Transnational Identities: A Chinese American Case

The new millennium witnesses an accelerating globalization trend in economic and cultural spheres as well as a new wave of international migration. Living in this global village, are the international migrants still facing the dilemma of assimilating or alienating, host country loyalty or homeland belonging, mainstream cultural identity or clinging to ethnic traditions and practices? Taking this as the research question and Chinese Americans as a case study, this paper aims to answer the question by exploring the new changes in the identities of Chinese Americans. Based on a one-year field study in America made by the author, this paper proposes that transnational identities should be the new changes in today's Chinese Americans. Furthermore, attempts to clarify the components and different layers of these transnational identities are made.