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Racial and Cultural Otherness

The Lived Experience of Americans of Korean Descent

by Angela Mullin-Jackson

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Institution: Middle Tennessee State University
Advisor(s): Dr. Vicky MacLean
Degree: M.A. in Sociology
Year: 2009
Volume: 70 pages
ISBN-10: 159942343X
ISBN-13: 9781599423432

Abstract

In the sociological literature, Otherness is conceptualized as a condition of difference that is imposed upon a group by another more powerful group. In this qualitative, phenomenological study, it was determined that Americans of Korean descent do, in fact, experience Otherness and it is an integral part of their identities. However, the experience of Otherness can be divided into two separate but interrelated components: racial Otherness and cultural Otherness. It was also determined that the severity of Otherness experiences was shaped by the contexts of phenotype, socio-geographical location, and childhood.