From assimilation to integration through the sociology of immigration: ruptures and continuities

Abstract

In this paper,wediscuss the most important sociological theories related to the processes of assimilation and integration of immigrants in their country of settlement. This theoretical framework consists of moving from the first concept (assimilation), which was widely used in the United States of America in the wake of the Chicago school, to the second concept (integration) developed within the framework of the sociology of immigration in France which has preserved the durkheimian heritage. The objective is to construct the main lines that have marked the evolution of the sociology of immigration in the American and French contexts.Through this conceptual framework, we identify the forms of rupture and continuity which have crossed these two sociological traditions