The City and the subcommunity: the Chinese of Calgary

Bibliography: p. 147-151.The thesis examines the Chinese of Calgary as an ethnic and status community. They form a subcommunity within the larger community of Calgary. The theory of ethnic and status community as developed by Max Weber, R. M. Maclver, Don Martindale and other sociologists was employed in this inquiry. Data were obtained from libraries and archives, interviews, observation, and by means of a self-administered questionnaire . Historical data supported the hypothesis that the formation of an ethnic community within the host community is a result of two distinct processes: (1) the permission given to the alien to enter the host community but, at the same time, denying him access to certain major values of the host community, and (2) the establishment of a separate social and cultural identity because of the peculiarity of his culture and institutions. However, once the ethnic community is formed, its continuation depends on several factors, such as the availability of ethnic organizations, social climate, and the qualities of the alien culture. Findings revealed that the Chinese of Calgary form an ethnic and status community within the larger community of Calgary. The Chinese retain their customs, language, feasts, and festivals, institutions, and organizations; they interact more with other Chinese than with non-Chinese; they overwhelmingly choose Chinese organizations in which they participate. As such they form a subcommunity maintaining their distinct ethnic identity. During the process of ethnic community formation, some specific status differences among the Chinese became crystalized. Wealth, power, and esteem are monopolized by a few. The Chinese community has developed its typical avenues for attaining power and esteem, within their own as well as the host community

Winnipeg Chinatown: Demographic, Ecological and Organizational Change, 1900-1980

Le présent article est consacré à la population chinoise de Winnipeg en tant que sous-groupe au sein de la communauté. Il présente les changements démographiques, spatiaux et organisationnels qui se sont produits au cours des huit dernières décennies. Ces changements ont été fort marqués : le groupe ethnique chinois, isolé et traditionnel, qui se confinait au quartier chinois est devenu une communauté moderne qui a pénétré d’autres secteurs de la ville. La loi canadienne sur l’immigration, qui tendait à exclure les familles, a grandement contribué à la formation de la communauté de « célibataires » des débuts. En 1923, le gouvernement adoptait une loi destinée à mettre un terme à l’immigration chinoise. L’abrogation de cette loi, en 1947, et diverses mesures de libéralisation subséquentes ouvrirent le pays à un autre type d’immigrants chinois. Les changements démographiques et écologiques ne manquent pas d’intérêt et le caractère particulier de l’expérience chinoise donna naissance à deux périodes distinctes d’évolution organisationnelle. La première fut caractérisée par la formation d’organisations traditionnelles, transplantées avec quelques modifications; la seconde vit l’émergence d’organisations fonctionnelles originales.This article focuses on the Chinese of Winnipeg as a sub-community within the larger community. It traces the demographic, the spatial and the organizational changes which have taken place in the past eight decades. Substantial changes have occurred: from a segregated, traditional community centring around Chinatown to a modern community that has dispersed into other areas of the city. Canadian immigration legislation, which tended to exclude families, played a major role informing the early 'bachelor' community. The Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 virtually stopped Chinese immigration, and the repeal of this Act in 1947 and subsequent relaxation of immigration laws permitted the entry of a different type of Chinese immigrant. While the demographic and ecological changes are interesting, the distinctiveness of the Chinese experience produced two separated periods of organizational development. The early period was characterized by the formation of transplanted, though modified, traditional organizations; the later period was characterized by the emergence of functional specific organizations