Between two cultures within one race : Korean-American Youth in Search of Identity through Literacy in Korean Church Communities

ISBN-13: 9783659507960 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 68 str.

Jennica Kwak

Opis

Despite the rich body of literature on dealing with the question of boundaries between Koreans and the outside world such as other races and ethnicities, and even studies that dissect issues between the first generation Korean immigrants and second generation Korean-Americans, there has been relatively little attention paid to the invisible boundaries existing within one race, one ethnicity: the Korean-Americans. Through an ethnographical and socio-psychological approach, the research provides a snippet of various tensions that are created within the Korean church communities. However, not only does this research focus on mere culture and religious issues, but it also touches upon cultural identity and assimilation within one society, namely the Korean church community, by observing various modes of literacy. The paper shows how literacy is not merely used for communication purposes, but also as a social practice, which forms different identities within one cultural group. This study examines 1.5 and 2nd generation Korean-American young adults within two Korean churches in Pennsylvania, USA within a two year span of observation.

O autorze

Jennica Kwak completed her M.A. in English from Rutgers University Graduate School in 2011. She has been an adjunct at Camden County College facilitating undergraduate reading and writing for two years. Miss Kwak is currently working on her doctorate at Boston University, Massachusetts in the School of Education.