The Chinese have been one of the oldest and largest ethnic communities across the world with well over 35 million people living overseas. Despite their relatively large cultural distance from the host countries, and the ordeals faced by generations of Chinese immigrants due to stereotypes, prejudice, and racism, many have adjusted remarkably well economically and socially in their new country. But how do generations of Chinese immigrants reconcile seemingly incompatible demands from home and host cultures to negotiate bicultural or multicultural identities?
Identity, Hybridity and Cultural Home explores the multifaceted concept of cultural identity to uncover the meaning of cultural home for Chinese immigrants in multicultural environments. It questions the conventional notion of a stable and secure cultural identity, challenges the common conception of bilingualism and biculturalism, analyses hybrid identities, and identifies directions for future research on the critical issue of searching for a cultural home in a multicultural society.
Industry Reviews
The book’s strength lies in its interdisciplinary approach, which offers rich theoretical insights on assimilation, diaspora, hybridity, bilingualism, and multiculturalism. The book is beneficial not only to scholars of international migration but also to those working in communication, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and cultural studies with an interest in exploring cross-cultural exchanges and identity formation. . . . The book is a tour de force of theory and interdisciplinary dialogues. Liu’s investigation of generational differences and interracial families probes into two of the least-studied aspects of the Chinese diaspora. Her research adds further knowledge to the complexities and nuances of global Chinese identities. Furthermore…her portrayal of the Chinese diaspora in contemporary Anglo-American societies illustrates constant and multiple shifts between an essentialist mode in the search for belonging and an anti-essentialist mode of blending, negotiation, and adaptation. This offers a more complicated and dynamic way to rethink the current debate on diaspora and inter-cultural identities, which often gravitates toward either one of the modes.
