A salad bowl or tossed salad is a metaphor for the way a multicultural society can integrate different cultures while maintaining their separate identities, contrasting with a

melting pot The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throu ...

, which emphasizes the combination of the parts into a single whole. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

this concept is more commonly known as the

cultural mosaic "Cultural mosaic" (french: "la mosaïque culturelle") is the mix of ethnic groups, languages, and cultures that coexist within society. The idea of a cultural mosaic is intended to suggest a form of multiculturalism, different from other systems ...

or "tossed salad".Arnold Edinborough, "Who is a Canadian?", '' The Rotarian: An International Magazine'' (April 1964) p. 40 In the salad bowl model, different cultures are brought together—like salad ingredients—but do not form together into a single homogeneous culture; each culture keeps its own distinct qualities. This idea proposes a society of many individual cultures, since the latter suggests that ethnic groups may be unable to preserve their heritage. New York City can be considered as being a "salad bowl". A European example is its policy for "integration of non-European nationals", which finances and promotes integration initiatives targeting those who are not members of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. This project aims to encourage dialogue in civil society, develop integration models, and spread and highlight the best initiatives regarding integration. The salad bowl idea in practice has its supporters and detractors. Supporters argue that being "American" does not inherently tie a person to a single culture, though rather to citizenship and loyalty to the United States. Thus, one does not need to abandon their cultural heritage in order to be considered "American". Critics tend to oppose the idea in tandem with other critiques on

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

, saying that America needs to have a ''common culture'' in order to preserve a common national identity.

References

Sources

*Lind, Michael. The Next American Nation: The New Nationalism and the Fourth American Revolution. 1996 *Schmidt, Alvin J. The Menace of Multiculturalism: Trojan Horse in America. 1997 *Huntington, Samuel P. Who Are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity. 2005 *Chua, Amy. Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance and Why They Fall. 2007 *Kolb, Eva. The Evolution of New York City's Multiculturalism: Melting Pot or Salad Bowl. 2009 American culture English phrases Political metaphors Canadian culture Cultural politics Cultural concepts Sociological terminology Metaphors referring to food and drink Multiculturalism {{Cultural-poli-stub

See also

References

Sources