You may have heard that immigrants alter the fabric of receiving societies. It’s true that migration contributes to the make-up of a culture in more ways than one. But this does not translate into fundamental changes to the structure of society, says Hein de Haas, migration expert and Professor of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam.
In this episode, Hein offers examples of how immigrants adapt to the norms of their new environment and how political frameworks are not so easily swayed by the mere arrival of newcomers.
Members of a particular immigrant group do indeed vary in their activities and preferences. This article from The Atlantic explores how Cuban immigrants in the U.S. voted differently this season, across their community.
A photo gallery: What America’s immigrants looked like when they arrived at Ellis Island (very different from how they look today).
A report on how migrants tend to adopt the fertility norms (or average birthrate) of their new country.
And how do destination/receiving countries and sending countries actually compare in terms of birthrate? Here’s a nifty chart on fertility trends around the world.
Parable of the Polygons is a playable version of Thomas Schelling’s model of neighborhood segregation. Play it to see how small, individual preferences on diversity can have stark implications for the segregation of societies. It was created in 2014, but it is increasingly more relevant for today.