The Cultural Assimilation of Asian-Americans Analytical Essay

Looks at the process of cultural assimilation and search of identity by second-generation Asian-Americans from Korea and China.
# 151656 | 1,850 words | 7 sources | APA | 2009 | US
Published on Aug 22, 2012 in Asian Studies (Asian American) , Ethnic Studies (North American) , Sociology (Multiculturalism)


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Description:

This paper stresses that, after passage of the U.S.A. 1965 Immigration Act, a new Eastern Asian migration wave emerged in the United States whose offspring grew up in Asian households but attended American educational institutions. Next, the author demonstrates the problems and stereotypes created for these second generation Asian-Americans from Korea and China because they were raised within two distinct cultures in two different languages. The paper concludes that the failure of being recognized as real Americans and the impracticality of being purely Asian in the US leave these Asian-Americans without choices. The paper has endnotes listed after the bibliography.

From the Paper:

"Typically, first-generation Korean and Chinese immigrants were conscious of their ethnic identity and expected their children to understand that they should be proud of their Korean or Chinese origins. In the book Becoming Asian American, the author Nazli Kibria interviewed 64 Korean and Chinese American adults who grew up in various parts of the United States. In one interview, Gordon, a Chinese American, who was raised in a suburban area of Chicago, claimed that "being Chinese" was not greatly emphasized in his family; but nonetheless, he sensed that his family was proud of its Chinese origins. "He saw this sense of pride to be an appropriate and dignified response to the racism of American society." By contrast, Kyung Sook, a Korean American woman recalled that her father was very Korean and nationalistic; the family forced the practice and cultivation of Korean traditions on herself and her sisters. Hook recognized this emphasis on "being Korean" to be a response to the racial exclusions of American society . It is evident that although each interviewee may have had a distinct family story, they all shared the fact that the Asian parents wanted the whole family to be aware of and proud of their ethnic origins."

Sample of Sources Used:

  • Morrison G. Wong, and Charles Hirschman. 1983. "The New Asian Immigrants." In William C. McCready (ed.) Culture, Ethnicity and Identity: Current Issues in Research. New York: Academic Press, pp. 381-401.
  • Chan, Sucheng. 1991. Asian Americans: an interpretive history. Boston: Twayne Publishers.
  • Ong, Paul, and Liu M. John. "U.S Immigration Policies and Asian Migration." InZhou, Min and Gatewood V. James, Contemporary Asian America. New York:New York University Press, chapter five.
  • Kibria, Nazli. 2002. Becoming Asian American. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Yang, Gene. 2006. American Born Chinese. New York: First Second, Roaring BrookPress.

Cite this Analytical Essay:

APA Format

The Cultural Assimilation of Asian-Americans (2012, August 22) Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/the-cultural-assimilation-of-asian-americans-151656/

MLA Format

"The Cultural Assimilation of Asian-Americans" 22 August 2012. Web. 20 March. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/the-cultural-assimilation-of-asian-americans-151656/>

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