Nazli Kibria

POWER, PATRIARCHY, AND GENDER CONFLICT IN THE VIETNAMESE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY

Based on an ethnographic study of womens social groups and networks in a community of Vietnamese immigrants recently settled in the United States, this article explores the effects of migration on gender roles and power. The womens groups and networks play an important role in the exchange of social and economic resources among households and in the mediation of disputes between men and women in the family. These community forms are an important source of informal power for women, enabling them to cope effectively with male authority in the family. Yet, despite their increased power and economic resources, these women supported a patriarchal social structure because it preserved their parental authority and promised greater economic security in the future.

Household Structure and Family Ideologies: The Dynamics of Immigrant Economic Adaptation Among Vietnamese Refugees

Using materials from an ethnographic study of newly arrived Vietnamese refugees in Philadelphia, this article argues that household structure and family ideology play a critical role in the dynamics of immigrant economic adaptation. The study shows the Vietnamese refugee households that were more heterogeneous in age and gender composition to be more adept at “patchworking” or gathering together a wide variety of resources from diverse social and economic arenas. This “patchworking” strategy mitigates the instability and scarcity of available resources. The economic dynamics of the Vietnamese refugee households are also shaped by an ideology of family collectivism — a set of beliefs about family life that encourage the sharing of individual social and economic resources within the household. Cooperative household economic behavior is also fostered by beliefs that help to generate agreement among household members about household goals. These ideological dimensions of household life are, however, being shaped and in some cases challenged by the migration process.

Race, Ethnic Options, and Ethnic Binds: Identity Negotiations of Second-Generation Chinese and Korean Americans

This article examines the dynamics of race and ethnic options for those racially labeled “Asian” in U.S. society. Drawing on sixty-four in-depth interviews with second-generation Chinese and Korean Americans, I look at how Asian racial categorization and its dynamics shape informal, everyday social encounters between Asians and non-Asians. These dynamics suggest an ethnic bind — a sense of uncertainty and conflict about the meaning and significance of ethnic identity and practice, stemming from the multiple and contradictory pressures surrounding it. The second-generation Chinese and Korean Americans experienced pressures both to cultivate their Chinese and Korean membership and to downplay or minimize it. For those labeled “Asian,” the ethnic bind is part of the social terrain on which ethnic identity is produced, with ethnic options emerging out of the contests and negotiations surrounding them.

CULTURE, SOCIAL CLASS, AND INCOME CONTROL IN THE LIVES OF WOMEN GARMENT WORKERS IN BANGLADESH:

This article looks at the income-related experiences of women workers in Bangladesh in the export garment industry, the first modern industry in the country to employ large numbers of women. The analysis draws on in-depth interviews with 34 female sewing machine operators at five factories. Despite the traditionally low economic autonomy of Bangladeshi women, the womens ability to control their income was varied, and in fact, a substantial number of the women workers exercised full control over their wages. Socioeconomic background affected womens income control by shaping both the symbolic meaning of womens income and the ability of male kin to fulfill their traditional obligations to women. With the exception of some young unmarried workers, womens employment in the garment industry had not posed a significant challenge to patriarchal family relations.

The construction of ‘Asian American’: Reflections on intermarriage and ethnic identity among second‐generation Chinese and Korean Americans

Abstract Drawing on sixty in‐depth interviews, this article examines the development of a pan‐Asian American identity among second‐generation middle‐class Chinese and Korean Americans. I explore conceptions of ethnicity through an analysis of their attitudes and beliefs about intermarriage across racial and ethnic lines. The analysis reveals a process of pan‐Asian American ethnogenesis at work, one that involves the construction of an Asian American culture and identity. The construction of ‘Asian American’ is a process that involves recognition of the shared personal experiences and orientations of Asian‐origin persons, including that of being racially labelled as Asian by the dominant society, of growing up in an Asian home, and of adhering to the Asian values of an emphasis on family, education, hard work and respect for elders.

