Disappearing Immigrant Shadows: A New Analytical Framework and Typology for Second-Generation Chinese American Ethnic Engagement

Author

Annie Wang, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

9-2024

Document Type

Capstone Project

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

International Migration Studies

Advisor

Robert Smith

Subject Categories

Civic and Community Engagement | Migration Studies | Place and Environment | Race and Ethnicity

Keywords

ethnicity, second generation, Chinatown, social class, identity, community involvement

Abstract

This capstone challenges the predominant narrative that upwardly mobile, second-generation individuals prefer to socially distance themselves from working-class, first-generation co-ethnics, a concept referred to here as ethnic distancing. It argues that this narrative fails to capture the second generation’s affinity and capacity for ethnic engagement, which includes desired and actual participation in ethnic-based activities ranging from casual consumption to more meaningful volunteerism, activism, and community building with co-ethnics of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Drawing on 32 interviews with second-generation Chinese Americans aged 18-35, I argue that we can better understand ethnic engagement in New York City’s Manhattan Chinatown by analyzing study participants’ relationship with ethnic self, ethnic space, and ethnic community. I also argue that changes in four empirical conditions – societal embrace of ethnic difference, new forms of ethnic continuity, new intra-ethnic solidarity during the pandemic, and new Chinatown contexts – have made the dominant theoretical story of ethnic distancing less likely for this group.

Moreover, these conditions suggest the need to focus less on reported ethnic identity choice – what people say they are in a survey – and more on what actions they do to express such an identity. I propose a new typology of ethnic engagement featuring five distinct types—Tourist, Nostalgist, Authenticity Seeker, Activist, and Bridge-Builder—developed through case studies to explain variations in engagement observed in Manhattan Chinatown. This capstone interrogates the realities of connection and community within one ethnic group by examining how second-generation Chinese American young adults voluntarily interact and navigate an internally diverse, ethnic space, and broadens existing understanding of how this group understands and expresses their ethnic identities, with particular focus on behaviors which foster intergenerational community and connection.

Recommended Citation

Wang, Annie, "Disappearing Immigrant Shadows: A New Analytical Framework and Typology for Second-Generation Chinese American Ethnic Engagement" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6053