ABSTRACT
Studies of contemporary immigrants in the United States typically focus on how immigrants change as they adapt to and create new lives in their new home. We know far less about how immigrants and their descendants have been remaking American society and culture. The 87 million immigrants and their children have been a prominent source of profound and far-reaching changes that go to the heart of the country’s institutions, altering the social, economic, cultural, and political landscape in many significant ways as they redefine modern America. This article zeroes in on three important, though quite different, domains: businesses and industries in the economy, national political party alignments, and popular culture and the arts. I bring in a comparative historical dimension, showing that despite similarities with the past, much is distinctive today. I also point out that immigration often operates as a force for change in combination with other factors, and indicate that innovations in the arts and popular culture, in particular, frequently entail mixtures that blend elements from home-country, immigrant, and established American cultures. The concluding comments offer some reflections on the future, considering further institutional and cultural changes that may lie ahead in the years to come.