The contested meanings of 'Asian American': racial dilemmas in the contemporary US

This article explores the contested meanings of the ‘Asian American’ concept in the US today. Since its emergence in the late 1960s, ‘Asian American’ has been defined by pan-Asian groups and organizations in the US as a collectivity bound by shared racial interests. Contemporary conditions have sharpened and highlighted the inherent contradictions and ambiguities of this conception of ‘Asian American’ as a racial interest group. Especially important have been the shifts in the composition of the Asian American population that followed the immigration reforms of 1965. Contestations of ‘Asian American’ also reflect larger uncertainties about the meaning of race in the US today, in particular, the nature of racial boundaries and racial disadvantage.

The ‘new Islam’ and Bangladeshi youth in Britain and the US

Abstract In this paper I look at the growth of revivalist Islam – the ‘new Islam’ – within Muslim migrant communities in Western societies. I do so through a comparative analysis of how Bangladesh-origin Muslims in Britain and the US view and understand revivalist Islam, especially its popularity among youth within their communities. I explore the effects of national context, exploring the ways in which variations of history and context of settlement shape the character of revivalist Islam in the British and US Bangladesh-origin communities. I find that Bangladesh-origin Muslims in Britain and the US see the growth of revivalist Islam to be a response to the growing salience of ‘Muslim’ as a public identity for them in these countries. Other explanations include a deep sense of political and cultural alienation from the West, coupled with a desire, especially among the younger generation, to distance oneself from an identification with Bangladesh. The impact of national context is evident in how these understandings are expressed as well as in their implications for patterns of incorporation. The growth of revivalist Islam appears to be a far more contested matter among the Bangladesh-origin community in Britain than it is in the US.

Vietnamese Refugees and Blocked Mobility

Recent media reports have described Vietnamese refugees as a “model minority” — a group whose cultural orientations have enabled them to overcome disadvantages and achieve economic success. This paper examines data from published sources and ethnographic studies conducted by the authors in Oakland, California and Philadelphia to assess the economic situation of Vietnamese refugees in the United States. Evidence suggests that in strong contrast to being a “success story,” the economic status of many recently arrived Vietnamese refugees is characterized by unstable, minimum-wage employment, welfare dependency and participation in the informal economy. The paper suggests that the groups economic opportunities have been limited by the configuration of circumstances that have surrounded their entry and settlement into the United States as refugees, as well as by the demographic structure of the group.

Transnational marriage and the Bangladeshi Muslim diaspora in Britain and the United States

Transnational marriage is a practice by which members of diasporas are united in matrimony with persons in the homeland. In this paper, I explore the history and development of transnational marriage in the Bangladeshi Muslim diaspora, specifically among British Bangladeshis and Bangladeshi Americans. A distinct history of migration and settlement has resulted in the particular prominence of transnational marriage in the British Bangladeshi community. In the British national context as well, unlike in the USA, the issue of transnational marriage has been politicised by concerns about forced marriage and the state regulations that have arisen in response to it. These differences of national context are reflected in the greater levels of general acceptance of the idea of transnational marriage among British Bangladeshis. At the same time, across both national settings, second- and third-generation Bangladeshi Muslims are actively engaged in constructing notions of the ‘new’ transnational marriage in which the partner selection process gives considerable autonomy to those involved.

Imagining the Radicalized Muslim: Race, Anti-Muslim Discourse, and Media Narratives of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombers

The authors explore the production of anti-Muslim racial discourse through a study of media coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, widely seen as among the most significant acts of “homegrown” (i.e., born and/or raised in Western societies) Muslim terrorism on U.S. soil since 9/11. Drawing on news accounts and accompanying online reader comments from the Boston Globe, CBS Boston, and the New York Times, the authors examine the emergence of frames and narratives about the perpetrators, two brothers who were long-time U.S. residents and Muslims of Chechen origin. Findings point to the development of a color-blind anti-Muslim racial discourse that simultaneously affirms Muslim difference and makes claims to an absence of hostility and discrimination toward Muslims through a narrative of radicalization. Informed by the field of terrorism studies and counterterrorism policy making, the narrative of Muslim radicalization draws attention to individual life trajectories in which psychological and theological factors combine with exposure to radical Islamist groups to propel young “homegrown” Muslims toward extremism and violence. The potential for this narrative to challenge notions of intrinsic Muslim difference is limited by its reliance on a series of nested binaries of good versus evil and the West versus Islam as well as the incorporation of a racialized notion of violent potential whereby Muslims are seen as intrinsically inclined toward extremist violence.