Trends in Ethnic Identification Among Second-Generation Haitian Immigrants in New York City

Book flyer
MS Word
International
MS Word

(Click to Enlarge)

Flore Zéphir

Book Code: H701

ISBN: 0-89789-701-3

ISBN-13: 978-0-89789-701-3

DOI:

256 pages, figures, maps, tables

Bergin & Garvey

Publication: 6/30/2001

List Price: $110.95 (UK Sterling Price: £65.00)

Availability: In Stock

Media Type: Hardcover

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

Subjects:

Reviews:

In bringing to light the stories of the children of Haitian immigrants, the book points to the need for furthur research on identity formation but also on the new dynamics of race, class and gender relations in the United States.
—International Migration Review 2003
[T]he United States has always been and continues to be a "working experiment" in immigration. Though many social researchers have addressed a variety of black immigrants' experiences, some have done so with distinction. Among the scholars on that impressive list is Phil Kasinitz, Mary Waters, Alejandro Portes, and Ruben Rumbaut. As a result of this book, Flore Zephir should be added to the list....Intellectually and experientially, Zephir knows this community. Studying an ethnic group to which one belongs has distinct advantages, and she has managed to capitalize on all of them. Of course, studying a group to which one belongs has some serious pitfalls, but Zephir has successfully managed to avoid them....This book will be of interest to students, scholars, and policy makers grappling with the issues of race, immigration, socioeconomic status, and language...[a]lso useful for larger audiences interested in a compeling story.
—American Journal of Sociology May 2002
...an ethnographically rich account of issues of acculturation and identity faced by the children of Haitian immigrants and refugees in New York City.
—Journal of American Ethnic History Fall 2002

Endorsement From David R. Roediger
Babcock Chair of History
University of Illinois,Urbana-Champaign: This careful and passionate study builds excitingly on Zéphir's earlier work on language and identity among Haitian Americans. Rooted in transitional realitites, a thorough grasp of widely varied secondary literatures and inventive ethnographic research, Trends in Ethnic Identification is uncompormising in its insistence on seeing intergenerational relations in the immigrant community in their fullest complexity. Zéphir brilliantly shows how children of the migration preserve, adapt and deny Haitian culture, in dialogue with elders, African American youth and powerful institutions. A first-rate work of truly interdisciplinary scholarship.
Endorsement From Mary C. Waters
Professor of Sociology and Harvard College Professor
Harvard University: Flore Zéphir has written a ground breaking, touching, and sobering account of the young adult children of Haitian immigrants in New York City. This is a valuable, multi-disciplinary, nuanced and well written study of a very important topic....This superb book should be required reading not only for anyone interested in Haitian Americans, but also for all who are interested in American immigration, American race relations or the future of American cities.

Description: The author conducted extensive interviews with both first- and second- generation immigrants in New York City, revealing that second-generation Haitian immigrants do not have one single identity. Rather, they exhibit multiple identities that are shaped by both the American realities and the home and familial context. The author describes in detail the various macro and micro factors that account for this great variation in ethnic identification, and discusses the implications of these identity choices for American society at large. Unlike their parents, who do not consider themselves American but rather "birds of passage" and who, additionally, because of their distinctive foreign accents, are not perceived to be American, the children of Haitian immigrants have the option of being less "ethnic." In fact, they are very often seen by others as merely "American." In light of this distinction, the central questions posed in the present study are the following: Are Haitian families successful at passing on to their offspring the same ethnic feelings, identification, culture, and values? How do their children choose to define themselves? Do they consider themselves American, or more specifically, African American? Is being ethnic important to their self image? In what way does the home environment influence their ethnic choices? What role do the American realities that surround them play in shaping Haitian youth identity? What are the manifestations and implication of these identifies?

Table of Contents:

Preface
Doing Research with Second-Generation Haitian Immigrants
Theories of Ethnicity and Population Shifts
Manifestations of Haitianness in the Second-Generation
The Undercover Phenomenon: Anything but Haitian
Relationships Between First and Second-generation Haitian Immigrants
Educational Issues with Second-generation Haitian Immigrants
Second-Generation Haitian Immigrants in American Society
Appendix I: Community Centers
Appendix II: Interview Questions
Appendix III: Permission Forms
Bibliography
Index

LC Card Number: 00-064208

LCC Class: F128

Dewey Class: 305


All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2008 Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. 88 Post Road West, Westport CT 06881, (203) 226-3571