Asian Indian Culture in America

My culture of choice is Asian Indians in America; namely, I would like to study the youth. By "Asian Indian," I mean people who have immigrated from India, as opposed to Native American Indians. Since this project is in the preliminary stages, the specificity of my research may change-I am debating whether or not I should refine it to Hindu youth..Or maybe Muslim youth. I'll post another blog should I decide.


In researching this culture, I plan on finding out how Asian Indian youth balance the American culture with their own. Is it difficult? Do they get pressure from older generations to maintain Indian ideals? Do they think it's important? If they had kids, is maintaining Indian culture something they would stress?


My interest in this stems from high school; we always had events celebrating various cultures. I have friends, both Indian and non-Indian, who participate in traditional dances, with Indian clothes and all. I thought, and still think, that it's awesome. I love how certain dance moves are representative of certain things; for example, they do something with their hands to symbolize the moon or sun. The dances tell a story or send a message, or are simply for entertainment. Additionally, the bright colors of their clothes and the variety of styles makes their performances entertaining; its an art form.

We see varying degrees of tradition maintenance. How does the youth find their happy medium? We see relatively Americanized people: (lol)

And we see people who are more traditional:

(This reminds me, I've also always found their wedding get-up to be gorgeous. It's so intricate and it comes together very well.)


How do Asian Indians our age develop their self concept? That is, how do they define themselves? How do they think others define them? How do they wish to be defined? I ask these questions based on Ibrahim's Self Concept of Minorities, which has the three parts mentioned above.


Given that their parents and grandparents immigrated primarily for familial reasons (such as "reunification...or providing assistance with raising grandchildren.." (Kalavar 2006)), I would imagine that their parents would at least somewhat stress the importance of their roots.


So, all in all, in this cultural reporter project, I hope to learn a lot about the Asian Indian culture. My research process will include peer reviewed journals and interviews with Asian Indian people I know or random people I come upon around campus. I aim to end this project with a greater understanding of a culture I've known for so long, but know so little about.




Sources: 
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/5220585873_9a8104913c_m.jpg
http://www.aacomedy.com/ckfinder/userfiles/images/Ansari(1).jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tERm1ap1v48&feature=related


Ibrahim, F., Ohnishi, H., & Sandhu, D. (1997). Asian American Identity Development: A Culture Specific Model for South    Asian Americans. Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development, 25(1), 34-50. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.


Kalavar, Jyotsna M., and John Willigen. "Older Asian Indians Resettled in America: Narratives about Households, Culture, and Generation." Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 20.3 (2006): 213-30. Online.