Тhe History of the Acculturation Concept

Abstract

The historical concept of acculturation proposed by American researchers in the early 19th Century is important nowadays. The object of contemporary scientific knowledge is intercultural interaction not so much between individual ethnic groups or nationalities but between prominent cultural systems or civilizations. The idea of analyzing the concept of acculturation in the historical aspect seems quite timely: migration processes that have swept the world, and Europe in particular, are closely connected with the multidimensional process of acculturation of migrants. The various approaches to understanding what acculturation is and what makes it different from enculturation make it necessary to dig to the roots of the concept and study its further development. That testifies to the relevance of the paper. In this article, based on the methods of analysis and synthesis, diachronic and synchronic comparison, we have made a historical investigation into the insight history of the acculturation concept’s development and traced the transformation of acculturation in foreign and domestic science. Studying the history and development of the acculturation concept, the authors draw the conclusion that its content changes with the development of scientific ideas and social processes, gaining a new meaning and acquiring new features and characteristics.