Ethnic Studies Review
Orginal Publication Date
1996
Journal Title
Ethnic Studies Review
Volume
19
Issue
esr/vol19/iss2
First Page
234
Last Page
235
Abstract
Cambodians, officially classified as Asian Americans, are a part of this large group which contributes to the country's fastest growing minority population. The Cambodians in Middle City, the pseudonym of a Midwestern city, however, live in a world unlike any resembling those in middle Asian America. They are victims of poverty, of dangerous urban housing and of social isolation. The majority are of poor health, illiterate in English, and too old or too distracted to learn. Hopkins' study of this community is classic ethnography, describing in vivid details the ordinary family and Buddhist ceremonial life of the Cambodians as they adapt to an American city. She interprets for the reader her intimate knowledge of a people and its community, covering topics on how Cambodians meet their basic needs in an alien environment, their patterns of kinship and social organization, their traditional values in a new setting, and the individuals and their institutions as agents of culture change.
Rights
Copyright ©ESR, The National Association for Ethnic Studies, 1996