Chinatown Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Chinatown - Essay Example However, since the economy of America got destabilized, the labor force of China became a danger to the conventional community. Racial bias and tyrannical administration brought the Chinese people from the area of gold mines to the refuge of the locality that came to be recognized as Chinatown. It is the sole ethnic cluster in the account of the United States that have been particularly deprived of entry into the nation, the Chinese people were forbidden by law to give evidence in court, to vote, to possess property, to get married to non-Chinese, to get employed in institutional agencies and to have families to join them. The survival and success of Chinatown relied to a great extent on the family unit and neighborhood compassionate clusters which served as social and political support frameworks to the new-entrants. The associates strove to convene the essential requirements of the group of people, and represented an integrated say in the struggle against prejudiced legislation pro cedure. "CHINATOWN"  presents a informative perception towards how a cluster of people have been restricted culturally, linguistically, economically and geographically throughout aggressive times and how it has grown today to turn out to be a courageous, proud and vibrant society for the â€Å"Chinese Americans† and the â€Å"greater New York†, which is known to be in Chinese as â€Å"Dai Fao† (Big City). (Joe, 1995) Today’s Chinatown Today Chinatown has turned into a distinctive neighborhood characterized by its inhabitants, its organizations and its olden times that accounts for a story of welcome, refusal and recognition. The buildings built according to the Chinese-style and the constricted busy roads provide Chinatown its identity. Beyond the golden storefronts various tenements full of aged people and fresh immigrants stressed with issues caused by years of elimination and unfairness, health problems, substandard housing and unemployment, could be found all over the city. Central part of Chinatown itself has been restricted by its competence to develop, today no longer acts as the key housing region for the Chinese population of the New York. Numerous people have settled out of the packed Chinatown to the Sunset and Richmond regions. During the year 1977, the Chinese Community Housing Corporation and the Chinatown Resource Center commenced a wide-ranging development plan determined to discover way outs for the changes in the patterns of land use. From the time of 1895 the citizens of the Chinese American community coalition has struggled in opposition to disenfranchisement of the dwellers of the Chinese origin and supported a good amount of community assignments. Population, employment and industry In the Census of 1980 it can be found that 84.5% (for a total of 124,372) of the New York region's Chinese population lived in the New York City, and the greater part of the Chinese people of the New York City are comparatively de nser in 3 counties namely the New York County (41.9 %), Queens County (31.8 %) and Kings County (21.0 %). Moreover 73 % of the Chinese people of the New York County used to reside in fourteen census bands in the Lower East Manhattan. The Chinese migrants, above all the new immigrants, have a tendency to look for

Ethnographic Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Ethnographic Review - Essay Example The author undertook the research in mid 1980’s. She travelled extensively in the region, gathering as much information about the community. The women merchants and weavers collaborated with Lynn on the research. The town of focus was Teotitlan in Oaxaca. The ethnography seeks to elaborate how the Zapotec woman has adapted to the oppressive nature of the society, and transformed to a politically and economically minded person (Lynn 3). The economic advancements have also brought about classes within the community by causing economical and societal divisions. Lynn explores ethnicity and class among the Zapotec people utilizing the views of women. From the Zapotec perspective, the construction of ethnicity has two dimensions. These include external and internal version of ethnic identity. External ethnic identity is formulated for consumption by outsiders. This is the external face shown to consumers and tourists. It emphasizes on solidarity of the community and a common claim t hat their women are the originators of the treadle loom weaving in Oaxaca. The internal version emphasizes participation in cultural institutions and a common language. It is the internal face and is only accessible to people who belong to the community (Lynn 18). The Zapotec have created their own culture which incorporates aspects of Indian and Spanish heritage. Ethnicity is one of the key elements when it comes to the global textile market. Commercial success of the Zapotec textile industry depends on the creation of an identity. The identity of the Zapotec women weavers must appear to be indigenous, traditional and simple. This has led to the attraction of the international market. This is attributed to the fact that people in the textile industry demand authenticity in their goods. The identity created by the Zapotec is unique. However, Teotitlan weavers use technology brought about by the Spanish. This represents integration of Spanish heritage among the Zapotec traditions (Ly nn 23). Hence, one can integrate traditional rituals and new technology so as generate better products. Many of Oaxaca’s textile middlemen and producers hail from Teotitlan (Lynn 35). Most of the weavers in these regions are shown to be on a contract basis. This implies that they produce textiles for intermediary brokers. These contract workers are often underpaid. This has led to the formation of cooperatives so as to market their textile products directly to the international market. These are the independent workers. There is a marked difference in the social-economic status of these two. The other issue explored in the ethnography is gender, kinship and globalization. Authority can be classified into two: respect and ritual (Lynn 47). A woman merits respect because of the type of relationship that she forges and because of the way she behaves towards the other in this relationship. Respect determines the ability of a person to hold influence and authority. It is gained by community participation, virtue and increasing age. On the other hand, ritual authority is dependent on kinship ties. Ritual kinship binds the Zapotec weaving women and the merchant in a lifelong relationship. This has led to economic exchanges characterized by interest free loans of goods, labor and cash. This further fosters economic empowerment among the Zapotec woman. The ethnography then recollects the stories of six Zapotec women (Lynn 63). One of them is Julia. She was born in 1929