America's Multicultural Heritage and Cultural Assimilation in Takaki’s “A Different Mirror”

Abstract

In the first chapter of A Different Mirror, Takaki laments the historical neglect of non-European cultural contributions to the United States. He claims that much of the history of the other people who have contributed to American culture has been erased from textbooks because of the exclusion of information that throw a bad light on the European-majority ruling elite. In his alternative history, he recounts the experiences of several major cultural groups that have made significant contributions to the United States, including European colonialism, Native American resistance, African American history, and others.
Forgoing a Eurocentric view of history in favour of an ethnic history of the United States, this book effectively retells the nation's past from a hitherto unexplored angle. In this recounting, Takaki takes into consideration pivotal moments to restore the history of African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, the Irish, Mexicans, and Jews. Separate chapters examine one ethnic group at a time, providing information on that group's history, culture, politics, and legislation. By include the complete spectrum of immigrants that make up the multicultural society, it rewrites the conventional account of American history.