Choosing "Desi”: exploring the new second generation South Asian American community

This thesis is a qualitative exploration of "new second generation" South Asian Americans. Alejandro Portes and Min Zhou's concept of the "1.5 generation" and "new second generation" illustrate a diverse and understudied demographic population that highlights the complexities of immigrant assimilation in the United States. The South Asian American population represents an understudied population that is often left out of the majority of literature pertaining to immigration, race/ethnicity, and general sociology. This research aims to provide a historical and contemporary exploration of the South Asian American community within the United States. In addition to the primary data, a historical discussion of "three epochs" of South Asian immigration is presented as a context in order to appreciate the lived experiences of contemporary 1.5 and 2nd generation South Asian Americans. Participants in this study were found using a snowball sample conducted in Southern California in the winter of 2008/2009. The participant interviews lasted from thirty minutes to two hours. The participant stories serve to illustrate and highlight many of the dynamics of assimilation, pan-ethnic identity formation and the effects of post 9/11 xenophobia and discrimination. Also discussed are a variety of concepts stemming from the two main themes that arose from the interviews. First, the concept of segmented assimilation is discussed with consideration of the impact of the participants' and their parents' social networks on their self-perceptions and identities. Secondly, the concept of pan-ethnicity is discussed, with consideration of how 1.5 and 2nd generation South Asian Americans' views and opinions differ quite substantially from those of their immigrant parents. Finally, the participants' views are discussed pertaining to discrimination and U.S. foreign policy in South Asia.