Understanding acculturation among second-generation South Asian Muslims in the United States

This article addresses an understudied area in studies of immigration-why patterns of acculturation of second-generation immigrants vary. To address this question, I draw on ethnographic research conducted among second-generation South Asian Muslims in New York City. Sociologists generally assume that acculturation is an inevitable process, and that it proceeds from less to more. I argue that acculturation is a more complex process that varies over time and situation for individuals, and can even go from more to less acculturation. Building on Judith Harris's group socialisation theory and Murray Milner Jr.'s theory of status relations, I propose that acculturation is a dynamic status process, and that we can better understand variations in patterns of acculturation of individuals by looking at their peers-the kinds of intimate associations that individuals make, and the kinds of peer group norms to which individuals conform.