Contemporary Asian American Communities: Intersections and Divergences (review)

The collection edited by Linda Trinh Vo and Rick Bonus is a multidisciplinary account of various ways in which Asian American communities have evolved over the past few decades. Both spatial and behavioral dimensions of "the community" are considered. Relationships involving the fluid nature of ethnic identity and the intergenerational dynamics of community development receive attention. How intragroup variation in social class impinges on these relationships also receives attention. A number of chapters consider how diverse special interests on the one hand, and common interests on the other hand, influence the emergence and institutionalization of political activism within the Asian American community. A few chapters consider nontraditional means through which culture is expressed.

The multidisciplinary character of this volume results in a stimulating variety of inquiries into the ethnic community. Some of these inquiries are more successful than others, but the strength of the collection rests on its diversity of approaches and foci. Shortcomings are that the chapters often suffer from data limitations and few if any original ideas are examined. In that way, the limitations of this volume are similar to the limitations of most edited volumes. Although few, if any, of the chapters could stand up to the rigors of a scholarly peer-reviewed journal, taken together they constitute a useful addition to the literature.

The collection includes 15 chapters. The two most imaginative ones are by Fung and Chow. The former considers how filmmakers use their art to wrestle with social and political ambiguities in Taiwanese national identity and cultural authenticity. Fung shows how these issues can become entangled in the traditional importance of preserving masculine lineage. This entanglement can lead to a clash of values and necessitate flexibility in negotiating group identity so as to effect familial and cultural continuance. Chow's chapter, which uses fictional writing to explore the issue of Asian American panethnicity, may also be viewed by many readers as too much about too little. But at the least Chow shows how issues studied by sociologists, such as relationships involving the intergenerational cultural gap, marginality, and panethnicity, can receive insightful treatment in fictional literature.

The remaining contributions are more mainstream for an audience of sociologists. Various chapters concentrate on (1) the spatial, social, and economic positioning of immigrant communities in the broader urban (and international) environment; (2) the marginality of gay Asian Americans in the larger gay community; (3) how variation in social class and intergenerational differences in socialization influence ethnic identity in a plural society; (4) the use of the Internet as a forum for members of an ethnic group to grope through the meanings of ethnic identity; (5) how Pacific Islander groups are distinct from Asian American groups; and (6) political activism in Asian American communities.

I wish to draw attention to three of the stronger chapters. King shows how ethnic communities may preserve certain aspects of their identity by resorting to a "transracial ethnic strategy." As the group intermixes with outsiders, the definition of who is a group member is expanded to include those of mixed backgrounds. Panethnic identity is discouraged by expanding the definition of what constitutes in-group membership. The chapter by L. Park describes the crucial role American-raised children often play in businesses operated by their first-generation parents and emphasizes the issue of intergenerational role reversal. Because they have superior knowledge of the language and customs of the host society, children become more competent than their parents in some aspects of operating the business. Park considers how the children deal with this role reversal. Ho's chapter shows how panethnic identity can be encouraged by social class privilege. Although this identity is largely based on a culture of professionalism, consideration is given to how intergroup connections among professionals may facilitate efforts to address the needs of the less fortunate members of Asian American communities.

This collection makes for an interesting...