Intermarriage,Ethnic Identity,and Perceived Social Standing Among Asian Women in the United States

This study investigates the consequences of Asian women's intermarriage—whether it is associated with higher social standing and lower ethnic identity, using data on Asian women (N = 589) from the National Latino and Asian American Survey (NLAAS). The socioeconomic status of partners of women who intermarried and partners of women who married men of the same ethnicity are compared. The potential associations between intermarriage and two subjective measures—ethnic identity and perceived social standing—are explored. The study rejects the hypothesis based on the conventional belief that Asian women in the United States find “better” partners with higher socioeconomic status from other racial or ethnic groups. The findings support the view that marital assimilation leads to identificational assimilation and demonstrate that intermarriage is not associated with higher perceived social standing. The results suggest that educational and occupational endogamy plays a larger role in Asian women's intermarriage than social exchange.     

Seeing 'Karen' in the Union of Myanmar

Karen identity is problematic, as peoples known as 'Karen' do not share a common language, culture, religion or material characteristics. Most of the research on Karens has been conducted in Thailand, but the dominant 'pan-Karen' identity is a product of social and historical forces in Myanmar, where this study is focused. In the main part of this paper, I reveal the subjective criteria that have come to signify pan-Karen identity. My primary source material consists of internal literary discourses. In particular, I have drawn on the historical texts of two British colonial-era authors: T. Thanbyah and Saw Aung Hla. Three significant concepts appear in their works and subsequent internal discourses on Karen identity: that Karens are oppressed, uneducated and virtuous. In the latter part of the paper, I review contemporary Myanmar government policy on ethnic identity, highlighting the assigned role of 'Union Spirit' among all groups in the country towards overcoming superficial differences. State policies are designed--among other things--to emphasise a myth of common descent of all 'national races'; construct a unifying national culture, and concentrate administrative power at the centre. Both Karen identity and the Union of Myanmar are products of the same historical and social conditions. Both appeal to a supposed unity, but in other characteristics differ. State discourses suggest accommodation, but are directed towards social control. Karen identity is born of primordial statements but is manifest in structural opposition to the state. Ultimately, while the state seeks to assimilate all, Karen nationalists aim towards the assimilation of their own and separation from others.     

ETHNIC PILGRIMAGES: PEOPLE OF LITHUANIAN DESCENT IN LITHUANIA

A fascinating element in ethnic identity construction and reconstruction processes is the role of homelands. Ethnic identity is dependent in part on whether homelands are constructed as a place or as an idea. This social construction is partially determined by when and how individuals or their ancestors emigrated. The experiences of Lithuanian American economic immigrants, political emigres, and their offspring are explored. For many European Americans (including Lithuanian Americans), traditional measures of ethnicity (such as language retention and endogamy) are not as important as contemporary constructed or invented symbols of ethnic identity (such as ethnic festivals and display of ethnic artifacts). I argue that trips or "ethnic pilgrimages" to the ancestral homelands have received relatively little attention in the ethnicity literature but are central mechanisms of ethnic reconstruction and renewal.     

Ethnic identities and national identities: Some examples from Malaysia

Using examples from Malaysia, this paper emphasizes the importance of relating ethnicity to the power of the state and political processes involving different ethnic groups. Ethnic group formation involves processes that make people identify as an imagined community in a nation‐state. Indeed, the processes that create ethnic and national identities are part and parcel of the same historical processes. It is also necessary to relate national identity to ethnicity, as national identity is imagined differently by different ethnic groups in a nation‐state. The paper describes Malay and Chinese ethnicity as well as the complex ethnic identification and ethnogenesis of the indigenous peoples of Sarawak.     

消费主义视阈下“90后”大学生的国家认同与政治认同

消费主义作为一种"去意识形态"的意识形态,通过形而下的生活方式和消费内容,不同程度地影响和削弱当代大学生的国家、民族认同与政治认同,降低民族凝聚力、向心力、整合力,并进而影响到国家统一、民族团结和政治安定。因此,必须从意识形态安全、国家软实力等方面考虑,重视消费主义对大学生的国家认同、民族认同和政治认同方面的影响,从学校教育、家庭教育、社会教育和自我教育四个方面完善和提高大学生的国家认同、民族认同与政治认同,抵御消费主义文化的消极影响。     

