Doctoral Dissertation Research--Bringing Culture Back In: Cultural Assimilation and the Second Generation in the Global City

在纽约和伦敦这两个全球化城市，十几岁的移民子女在文化上是如何同化的，而在纽约和伦敦这样的多民族社区，文化同化又意味着什么？以前对移民同化的研究主要集中在政治、经济和社会同化，以及教育和种族认同。然而，对于移民二代青年的文化同化过程这一本论文的研究重点，目前尚无重大研究。本文由三个部分组成，均与文化同化有关。首先，它考察了第二代文化的哪些方面--消费、对教育的态度、行为模式和信仰--与种族有关。这个项目通过对青少年的文化选择和行为进行实证研究，对文化总是与种族联系在一起的普遍假设提出质疑。其次，本文提出的问题是，本土语境在塑造第二代青年的文化同化过程中是否起着重要作用，或者青年文化的全球化是否使伦敦和纽约的青年变得更相似而不是不同。换句话说，文化的哪些方面更本地化、更全球化、更以种族为基础？最后，本研究考察了青年从中汲取的文化剧目以及他们的文化表达对他们的意义。为了回答这些关于第二代移民青年文化的问题，我将在两所多民族中学--一所在伦敦，一所在纽约--进行人种学研究。我将对每所学校的第二代非洲裔加勒比人、第二代印度人和土著白人学生分别进行20次访谈。最后，我将让100名学生在每所学校完成调查。因此，我计划获得总共120次深度访谈、200份调查和两份学校民族志--一半在伦敦，一半在纽约。该项目的更广泛影响包括：这项研究对制定最能为日益普遍的多民族环境中的儿童提供最佳服务的学校教育和教师培训模式有影响。该项目将让教师、家长和政策制定者更好地了解青少年文化及其与儿童如何与学校打交道的关系，方法是深入了解以下问题：青少年的风格与他/她对教育的态度之间有什么关系？学校和教师应该如何理解文化风格？哪些文化剧本或行为(如果有的话)可能导致某些群体(英国的非裔加勒比人、美国的非裔美国人、两国的男孩)成绩不佳？教师和管理人员的文化假设在多大程度上导致了这种成绩低下？可以向成绩不佳的群体传授哪些文化工具来提高他们的学业成绩？哪些类型的专业发展将帮助教师帮助学生？个别学校的研究网站将受益于了解他们的学生如何看待自己的文化身份，特别是他们对教育的态度、对成功的感受和成就的技能。

How are teenaged children of immigrants in the global cities of New York City and London assimilating culturally, and what does cultural assimilation even mean in the multiethnic neighborhoods of New York and London? Previous studies of immigrant assimilation have focused on political, economic, and social assimilation, as well as education and ethnic identity. However, no major study has emphasized the process of cultural assimilation for immigrant second generation youth, which is the focus of this dissertation. This dissertation has three components, all related to cultural assimilation. First, it looks at which aspects of the second generation's culture-consumption, attitudes toward education, modes of behavior, and beliefs-are linked to ethnicity. This project questions the common assumption that culture is always ethnicity-linked, by empirically looking at teenagers' cultural choices and behaviors. Second, this dissertation asks whether the local context matters significantly in shaping the cultural assimilation process for second generation youth, or if the globalization of youth culture has made youth in London and New York more similar than different. In other words, which aspects of culture are more local, more global, and more ethnicity-based? Finally, this dissertation research examines the cultural repertoires from which youth draw and the meanings their cultural expressions have for them. In order to answer these questions about second generation immigrant youth culture, I will conduct ethnographic research in two multiethnic secondary schools-one in London and one in New York City. I will conduct 20 interviews each with second generation Afro-Caribbean, second generation Indian, and native White students in each school. Finally, I will ask 100 students to complete surveys in each school. Thus I plan to obtain a total of 120 in-depth interviews, 200 surveys, and two school ethnographies-half in London and half in New York City. This project's broader impacts include the following: The research has implications for developing models of schooling and teacher training that can best serve children in multi-ethnic environments, which are increasingly prevalent. The project will provide teachers, parents, and policymakers greater understanding of youth culture and its relationship with how children engage with school by providing insights into such questions as: What is the relationship between a teenager's style and his/her attitudes toward education? How should cultural styles be understood by schools and teachers? What cultural scripts or behaviors, if any, might be causing certain groups (Afro-Caribbeans in the UK, African Americans in the US, boys in both countries) to underachieve, and to what extent do which cultural assumptions of teachers and administrators contribute to that underachievement? What cultural tools could be taught to underachieving groups to improve their academic achievement, and what types of professional development will help teachers help students? The individual school research sites will benefit from learning how their students think about their cultural identities, especially their attitudes toward education, feelings about success, and skills for achievement.