Immigrant Selectivity and Diverse Patterns of Integration: Chinese and Indian Immigrants in Los Angeles

This study compares patterns of integration among contemporary Chinese and Indian immigrants in metropolitan Los Angeles. Analysis of data from an online survey and in-depth interviews show that, on average, Chinese and Indian immigrants are well-integrated economically, but that their lived experiences on the ground do not fit neatly into the linear models of assimilation. Patterns of diasporic formation, coethnic interaction, self-perception of integration, and sense of belonging are multivariate, and even peculiar and counterintuitive. These patterns emerge from the interactive processes of immigrant selectivity and social transformations in the context of reception. The implications for understanding inter- and intra-group diversity and segmented assimilation will be discussed.

Dr. Min Zhou is Professor of Sociology & Asian American Studies, Walter & Shirley Wang Endowed Chair in US-China Relations & Communications, and Director of the Asia Pacific Center at UCLA. She was Tan Lark Sye Chair Professor of Sociology and Director of the Chinese Heritage Centre, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2013-16). Dr. Zhou’s main areas of research are in: migration and development, the new second generation, ethnic/racial relations, Asia and Asian America, Chinese diasporas, and urban sociology, and she has published widely in these areas. Her most recent publications include Contemporary Chinese Diasporas (ed. 2017), The Rise of the New Second Generation (with Bankston, 2016), and The Asian American Achievement Paradox (with Lee, 2015), which won five major book awards. She is the recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Career Award of the American Sociological Association Section on International Migration.

This event is co-sponsored by the GW Department of Sociology and the GW Sigur Center for Asian Studies.