Dilemmas in planning English/vernacular relations in post‐colonial communities

In the context of globalization and post‐modern discourses, the debate about the relative status of local and dominant languages poses serious policy problems for post‐colonial communities. Critics of minority language rights (MLR) generally point out that engineering a language shift on behalf of a vernacular language – motivated by the preservationist interests, collective rights and sentimental associations of an ethnic group – is futile, as the economic and social mobilities of individuals are bound to work against this enterprise. Proponents of MLR have gone to the other extreme of essentializing the linguistic identity of minority communities, generalizing their language attitudes, and treating local language rights as non‐negotiable. This article addresses this debate in the context of the attempts to promote Tamil by the military leadership in the North and East of Sri Lanka. The paper brings together data gathered in sociolinguistic studies for four years in the Jaffna society in order to understand the reception of the language policy in everyday life. The leadership recognizes that language policy is a symbolic statement for political purposes and tolerates certain inconsistencies in policy and practice. While the community assures itself of ethnic pride and linguistic autonomy with the stated policies, it negotiates divergent interests in the gaps between the policy/practice divide. Scholars should recognize the agency of subaltern communities to negotiate language politics in creative and critical ways that transcend the limited constructs formulated to either cynically sweep aside or unduly romanticize language rights.     

Contesting Isan‐ness: discourses of politics and identity in Northeast Thailand

This paper discusses the idea of Isan (Northeastern Thai) ethnoregional identity, and its relationship with two major alternative ideas: Thai identity and Lao identity. Drawing on ethnolinguistic research, the paper argues that Isan identity is a problematic political construct, reflecting ambiguous self‐understandings and self‐representations on the part of Northeasterners. Northeasterners are engaged in a negotiation process about their relationships with Thai and Lao identities, relationships fraught with cultural, social and political ramifications. The study suggests a more nuanced appreciation of the ambiguities of Isan identity than has yet been proposed.     

Looking beyond ethnicity: the negotiation of Chinese Muslim identity in Penang,Malaysia

The conflation of ethnic and religious identities, particularly that of Malay and Muslim, has long historical and political roots in Malaysia. Being one of the most safeguarded identity marks in Malaysia, Islam has become part of the core of Malay ethnicity and plays a prominent role in ethnic politics. Muslim converts from ethnic minorities, such as the Chinese and Indians, are therefore faced with social expectation and pressure to ‘become Malay’. This paper discusses the difficulty and improbability of Chinese Muslim identity in the previous literature and the recent development that enables the decoupling of religious and ethnic identities. By looking beyond ethnicity, the most salient social divider in Malaysia, and looking into other possibilities, such as religious identity, this paper aims to paint a picture of social relations and identification that is more complex yet flexible amongst the Chinese Muslim converts in Penang.     

Behind the Numbers: Talking Politics with Foreign-born Chinese Americans

This paper discusses results of in‐depth follow‐up interviews conducted with selected individuals of Chinese descent residing in Los Angeles and San Francisco who were previously chosen at random to participate in the 2000 and 2001 Pilot National Asian American Political Survey. A total of 15 male and female informants who had migrated from Taiwan, mainland China, and Hong Kong were interviewed in Mandarin Chinese. They were asked to compare the performance of the US Government with that of the government in their respective ethnic homeland. They were also asked to explain their reasons for supporting a certain US political party, ideology, and type of candidate. In addition, they commented on the state of political participation or the lack of it among Chinese Americans. Finally, they explained the complexity of their ethnic self‐identification and experiences of racial discrimination. Their responses were interpreted within the context of the historical formation of the Chinese American community as well as the summary results of the mass opinion survey. The results help dispel myths about Chinese Americans being politically indifferent and irrational. They help illuminate the possible relationships among ethnic identity, homeland politics, and political participation in the host land. They also provide exciting insights into improving the survey instrument for a majority immigrant and non‐Anglophone population.     

Mimetic Minorities: National Identity and Desire on Thailand's Fringe

Representations of identity are always political acts, but their politics are unpredictable. Among ethnic minorities in northern Thailand, there is a striking difference between the absence of ethnic markers from a political confrontation and the profusion of ethnic markers at non-confrontational festivals. I situate the difference in engagements with a national contact zone where so-called Mountain Peoples are denied political agency. Minority assertions of ethnic distinction and national compatibility take various forms that resonate with mimesis. Thai notions of Mountain Peoples suggest equally mimetic aspects of self-making through denied similarities. Theoretical approaches to mimesis emphasize interaction and denied resemblance as much as representation. Performances and imagery involving minority identity and difference in northern Thailand contradict common expectations of a fundamental tension between rural and minority communities and the state, and highlight often-overlooked dimensions of identity-work.     

