Mary Yu Danico

Many Asian Americans have made great strides in achieving the American Dream. However, this diverse population faces great challenges from outside their communities as well as from within. Asian American Issues brings to the fore eight major issues affecting the Asian American population today, including media stereotypes of a model minority, transnationalism, panethnicity, intergenerational conflict, and cultural expression. Students will find that the background narrative and questions for debate and discussion are a meaningful way to engage in the current events of this growing ethnic group. The history of Asian immigrants in the United States spans more than 200 years. Today, they are the third largest minority group. Almost half live in the West but there are population shifts to other regions of the country. As they become more visible, community dynamics continue to evolve. Each generation also struggles with what it means to be Asian American.

The 1.5 generation (Ilchom ose) refers to Koreans who immigrated to the United States as children. Unlike their first-generation parents and second-generation children born in the United States, 1.5ers have been socialized in both Korean and American cultures and express the cultural values and beliefs of each. In this first extended look at the 1.5 generation in Hawaii, Mary Yu Danico attempts to fill a void in the research by addressing the social process through which Korean children are transformed from immigrants into 1.5ers. Dozens of informal, in-depth interviews and case studies provide rich data on how family, community, and economic and political factors influence and shape Korean and Korean American identity in Hawaii. Danico examines the history of Koreans in Hawaii, their social characteristics, and current demographics. Her close consideration of socio-cultural influences firmly establishes the 1.5 generation in the mainstream discussion of identity formation and race relations.