VIETNAMESE AMERICAN IDENTITIES: HOW RACE, GENDER, AND CLASS ARE REFLECTED IN CULTURAL, LANGUAGE, AND TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS By XUAN TRUONG THI NGUYEN A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Program in American Studies May 2011 © Copyright by XUAN TRUONG THI NGUYEN, 2011 All Rights Reserved To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the dissertation of Xuan Truong Thi Nguyen find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. ___________________________________ Rory Ong, Ph.D., Chair ___________________________________ John Streamas, Ph.D. ____________________________________ Pamela Thoma, Ph.D. _____________________________________ Judy Meuth, M.S. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep appreciation to those individuals who supported me in completing my fieldwork and dissertation. First, my warmest thanks to all my interviewees and everyone at the Vietnamese Language Schools, Van Lang and Dac Lo; and at Helping Link; as well as people in the Vietnamese American community in Seattle, especially Minh Duc Nguyen, Diem Nguyen, Que Tran Nguyen, Viet Huong Nguyen, Que Phuong Ngo, Hieu Nguyen, Kim Van Pham, Huot Tran, Thanh Loan Ngo, Di Nguyen, Quynh Nguyen, Trach Hoang, Huong Nguyen, Mong Tran, Tan Trung Nguyen, Peter Dao, Long Phuong, Long Nguyen, Yen Dang, Xuan Dao Nguyen, Toi Nguyen, Victor Wu, and Xuan Thao Le. I was very fortunate to work with other volunteers and interact with Vietnamese American parents and their children, who allowed me to conduct interviews in which they shared their personal stories. My deep thanks go to my new found cousins Phuong Uyen Tran, Minh Nguyen, Thanh Nguyen and Danh Tran, aunt Ai Lam Van, and uncle-in-law A Van Tran, who welcomed me into their private homes with warmest feelings; and Hong Thuy T Nguyen, who shared in my personal and cultural legacy of Vietnamese women in higher education. I am extremely grateful to my advisor, Rory Ong, for his gentle and professional support and guidance on my research and teaching. Sincere thanks go to my committee members, John Streamas, whose insightful feedback has guided me since my earliest drafts; Pamela Thoma, whose thoughtful responses to my ongoing work pushed the firmness of this manuscript; and Judy Meuth, whose generous advice I have relied upon since my earlier drafts. My sincere thank to previous advisor, T.V. Reed, who always encouraged me to be confident as ―the pioneer‖ in the initial steps of my research. Thanks go to all my professors, Rory Ong, Pamela Thoma, T.V. Reed, Rich King, Kimberly Christen, Nishant Shahani, Linda Heidenreich, José Alamillo, and iii Victor Villanueva, who trained me professionally in coursework and shaped my thoughts as a scholar. My thanks go to the graduate school for giving me the opportunity to travel this year to deliver my presentation in ―Technology, Knowledge and Society‖ in Bilbao, Spain. My first professional trip, this will help me establish myself and meet international scholars in diverse fields. I will never forget my kind, former instructor, Jeff Kemp at Indiana Wesleyan University, who always believed in me and respected me for who I was and who I have become. I am indebted to Steven Burkett, who changed my life since brightening my first days at WSU with his warm smiles and optimistic viewpoints. I also thank Dwight Lewis at Purdue University, whose kind heart to minority students gave me a chance to explore higher education towards a professional career. I truly owe my insightful mentor, Christy Zlatos, whose patience and warm feelings offered enthusiastic editorial guidance since my first year. Thanks go to all my peers in American Studies, especially Joy Taylor, Frank King, and Marc Robinson, for sharing their stories in research, learning and teaching, and the peer tutors in the writing center for giving me valuable comments. I thank my wise, big brother Brian Roesch, an unusual lawyer, a writer, and a Viet Nam War veteran, who always encouraged me with thoughtful feedback to improve my manuscripts. My deep thanks go to my artistic friend Phong Hong, who is always there for technical and emotional support. A sincere appreciation goes to Gerard Birkhauser, who treated me very special while challenging me to become a better scholar. My deep thanks go to my youngest uncle, Nam D Nguyen, because his adventurous decision to help my teenage older brother, Toai D Nguyen, into a ―boat‖ to escape Viet Nam in 1978 gave life to my brother‘s later, ambitious decision to petition my entire family to the U.S. in 1992. And, lastly, without