The Transformative Impact of Cultural Portals on the Ethnic Identity Development of Second-Generation Filipino-American Emerging Adults

This study considers why second-generation Filipino-Americans (SGFAs) may experience unique challenges regarding family socialization, ethnic identity formation, and a history of colonial mentality. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 SGFA emerging adults. An indigenous perspective and life story interview was used to underscore social, political, and historical contexts of participants. Despite experiencing colonial mentality, assimilation, and constrained enculturation, SGFAs displayed areas of resilience through cultural portals, or access points to their own heritage and culture, which allowed them to explore and develop their own ethnic identity in a transformative way.     

Ethnic Chinese in Malaysian citizenship: gridlocked in historical formation and political hierarchy

The ethnic Chinese in Malaysia are a significant minority who call for a critical assessment as far as their cultural identity and political positioning are concerned. Appropriating the concept of ‘multicultural citizenship’, this article attempts to dissect various demands and aspirations of the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia’s multiracial hierarchy. It suggests that using the lens of multicultural citizenship can help shed light on Malaysian Chinese as well as the entire nation, where ethnicity and citizenship are gridlocked in historical formation and political hierarchy. In recent times, Malaysian Chinese have articulated their political desires and demands in order to get rid of the disgrace of racial constraints, and also to envisage a more inclusive multicultural citizenship for Malaysia as a nation-state. This article also compares and contrasts three Chinese public figures who have taken disparate stands and approaches with regard to language, culture, race, nation, and party politics.     

The hero fallacy paradox: Cognitive dissonance and the rationalization of political violence

This research explores the theoretical underpinnings of the expressed hero narrative utilized by groups and individuals to justify their opposition and use of violence against their own government and citizens. By using narrative analysis, this research deconstructs the language used by the groups and individuals involved in the 6 January 2021, attack on the United States Capitol. What emerges is a theory of self-radicalization and rationalization where one believes their actions are justified because they perceive themselves to be the hero. Their belief and ideology are built on a foundation of cognitive dissonance, in which they construct a paradoxical hero identity, all while engaged in destructive political violence.     

Chinese migration and settlement in a Thai village

This paper uses data from a 1-year field study of demographic history and behavior in a Thai village (Baan Naku) in the Central Plains, to illustrate the considerable impact Chinese migrants had on even rural, remote villages. The 1976 field study of Baan Naku used participant/observation, cultural informants, in depth interviews, case histories, and reconstruction of family genealogies. Nearly 1/3 of previous and present inhabitants of the village were wholly or partly Chinese. For some Chinese immigrants residence in Baan Naku was a stepping stone on the way to greater success; for others it was a final destination after previous failures. The author illustrates this with 2 case histories. The most remarkable aspect of Chinese migration to Thailand is the apparent degree to which Chinese migrants and their descendants have been assimilated in to Thai culture; however, significant differences remain. While Thai villages often refer to Chinese-Thai neighbors derogatorily, they generally admire Thai-Chinese offspring. To a limited extent, some characteristics of the extended family structure have survived among Naku villagers of Chinese descent; for example, the Thai-Chinese keep in better contact among each other than the purely Thai villagers. Many Thai-Chinese villagers believed that marriages occurred at significantly younger ages in their Chinese homeland than in Thailand. In fact, in 1929-1931, the singulate mean age for marriage for South China was 17.78. Comparable data from Baan Naku shows that mean age of marriage for surviving women in the 70 years and over cohort was 23.7. Chinese-Thai villagers differed from Thai villagers in 2 ways: 1) they had greater financial acumen and 2) they controlled their children more strictly, especially with regard to marriage. Because of brideprice payment requirements, Thai-Chinese villagers delayed marriage during the economic difficulties of World War II. Thus, despite rapid assimilation into Thai culture, differences remain between the Chinese and Thais.     

