ERIC Number: ED189246
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1980-Apr
Pages: 39
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Community, Colony, and Network: Survival of Greco-American Culture in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Smith, Sheldon
This paper reviews literature on ethnicity and acculturation, presents a theoretical framework whose master variable is the nature of an ethnic group's organization, and applies the theory to the Greek colony of Tarpon Springs, Florida. It is shown that when the key features of cultural continuity (church, language schools, voluntary associations) remain intact, so does the ethnic population. This observation is contrasted with Edwin Buxbaum's 1967 prediction that with the decline of sponge fishing in Tarpon Springs, ethnic cohesion among Greeks would dissolve. Also argued is that the concepts of (1) world view, integrating economic and ecological strategies of adaptation; (2) multiple role playing; and (3) community, colony, and network organization all provide a strong explanation for ethnic survival. It is maintained that certain changes that appear to be the result of acculturation (such as disappearance of the dowry and increased democratization of family) are the result of adaptation and functional change to a different economic resource base. (Author/GC)
Descriptors: Acculturation, Economic Factors, Ethnic Groups, Ethnicity, Greek Americans, Group Unity, Sociocultural Patterns, Theories
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A