Seeing Possible Futures: Khmer Youth and the Discourse of the American Dream

Abstract

In this article, I add to the critique of the myth of the American Dream by examining ethnographically the ways its dominant discourse is circulated to Khmer American middle school children of migratory agricultural workers. Drawing on social theories of discourse, I juxtapose the ideology embedded in the American Dream Discourse with the complexities of urban immigrant life. By looking at four Khmer students' worldviews and experiences, I provide a nuanced analysis of the complexities involved in the students' responses to the Discourse. The findings challenge the notion of meritocracy and suggest that educators need to investigate their role in supporting and promoting student agency. [Khmer American (Cambodian), Discourse, urban education, immigrant student populations]

Asian American Ethnic Options: How Cambodian Students Negotiate Ethnic Identities in a U.S. Urban School

“…Within the latter group of Cambodian identifiers, some students sought to disrupt the negative perceptions of Cambodian youth while others responded by generally upholding the problematic stereotypes of their ethnic group. This study adds to a small but growing body of work that complicates the view of Southeast Asian students in U.S. schools (Lee 2005; McGinnis 2009; Ngo 2009; Skilton‐Sylvestor 2002; Wright 2010) by zooming in on the process through which adolescent high school youth chose to ethnically identify, as well as the consequences of those choices.…”

Between Rights and Realities: Human Rights Education for Immigrant and Refugee Youth in an Urban Public High School

“…In the field of anthropology of education, while increasing attention is being paid to transnational civic identities (DeJaeghere and McCleary ; Dyrness ), newcomer youth (Bartlett and García ; Fine et al ; Hopkins et al ), and the in‐ and out‐of‐school processes that shape notions of identity and belonging (Abu El‐Haj ; Levinson ; McGinnis ), few ethnographic, school‐based studies of HRE exist and HRE has been undertheorized in terms of how young people make sense and meaning of their experiences, in this case, immigrant and refugee youth. The inquiry approaches of anthropology of education offer important analytical frames and methods to apply to the study of HRE especially because so little research on youth experiences, responses, and meaning making within such programs exists.…”

Empowerment and Civic Surrogacy: Community Workers' Perceptions of Their Own and Their Latino/a Students' Civic Potential

“…Schools are main sites where the civic consciousness and educational aspirations of immigrant and immigrant descendent youth and families are formed (Ramos‐Zayas ; McGinnis ). Scholarship has pointed, in the Latino case, to the key role that educators and educational professionals play in Latino/as' schooling and civic outcomes (Valdes ; Valenzuela ; Foley ; Bartlett and Garcia ).…”