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The Ethnic and Religious Identities of Young Asian Americans

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thesis
posted on 2004-04-16, 00:00 authored by Jerry Z Park
The following dissertation is an examination of the social construction and maintenance of traditional ethnic and religious identities among the rising generation of Asian Americans in the 21st century. Using an interviewed sample of 99 Asian American college student leaders at four public universities and a surveyed sample of 325 Asian American college students, I asked a set of parallel questions with regard to how the respondents understand their ethnic and religious backgrounds. The evidence based on these samples suggests that traditional identities are a constructive effort or a form of personal agency. These constructions however are derived from the available discourse in American public narratives, particularly that of race and religion. I show that not only do these public narratives produce different interpretations of ethnicity or religion when considered separately, but they also interact and inform one another in complex ways. This suggests that identities like these are both fluid and fixed relative to the social relationships embedded within family, friendships, schools, and local organizations who provide the grammar and syntax for the explanations individuals give for these identities.

History

Date Created

2004-04-16

Date Modified

2018-10-04

Defense Date

2004-03-24

Research Director(s)

Kevin J. Christiano

Committee Members

Michael O. Emerson David Yamane David Sikkink

Degree

  • Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Level

  • Doctoral Dissertation

Language

  • English

Alternate Identifier

etd-04162004-145418

Publisher

University of Notre Dame

Program Name

  • Sociology

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