In response to the rise in immigration, ethnic enclaves have appeared in great numbers throughout the United States. Over time, through extensive research, the characteristics which are used to define ethnic enclaves have evolved from a general idea, into several different perspectives. Flushing, is one of many neighborhoods that has been deemed an ethnic enclave for its immigrant population and rich Chinese culture. When looking at the general view of an ethnic enclave, Flushing fits the mold perfectly, but when looking at the more specific views of what defines an ethnic enclave, you see where it falls short. Scholars such as, Alejandro Portes and Stephanie Bohon, delve into different aspects of why ethnic enclaves exist and what use they serve for immigrants. Portes brings up the idea of ethnic solidarity, bonding through shared ethnicity, as one of the main reasons enclaves exist and thrive because it aids in upward social mobility. Bohon focuses on ethnic solidarity through a more business oriented lens. Kenneth J. Guest, author of God In Chinatown, brings up religion as a unifying and important factor that is present in ethnic enclaves. This paper will examine Flushing’s chinatown and unique mold that defines this enclave.
- What purpose does an ethnic enclave serve for immigrants
- Starting point for immigrants who are coming to the United States with nothing
- Place to set roots for their family
- Gives future generations the opportunity to experience upward social mobility
- Source: http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/zhou/pubs/Zhou_Lin_Ethnic_capital.pdf
- Flushing’s growth into an ethnic enclave
- Census Tract shows the overall growth of flushing’s Chinese immigrant population
- Source: http://maps.nyc.gov/census/?searchType=AddressSearch&addressNumber=1515&street=East%2059%20Street&borough=Brooklyn
- How does this support the general view of what defines an enclave?
- Source: http://www.socialexplorer.com/pub/maps/map3.aspx?g=0&mapi=ACS+2005-2009+Census+Tract&themei=1
- Flushing and Ethnic Solidarity
- What is ethnic solidarity?
- Use interviews to talk about bonding through specific language and how that allows the neighborhood to grow/or not grow.
- How does this affect their approach to education and raising their children? (ex: schools teaching classes specifically in chinese)
- Alejandro Portes’ ideas on ethnic solidarity and ethnic enclaves. How that affected the growth of enclaves- specifically bring up his study on a cuban neighborhood
- Source: https://files.eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3758/2012/01/15234911/Sullivan-Ethnic-Enclaves-Sanctuary-or-Impediment.pdf
- Is business the main reason for the growth of enclaves
- Business’ role in ethnic enclaves and how it caters to the immigrant population of that neighborhood
- Restaurants/Supermarkets/Stores all in Chinese (specifically mandarin) cater to the people living there, and also serve as place where immigrants can feel comfortable/are surrounded by things they are familiar with
- Source: http://thatgreatlittlespot.com/tag/flushing/
- Stephanie Bohon’s idea on business in ethnic enclave and their purpose
- Employing people of their culture, means that they are helping immigrants with the same background
- More likely to pay these immigrants more because they are of the same culture, rather than if they were to work somewhere else predominantly American
- Cons- this can be used as a way to take advantage of immigrants by paying them less
- Source: https://files.eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3758/2012/01/15234911/Sullivan-Ethnic-Enclaves-Sanctuary-or-Impediment.pdf
- Religions unifies people through common beliefs and interests
- Not only are you of the same culture, but also of the same beliefs which is going to further the desire to want to create a network that would attract other immigrants and help them out
- Religion is just another layer that adds as a similarity between immigrants coming into the ethnic enclave
- It attracts others of the same culture to go there specifically for the place of worship (use interview for this)
- Does Flushing fill any specific mold as an enclave
- After further research this idea will be drawn
-Roxanna Rahgozar and Christina John
Hi Roxanna and Christina,
This is a good start! I was confused at first about what the thesis was, but now I think that it is this: “When looking at the general view of an ethnic enclave, Flushing fits the mold perfectly, but when looking at the more specific views of what defines an ethnic enclave, you see where it falls short.”
Is this it? It sounds promising, but it’s still too vague. Often a good thesis is two sentences long and this sounds like a very good first thesis statement, which would be followed by a more specific one, identifying the ways in which Flushing “falls short,” which would then become the basis for the main part of the paper.
In part the reason why I was confused by the thesis is that I can’t see yet how the body sections (the bullet pointed parts) relate to it… I was kind of expecting that these would be devoted to building up the idea that Flushing might be regarded, at first glance, as an enclave, and then showing how and why this is not the case. Some of the sections are kind of ambiguously related to this idea – for example I’m not clear on why the role of business is important to understanding whether Flushing is an ethnic enclave. (It could be important, but it’s not clear why it would be yet…)
So I think those are the two things to work on first: making your thesis statement more precise and then making the body sections directly work toward supporting it. You may find that it’s easier to do these two steps backward, figuring out what argument you can support using your evidence and breaking the argument into chunks that will become the sections of the paper (some of the sections in the current outline would probably remain intact) and then crafting a thesis to specifically reflect this argument.
Let me know if any of this is confusing or if you’re unsure how to go about it. But I think the central idea of testing the concept of an ethnic enclave against Flushing to see if it fits is a pretty good one. I’m sure the paper will fall into place with a bit more time and work.
Mike