Abstract
Scholars of Asian America have used and contested models of panethnicity to describe Asian American identity. This dialogue can benefit from more attention to the multiple, fluid interpretations in the diaspora around what “Asian American” identity means. Based on 41 interviews with Asian American college students at two institutions on the West coast and East coast, I explore how Asian American college students understand and negotiate “Asian American” identity in different contexts. My results suggest that Asian American panethnic and ethnic identities operate as floating signifiers within predominantly white institutions (PWI). Depending on the historical, structural and cultural contexts of the PWI, Asian American college students have different capacities and resources to ascribe and contest meanings assigned to the label “Asian American.” My findings point to how Asian American identity operates as a floating signifier sensitive to local and institutional contexts.
Type of Work
Thesis - Limited Access
Department or Program
Sociology
Institution
Hamilton College
Degree
Bachelor of Arts
Date of Graduation
5-2023
Faculty Advisor
Jamie Kucinskas
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Citation Information
Kuo, Shania '23, "“Asian American” as a Floating Signifier: Ascribing and Redefining Racial and Ethnic Identity at PWIs" (2023). Hamilton Digital Commons.
https://digitalcommons.hamilton.edu/soc_theses/69