Conclusion: Whither Chineseness

Abstract

Robert Parks and his collaborators at the University of Chicago predicted that through a process of assimilation into the host society, ethnic minority identities would gradually disappear because ethnicity was essentially a cultural phenomenon that was variable and contingent (Cornell and Hartmann, 1998: 43). Minority groups will necessarily assimilate; drop their previous notions of identity, in favor of the culture of the dominant group. What the book in the preceding chapters argues is that minority identities, even in the face of attempts at forced integration by the state and host societies, continue to persist among the Chinese in Southeast Asia. Most analysis of minority identities in Southeast Asia emphasizes social constructionist interpretations that often deny or ignore the more basic underlying identity. In the preceding chapters, I argue that a more comprehensive understanding of Chinese identity requires a reconceptualization of race and ethnicity. The book developed a model of ethnicity that synthesizes various approaches into a single framework that incorporates historical processes and local contexts. Empirically, it examined, from a comparative perspective, the various conceptions of ethnic identity in Southeast Asia, how the Chinese make sense of and negotiate their identity.