Asian American Identities and Practices ─ Folkloric Expressions in Everyday Life

"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 AsianAmerican 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 collection illustrates 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."--

Jonathan H. X. Lee is associate professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University. He is the editor of Cambodian American Experiences: Histories, Communities, Cultures, and Identities and co-editor with Kathleen M. Nadeau of theEncyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife.

Kathleen Nadeau is a professor of anthropology at California State University, San Bernardino. She is the author ofLiberation Theology in the Philippines: Faith in a Revolution,The History of the Philippines, and co-editor with Jonathan H. X. Lee of theEncyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife.