Navigating the Hyphen: Korean-American college students' processes of identification through practice
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2018
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology
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en
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Abstract
The experience of being Korean-American can be studied as a continuing practice of identification: how often do I eat Korean food (and when I do, do I use chopsticks?), do I smoke cigarettes (and when I do, do I step out for cigarettes with other Korean-Americans?), or what fashion styles do I follow? Within a liminal space like a college campus, these decisions can have significant effects on the individual’s process of identification. This thesis aims to ask how first, 1.5, and second-generation Korean-American college students—constantly conditioned into the “model minority” trope on US soil as well as the derogatory gyopo trope back in Korea—negotiate within a limbo of existence where achieving a sense of belonging is a long and difficult process. I aim to analyze this question primarily through the lens of practice and how the performative nature of these practices continually construct an individual’s identification as Korean-American.