

Black people do worse at school than whites or Asians. The good news is that black students are doing better. They blame it on bad schools and bad study habits. The schools many blacks attend are bad not because under funded or overcrowded but because they are unruly, the lessons and the teachers are sub-standard and yet unshakable.

McMansions: not in my neighbourhood (Dallas) McMansion is a pejorative term describing a particular style of housing.

s the same level of recognition and presence in popular culture. Just like McDonald's is known worldwide for its fast food, the mansion is known for its grandeur and size. Both have become symbols of their respective industries and are instantly recognizable to people all over the world.