What does it mean to be an Asian-American in the United States today? Are Asian-Americans considered "honorary whites" or forever thought of as "foreigners?"

Mia Tuan examines the salience and meaning of ethnicity for later generation Chinese- and Japanese-Americans, and asks how their concepts of ethnicity differ from that of white ethnic Americans. She interviewed 95 middle-class Chinese and Japanese Californians and analyzes the importance of ethnic identities and the concept of becoming a "real" American for both Asian and white ethnics. She asks her subjects about their early memories and experiences with Chinese/Japanese culture; current lifestyle and emerging cultural practices; experiences with racism and discrimination; and attitudes toward current Asian immigration.

Mia Tuan is a professor of Education Studies in the University of Oregon.

Mia completed her role as interim dean of the college Sept. 1, 2014, having previously served as associate dean of the Graduate School, a professor in the Department of Education Studies, and the director of CoDaC. Her research focuses on racial and ethnic identity development, Asian transracial adoption, and multicultural organizational development. She received her BA (Sociology, magna cum laude) from UC Berkeley and MA/PhD (Sociology) from UCLA. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and has lived in Oregon since 1996.