Asian Americans and Assimilation: Examining Race in the Construction of Identity and Political Views

• In Event: 335 - Regular Session. Varieties of Asian American Experience: Qualitative Investigations

Abstract

With a growing population of college-educated, second-generation Asian Americans coming of age, it is necessary to examine how individuals construct their identities and perceptions of how of race and ethnicity operate in institutions such as education and the labor market. However there is limited research on the issue as the discussion of second-generation assimilation focuses on quantitative measures of success. A group of 36 Asian Americans working in New York City were interviewed and observed in informal settings over the course of 10 months to begin to understand how different forms of capital and life experiences affect racialization of personal identity and political views on race and ethnicity at the institutional level. Preliminary examination of data indicates that despite emphasizing a color-blind, meritocratic view of how the education system and labor market operate, upwardly mobile, young professionals simultaneously presented conflicting views on the salience of race in their personal lives and political views. Subsequently the findings suggest that the importance of ethnoracial distinctions for second-generation Asian Americans depend on context, and that their perceptions of race and ethnicity shift according to time, place, and who they are with.

Author

• Hyein Lee, City University of New York-Graduate Center