Ethnicity and Assimilation

Blacks, Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, Japanese, Mexicans, Vietnamese, and Whites

By Robert M. Jiobu

Subjects: Ethnicity
Paperback : 9780887066481, 269 pages, July 1988
Hardcover : 9780887066474, 269 pages, July 1988

Alternative formats available from:

Description

This is a study of the main ethnic groups in California and is the only study that offers a direct comparison of these various ethnic groups. The author presents the thesis that the upward mobility of an ethnic group is determined not only by its infrastructure but also by the infrastructure of the situation the group encounters. For example, the chapter on history emphasizes economics and demographics more than subcultural values and attitudes. Other chapters similarly emphasize infrastructure, covering each group's demographic composition, intermarriage rates, residential segregation, and labor force characteristics. Few analyses of census data have so self-consciously incorporated historical material in order to help elucidate statistical results and provide an integrated and comparative view of ethnicity in American society.

Robert Masao Jiobu is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Ohio State University.

Reviews

"In presenting his arguments, Jiobu does so without being over zealous about advocating a particular perspective. Instead, he presents both proponents' and antagonists' views, allowing readers to arrive at their own conclusions. This book is one of the first to compare and contrast so many different racial and ethnic groups on various selected demographic, socioeconomic, and assimilation indicators. There is constant debate as to whether or not Asians have 'made it. ' Jiobu's findings will shed new light on and lend fresh perspective to this discussion. " — Morrison G. Wong, Texas Christian University