The Second Generation

Ethnic Identity among Asian Americans

By (author) Pyong Gap Min Contributions by Yen Le Espiritu, Hung C. Thai, Sharmila Rudrappa, Bangele D. Alsaybar, Pyong Gap Min & Rose Kim, Nazli Kibria, Mia Tuan

Paperback - £30.00

Publication date:

11 June 2002

Length of book:

280 pages

Publisher

AltaMira Press

ISBN-13: 9780759101760

In a series of essays based on original ethnographic research, Pyong Gap Min and his contributors examine the unique identity issues for second generation ethnic Asians, from Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Indian, and Vietnamese descent. They describe how societal expectations and structural barriers have a powerful influence on the formation of ethnic identities in a strongly racialized American society. Key factors discussed are the importance of culture and language retention, ethnic attachment, transnational ties, pan-Asian coalitions and friendships, social and geographic mobility, racial domination and racial awareness, life cycle changes, immigrant women's sexuality and gender traditionalism, deviant behavior, and educational and occupational achievement. This book will be a valuable resource in the study of Asian American culture, race, ethnicity and American society.
This is an essential volume on the bookshelf of anyone interested in contemporary immigration. The Asian-American scholars assembled in The Second Generation speak to the subtle interplay between the racial categorizations of the larger society and the identity choices of minority individuals, which will ultimately determine how today's Asian immigrant groups fit into the U.S.