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IbteniaticHial 8601149 Muzny, Charles Christopher THE VIETNAMESE IN OKLAHOMA CITY: A STUDY OF ETHNIC CHANGE The University of Oklahoma Ph.D. 1985 University Microfilms I nternâtions!300 N. zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. MI 48106 Copyright 1985 by Muzny, Charles Christopher All Rights Reserved THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE THE VIETNAMESE IN OKLAHOMA CITY: A STUDY OF ETHNIC CHANGE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By CHARLES CHRISTOPHER MUZNY Norman, Oklahoma 1985 THE VIETNAMESE IN OKLAHOMA CITY; A STUDY OF ETHNIC CHANGE A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY By ^ )U U. UluMLjhz-. (i) Copyright by Charles Christopher Muzny 1985 All Rights Reserved 111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I should like to express my deepest appreciation to William E. Bittle for serving as the chair of my committee and for encouraging me throughout the dissertation research and writing. I would also like to acknowledge the careful attention given to the research project by Robert Hill, Joseph Whitecotton, Stephen I. Thompson, and Sidney Brown. In addition to serving on the dissertation committee, each provided assistance and insight into the field work and the writing of the dissertation. I should also like to express my appreciation to Nguyen Anh Nga, Vuong Gia Thuy, and Le Xuan Khoa for helping me to better understand Vietnamese personality and culture. I should finally like to acknowledge my appreciation to my Vietnamese informants, students, and co-workers in Oklahoma City, whose cooperation made this study possible. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................... iv LIST OF FIGURES .......................... vii ABSTRACT ................................. viii Chapter I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDY OF AMERICAN ETHNIC GROUPS . 1 Introduction ................... 1 Recent Developments ............. 2 Historical and Sociological Approaches ................... 6 Anthropological Approaches . 10 The Present Study ............... 19 Methodology ................... 21 II. VIETNAMESE IN THE RECENT LITERATURE ..................... 24 Camp Studies ................... 24 Subsequent Studies ............. 30 III. VIETNAMESE CULTURAL BACKGROUND . 39 Historical Influences ........... 39 Philosophy and Religion ......... 42 The F a m i l y ..................... 44 C o n c l u s i o n ..................... 60 IV. ENTRY INTO THE F I E L D ........ 62 Experience with the Vietnamese . 62 Data Collected .......... 64 V. EMIGRATION EXPERIENCE ........... 68 VI. IMMEDIATE POST-IMMIGRATION EXPERIENCE ..................... 85 VI Chapter Page VII. THE PUBLIC S E C T O R ............... 95 E m p l o y m e n t ..................... 96 E d u c a t i o n....................... 99 Employment Patterns ............. 103 R e s i d e n c e.......................... 109 Public Sector Associations . 116 C o n c l u s i o n ........................ 119 VIII. THE PRIVATE S E C T O R ................ 121 Language Usage ................. 123 F o o d ....................... 128 Recreation and Entertainment . 132 The Extended Family ............... 136 The Household as an Economic U n i t ............................ 140 Role of Women ......................144 Role of M e n ........................ 151 Role of Children ................. 155 Courtship and Marriage ......... 161 Family Ceremonial Life ........ 169 C o n c l u s i o n ........................ 186 IX. GROUP ORGANIZATION ............. 189 X. SUMMARY OF THE S T U D Y .............. 203 The Individual ....................206 The G r o u p .......................... 211 C o n c l u s i o n ........................ 213 BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................. 216 APPENDIX ................................... 231 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Types of Ethnic Change ........ 15 2. Initial Vietnamese Relocation in 1975 28 3. Southeast Asian Refugee Intake . 30 4. Characteristics of Vietnamese Households in Oklahoma City . 72 5. Le Hoi A l t a r .................... 171 Vll THE VIETNAMESE IN OKLAHOMA CITY; A STUDY OF ETHNIC CHANGE BY: CHARLES C. MUZNY MAJOR PROFESSOR: WILLIAM E. BITTLE, Ph.D. This study was concerned with the investigation of individual changes and group organization development among Vietnamese in Oklahoma City. A background of Vietnamese culture was presented to establish pre-emigration behaviors, values, and traditions. Individual emigration experiences were presented to distinguish the three periods of Viet namese arrival and to identify differences between life in Vietnam and the United States. This approach facilitates the examination of indivi dual changes in behaviors and values since immigration. The investigation of group organizations among Vietnamese also demonstrates the significance of the host culture in deter mining the form of ethnic associations in Oklahoma City. The comparison of information concerning life in Vietnam and data collected in Oklahoma City reveals changes which the Vietnamese have undergone. Varying rates for in dividual changes inside and outside the home are identified. This demonstrates different changes in public and private viii IX areas of life and attests to the importance of studying be haviors and values in the investigation of change. THE VIETNAMESE IN OKLAHOMA CITY: A STUDY OF ETHNIC CHANGE CHAPTER I THEORETICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDY OF AMERICAN ETHNIC GROUPS Introduction Since the fall of Saigon, ten years ago, and the sud den influx of approximately 140,000 Vietnamese in 1975, the interest in Vietnamese people has been steadily declining. Only recently, with the tenth anniversary of American with drawal from Southeast Asia, the media again increased cover age of the Vietnamese. During the first phase of exodus, there was a popular campaign which appealed to American patriotism to assist in sponsoring Vietnamese refugees and to help our former allies adjust to their new lives in America. Many churches, social groups, and American fami lies sponsored Vietnamese in 1975. Following this initial involvement there has been little cultural information provided to the public about Vietnamese. Excluding the success stories of Vietnamese children becoming valedictor ians, a few reports on Vietnamese Boat People in refugee camps, and the well known gunbattle between the Vietnamese and irate American fishermen, there exists a paucity of in formation about the daily life of Vietnamese in the United States. From working with the Vietnamese since 1978, I realized that the 1975 evacuation was merely the beginning of the continuing account of America's newest Asian ethnic group. Throughout the years thousands of additional Viet namese have continued to emigrate to America, and now the original 1975 population is actually a small portion of the total number of Vietnamese in the United States. After working with Vietnamese and observing their lives in Okla homa City for several years, the questions arose; are the Vietnamese different from other American ethnic groups?; how have other American ethnic groups been studied?; and are these other approaches meaningful when applied to Viet namese? The purpose of this study is to begin to find answers to these and other questions about Vietnamese life in the new homeland. Recent Developments The first large numbers of Vietnamese were admitted to the United States in 1975, and this pattern of admission has continued up to the present time. Within their national boundaries, Vietnamese individuals were members of the larger Vietnamese nation and culture. Upon their departure from Vietnam and their arrival in the United States, the Vietnamese were no longer the dominant culture but were a minority population

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