How well do we get along? Majority and minority group perspectives of intercultural relations in the United States

The United States is a pluralistic democracy marked by ethnic, racial, socio-economic, religious, and linguistic diversity. Historically, ethnically and racially marginalized groups- African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos - have experienced centuries of exclusion and oppression (Delgado & Stefancic, 2013). Recent scholarship suggests that growing political divisions in Trump’s America are symptomatic of its long-trenched racism and intergroup tensions (Bobo, 2017; Konrad, 2018).

In this paper we present the development phase of our proposed study on mutual intercultural relations in the United States. The primary aim of this study is to advance our understanding of intercultural relations in culturally plural societies by conducting an American study of intercultural attitudes and behaviours. This study will be a key part of the Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies (MIRIPS) international project that includes a number of countries. MIRIPS is designed to promote the idea that intercultural relations can be best understood when both majority and minority groups are sampled within societies, obtaining data based on similar questions. This mutual approach combines the research traditions of acculturation and ethnic relations into one study.

We will be able to compare the findings from our study with those of other countries to better understand our current situation in a global context.