Understanding ethnic visibility through language use: the case of Taiwan Hakka

This study investigates how the ethnic visibility of Taiwan Hakka is improved through language use. The usage of a unique Hakka symbolic code <nganggiang stiff neck> is focused on. Based on data from the four Taiwan major newspapers, an analysis with text techniques shows that the code emerges along with social-political developments in Taiwan, with its meaning turning from negative to positive connotation. Its frequency is highly correlated with major political events in Taiwan, with peaks during the two or three years before presidential elections. It illustrates semiotic innovation, extending from Hakka to Hakka non-human, to non-Hakka, and to non-Hakka non-human frames. The salient image it creates increases Hakka ethnic visibility and enhances their ethnic identity. A significant implication is that minority ethnic groups can employ a unique symbolic code, empowering it with positive connotation. Through extensive language use, its representation can raise their ethnic visibility and enhance their ethnic identity.     

To be Karen in the Thai–Burma borderlands: identity formation through the prism of a human rights discourse

Current debates on Karen identity have tended to focus on the development of a nationalist construct of a pan-Karen community. This article moves beyond this notion to explore a Karen identity that is being recast in the form of a human rights discourse where the Karen construct, adapt, and reify the social aspects of their political identity in order to establish a claim to a political self, where they protest the persecution and discrimination waged against them as well as larger claims around governance and political representation. This human rights discourse is framed by increased emphasis in the Thai–Burma borderlands on a human rights framework to address Burma’s ongoing conflict. Such an argument has the potential to move current debates beyond the more militant ethno-nationalist discourses of the Karen identity and develop an adequate framework for the practices of identity, which occur among displaced Karen in the Thai–Burma borderlands.     

从族群与国家认同矛盾看阿拉伯国家的国内冲突

在阿拉伯世界，族群、国家、民族、宗教多元认同的存在决定了阿拉伯国家的国家认同深受多元认同的困扰。本文主要探讨了种族、语言、宗教、教派等族群认同对阿拉伯国家认同的挑战，分析了阿拉伯国家族群冲突的四种主要形态：权力分割族裔化而引发的国内冲突；权力垄断族裔化而引发的国内冲突；主体民族与少数民族族裔群体的冲突；跨界族群寻求自治与独立引发的冲突。阿拉伯国家的族群冲突反映了阿拉伯民族国家建构存在的问题和遭遇的挫折。     

Second‐Generation Pessimism and Optimism: How Chinese and Dominicans Understand Education and Mobility Through Ethnic and Transnational Orientations1

Higher education is crucial to the outcomes of the second generation. This paper explores the contrasting views second‐generation Dominicans and Chinese have on their educational trajectories and social mobility. Drawing on interviews with individuals who have gone on to college, I argue that the optimism of the Dominicans emerges from their use of both transnational and ethnic/panethnic perspectives. The Dominicans believe they are doing better than peers in the Dominican Republic and in the United States. The pessimism of the Chinese can be traced to their use of ethnic/panethnic frames of comparison. The Chinese believe they are faring worse than peers in the United States. The results complicate segmented assimilation and transnationalism theories.     

I know there is no justice: Palestinian perceptions of higher education in Jordan

This qualitative study utilizes critical ethnography methods to illustrate Palestinian refugee perceptions of higher education in Jordan. Participants addressed their assimilation to the Jordanian national identity as a means of obtaining education. Content and access to education were more important than assimilation, maintenance of ethnic identity, and a homogeneous national identity. The more immediate need for academic access and social or professional capital thwarted their desire to infuse their ethnic identity in academia.     

Assimilation,multiculturalism, hybridity: The dilemmas of the ethnic chinese in post-suharto Indonesia 1

The dominant discourse in accommodating the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia during Suharto's regime was one of assimilation, which forcefully aimed to absorb this minority into the national body. However, continuous official discrimination towards the Chinese placed them in a paradoxical position that made them an easy target of racial and class hostility. The May 1998 anti-Chinese riots proved the failure of the assmilationist policy. The process of democratization has given rise to a proliferation of identity politics in post-Suharto Indonesia. The policy of multiculturalism has been endorsed by Indonesia's current power holders as a preferred approach to rebuilding the nation, consistent with the national motto: ‘Unity in Diversity’. This paper critically considers the politics of multiculturalism and its efficacy in managing cultural diversity and differences. It deploys the concept of hybridity to describe as well as analyze the complex identity politics of the ethnic Chinese in contemporary Indonesia.