"Purkayastha's work disentangles the effects of race and class. . .
. Her findings suggest that ethnic identity is fluid and
multi-layered and that the meanings and boundaries of these
multiple layers constantly diverge, intersect, and clash." --Min
Zhou, professor of sociology and chair of the Department of Asian
Studies, University of California, Los Angeles In the continuing
debates on the topic of racial and ethnic identity in the United
States, there are some that argue that ethnicity is an ascribed
reality. To the contrary, others claim that individuals are
becoming increasingly active in choosing and constructing their
ethnic identities. Focusing on second-generation South Asian
Americans, Bandana Purkayastha offers fresh insights into the
subjective experience of race, ethnicity, and social class in an
increasingly diverse America. The young people of Indian,
Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese origin that are the subjects
of the study grew up in mostly white middle-class suburbs, and
their linguistic skills, education, and occupation profiles are
indistinguishable from their white peers. By many standards, their
lifestyles mark them as members of mainstream American culture.
But, as Purkayastha shows, their ethnic experiences are shaped by
their racial status as neither "white" or "wholly Asian," their
continuing ties with family members across the world, and a global
consumer industry, which targets them as ethnic consumers. Drawing
on information gathered from forty-eight in-depth interviews and
years of research, this book illustrates how ethnic identity is
negotiated by this group through the adoption of ethnic labels, the
invention of "traditions," the consumption of ethnic products, and
participation in voluntary societies. The pan-ethnic identities
that result demonstrate attempts to balance racial marginalization,
an attachment to heritage, and a celebration of reinvention.
Lucidly written and enriched with vivid personal accounts,
Negotiating Ethnicity is an important contribution to the
literature on ethnicity and racialization in contemporary American
culture. Bandana Purkayastha is an assistant professor of sociology
and Asian American studies at the University of Connecticut.
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