my father‘s dream that one day all of his seven children would iv graduate from college on American soil, I never would have had any chance for a higher education. Special thanks go to my younger siblings, Ngoc Thinh Nguyen, Tuc D Nguyen, Hoang Tin D Nguyen, and Minh Tan D Nguyen, new immigrant college students and English as Second Language learners, who shared in my experiences. Sweet thanks go to my youngest sister, Anh Thu Nguyen, a pilot, Boeing engineer, fellow Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington, whose young attitude, readiness for challenge, and encouragement influenced me to be ―cool,‖ independent and confident. All my deepest thanks go to my loving and caring mother; I wish her to be happy always, and forever in good health because she sacrificed all her life for her husband, children, and grandchildren. I would like to confirm, though, that the ideas articulated and any mistakes in this dissertation are my own and no one else‘s. With hope, I look forward to a bright future and more challenges, responsibilities, and wonderful opportunities to embark upon after I complete my doctorate. v VIETNAMESE AMERICAN IDENTITIES: HOW RACE, GENDER, AND CLASS ARE REFLECTED IN CULTURAL, LANGUAGE AND TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS Abstract By Xuan Truong Thi Nguyen, Ph.D. Washington State University May 2011 Chair: Rory Ong This dissertation examines the intersections of race, gender, class with language, cultural and technological barriers as reflected in the experience of first and 1.5 generation Vietnamese American refugees, immigrant parents, and their children in Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the surrounding areas. Most Vietnamese interviewees in my study face barriers to upward mobility, racial conflicts outside the home, and are portrayed as ―others.‖ This study adds new knowledge by examining how technological barriers hinder Vietnamese immigrants in their struggles to overcome racial, class, and gender discrimination during acculturation. Chapter One investigates how post-racial theory is a myth and how ―model minority‖ stereotypes still haunt Asian Americans regardless of their English proficiency and technological skills. Chapter Two analyzes four case studies on how Vietnamese American women juggle work and family under socioeconomic hardships. They are subject to unfair, if not intensely exploitative, treatment in the workplace, and have very limited access to available resources. Chapter Three explores complex interactions concerning generational solidarity and conflicts between first and 1.5 generation Vietnamese immigrant parents and their children in the greater Seattle area. It explores whether the consumption of digital media technology, such as Internet vi sites, CDs, DVDs, and video games, creates more parent-child conflicts than harmonious relations for these families. Chapter Four argues the multifaceted relationships between Vietnamese American students, their parents, and teachers, impact each of them as they interact through technology and education. These students experience technology gaps during family- school interaction based on racial, socioeconomic, and parental involvement and educational status. Chapter Five examines complex ways in which the web environment affects father- children communication concerning job and gender reversal roles. My observation shows that while many Vietnamese fathers still uphold traditional gender roles in their families, they tend to encourage daughters to improve technological skills and academic achievement. My findings demonstrate that regardless of socioeconomic hardships, racial and gender inequalities, and technological barriers, many Vietnamese American parents, regardless of marital status, try to overcome these struggles to rebuild their new lives, bridge the digital divide, and be part of the mainstream society. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 THE VIETNAMESE AMERICANS: RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN ACCULTURATION ............................................................................................................... 26 VIETNAMESE AMERICAN WOMEN: WORK - LIFE STRUGGLES ................................... 55 THE NEGOTIATION OF VIETNAMESE AMERICAN IDENTITIES: CONFLICTS AND HARMONIES IN THE DIGITAL CONSUMPER CULTURE .................. 78 UNDERSTANDING VIETNAMESE AMERICAN STUDENTS‘ EXPERIENCES THROUGH THE LENS OF TECHNOLOGY ............................................... 105 VIETNAMESE AMERICAN FATHERS‘ NARRATIVES OF ACCULTURATION: PARENTING