Contextual Interaction and Bicultural Marginality

The Taiwanese 1.5-Generation youth studied are immigrants who migrated to the U.S. when they were in their preteen or teenage years. Their experiences as immigrants distinguish themselves from first and second-generation immigrants because they draw from both their original and American cultures to construct their social identities. This monograph tests the current 1.5-Generation concept by examining the identity careers of immigrant youth from two distinctive social contexts: ethnic communities in Southern California and ethnically mixed areas in Midwestern states. My analysis points out that the Taiwanese 1.5-Generation identity is presented through the management of personal information and ability in accessing and understanding both American and Taiwanese cultures as strategies of action. I suggest the 1.5-Generation concept should center on the social relations and interactions embedded in different social contexts and on shifts in how immigrant youth interpret marginality in different stages of their identity career. The monograph should interest scholars and students who are interested in the fields of Asian American Studies and Transnational Migration.