Asian American Identities and Practices

Asian American Identities and Practices: Folkloric Expressions in Everyday Life probes the intersection interplay and interconnection of Asian and Asian American folklore and folklife in globally fluid and culturally creative landscapes among Asian American communities and subjects. Asian American folklore as a way of life and practice has emerged and continues to emerge as Asian Americans lay claim and take root in the American mosaic. As such the contributors in this volume all show how the Asian American historical experiences and continued international migration inform the production of new folkloric practices subjectivities and ideologies which in turn strengthen specific Asian American ways of life while normalizing folklore that are squarely produced in Asian America. This collectionillustrates that Asian American folklore and folklife is interwoven with social relationships the creation of various types of ethnic cultural and national identities and adaptive strategies within the particular historical periods communities and shifting boundaries and demographics of Asian America. The global context of Asian American folklore and folklife especially in the racially charged post-9/11 context bespeaks how Asians past and present maneuver the cultural spaces of their host society and old traditions to create new sites and new opportunities for cultural folkloric production and expression in everyday life.