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.S.Immigrants, Alan Booth et.al.(1997).20Kinship Networks Among Hmong-American Refugeeshomelands for temporary or permanent resettlement.If this century approximates the former, refugee studies will become increasingly important.For the sake of uprooted people and the countries that admit them, scholars must examine the role of human ties in the process of relocation and change.Even though most kinship scholars have moved from orcompletely abandoned structural-functionalist interpretations, some of the pivotal questions asked about the role of kinship in life strategies, social stability and group identity take on new significance for scholars who study transnational migration and forced relocation.The focus of structural-functionalists used to be on kinship in stable social contexts.9The problematic today requires that we address the functions of kinship in times of instability.Nazli Kibria is one scholar who exemplifies how and why kinship is important for uprooted people.In her study of Vietnamese families living in Philadelphia, Kibria (1994:25) states,“For immigrant women and men, the immigrant family and community are sources of economic, political, and cultural resistance, vehicles for adaptation to the dominant society.” Kibria’s work in particular discusses how Vietnamese American women experience oppressionand resistance as women and as family members.Noted immigration scholar, Ruben Rumbaut, believes that thefamily is the primary means by which immigrant groups adapt.Especially for immigrant groups with little human capitaltrying to adapt under often discriminatory conditions ofextreme economic, cultural and social disadvantage, thelikelihood of success will hinge to a large extent on theavailability of strong family solidarity, centered on cohesiveconjugal and parental bond, and ethnic community support”(Rumbaut 1997:28).Recent work on the sociology of the family has focused on howimmigrants use cultural understandings and practices to cope with life in America, but one of the limitations of contemporary immigration 9 There is dispute as to whether colonized territories were indeed stable at the time Fortes, Meyers and Radcliffe-Brown were doing their fieldwork.It was later researchers like Kathleen Gough (1971) who pointed out the importance of the historical context to kinship forms and patterns in Africa.Doing Kinship21sociology is how researchers have construed “the family” and “the household.” Existing social science models of the family as a bonded social unit composed of parents and their children living in one household are challenged by Hmong perceptions of family.I point out ways in which participants use their ties in family and kinship networks to improve their welfare.By putting kinship at the center of my analysis, I create a more all-encompassing notion of relatedness that extends beyond the family and extended family, as is traditionally understood in social research, to include all kin whether related by marriage, blood, or even social familiarity.I argue that Hmong-American people use their understandings ofkinship as a means to maintain cultural continuity as well as to adapt to new situations.This ethnography is an attempt to recognize how a people can navigate the task of adapting by emphasizing shared cultural frames of reference.In the case of Hmong refugees living in Western Wisconsin, kinship emerges as a useful cultural institution in the process of continuity and change.Ethnographic NotesDemographics Daily (2000) listed Menomonie, Wisconsin, the center of my research, as one of 141 small-sized American “dream towns.”Researchers considered such things as community vitality, support for schools, freedom from stress, low cost of living, and small town character.Townspeople often comment on the satisfying quality of life and the serene natural surroundings.The countryside is picturesque—rolling hills, crop fields, dairy farms, river ways, and wooded areas where deciduous hardwoods, oak savannah and pine abound.About 15,000 people live in and around the city proper.Primary employers are the local Swiss Miss factory, 3M company, and the University of Wisconsin-Stout.The nearest metropolitan area, St.Paul andMinneapolis, Minnesota, is about one hour’s drive from Menomonie.Despite its tranquil appearance, this small town is not immune to controversy and conflict.Several years ago, the student council requested that the high school logo, a figurehead of a Great Plains Indian chief, be changed to a student-designed Mustang [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.S.Immigrants, Alan Booth et.al.(1997).20Kinship Networks Among Hmong-American Refugeeshomelands for temporary or permanent resettlement.If this century approximates the former, refugee studies will become increasingly important.For the sake of uprooted people and the countries that admit them, scholars must examine the role of human ties in the process of relocation and change.Even though most kinship scholars have moved from orcompletely abandoned structural-functionalist interpretations, some of the pivotal questions asked about the role of kinship in life strategies, social stability and group identity take on new significance for scholars who study transnational migration and forced relocation.The focus of structural-functionalists used to be on kinship in stable social contexts.9The problematic today requires that we address the functions of kinship in times of instability.Nazli Kibria is one scholar who exemplifies how and why kinship is important for uprooted people.In her study of Vietnamese families living in Philadelphia, Kibria (1994:25) states,“For immigrant women and men, the immigrant family and community are sources of economic, political, and cultural resistance, vehicles for adaptation to the dominant society.” Kibria’s work in particular discusses how Vietnamese American women experience oppressionand resistance as women and as family members.Noted immigration scholar, Ruben Rumbaut, believes that thefamily is the primary means by which immigrant groups adapt.Especially for immigrant groups with little human capitaltrying to adapt under often discriminatory conditions ofextreme economic, cultural and social disadvantage, thelikelihood of success will hinge to a large extent on theavailability of strong family solidarity, centered on cohesiveconjugal and parental bond, and ethnic community support”(Rumbaut 1997:28).Recent work on the sociology of the family has focused on howimmigrants use cultural understandings and practices to cope with life in America, but one of the limitations of contemporary immigration 9 There is dispute as to whether colonized territories were indeed stable at the time Fortes, Meyers and Radcliffe-Brown were doing their fieldwork.It was later researchers like Kathleen Gough (1971) who pointed out the importance of the historical context to kinship forms and patterns in Africa.Doing Kinship21sociology is how researchers have construed “the family” and “the household.” Existing social science models of the family as a bonded social unit composed of parents and their children living in one household are challenged by Hmong perceptions of family.I point out ways in which participants use their ties in family and kinship networks to improve their welfare.By putting kinship at the center of my analysis, I create a more all-encompassing notion of relatedness that extends beyond the family and extended family, as is traditionally understood in social research, to include all kin whether related by marriage, blood, or even social familiarity.I argue that Hmong-American people use their understandings ofkinship as a means to maintain cultural continuity as well as to adapt to new situations.This ethnography is an attempt to recognize how a people can navigate the task of adapting by emphasizing shared cultural frames of reference.In the case of Hmong refugees living in Western Wisconsin, kinship emerges as a useful cultural institution in the process of continuity and change.Ethnographic NotesDemographics Daily (2000) listed Menomonie, Wisconsin, the center of my research, as one of 141 small-sized American “dream towns.”Researchers considered such things as community vitality, support for schools, freedom from stress, low cost of living, and small town character.Townspeople often comment on the satisfying quality of life and the serene natural surroundings.The countryside is picturesque—rolling hills, crop fields, dairy farms, river ways, and wooded areas where deciduous hardwoods, oak savannah and pine abound.About 15,000 people live in and around the city proper.Primary employers are the local Swiss Miss factory, 3M company, and the University of Wisconsin-Stout.The nearest metropolitan area, St.Paul andMinneapolis, Minnesota, is about one hour’s drive from Menomonie.Despite its tranquil appearance, this small town is not immune to controversy and conflict.Several years ago, the student council requested that the high school logo, a figurehead of a Great Plains Indian chief, be changed to a student-designed Mustang [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]