Preface
The most popular narrative of the immigrant experience in America is one that touts the outstanding accomplishments of highly educated individuals seeking to share their talents with the host country to increase their chances for economic and upward social mobility. However, this depiction is only part of the story. Within the Asian American population, a new trend is emerging in which the second generation (children of immigrants, born in the United States) has redefined what being Asian American means to them. Now, those who comprise the second generation are raising their own families and thus reshaping the way that subsequent generations will define themselves and be defined by the state.
The notion of who Asian Americans are as a group has vastly shifted from the time the 1965 Immigration Act was passed. The definition of who is fit for inclusion within the Asian American category has been contested in recent years, and this work attempts to represent the experiences of those categorized as such at the dawn of the 21st century. Beyond the scope of how people are defined and categorized by the state, the central question explored in the present work addresses how individuals themselves define what it means to be Asian American.