Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hernandez, Sarah

Keywords

Second Generation Immigrants, Ethnic Identity, Ethnic Labels, Racial and Ethnic Categorizations, Self-Identification

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

In this thesis, I explore how young adult members of the so-called Hispanic/Latino ethnic group develop their ethnic self-identifications in the context of the government- and socially-created racial/ethnic categories. Through eleven in-depth interviews with second generation Hispanic/Latino immigrants between 18 and 25 years old, I identify four preferred self-identifications: pan-ethnic (ambivalently Hispanic instead of Latino), country-specific, situational labels and rejection of all racial and ethnic labels. Ethnic identity is formed and labels are selected primarily in relation to others, specifically: family (their connection to their native countries) and neighborhoods (racial/ethnic makeup, specifically Latin American presence).

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