Representation of the acculturation strategies of Japanese immigrants and their immediate descendants in Japanese-American prose from the second half of the 20th century

Abstract

The doctoral dissertation pertains to the critical analysis of the acculturation strategies of Japanese immigrants and their immediate descendants represented in selected works of Japanese-American prose from the second half of the twentieth century. An examination tool employed for the purpose of the study has been developed by John Widdup Berry, a cross-cultural psychologist, who has formulated acculturation theory with its strategies of assimilation, integration, separation and marginalisation. The dissertation attempts to examine cultural attitudes (preferences) of Japanese immigrants and their offspring, and their cultural practices (reflected in acculturation strategies). Postcolonial theory, which is relevant to discourse on dychotomic interrelations and liminality, is employed as an auxiliary tool.

The doctoral dissertation pertains to the critical analysis of the acculturation strategies of Japanese immigrants and their immediate descendants represented in selected works of Japanese-American prose from the second half of the twentieth century. An examination tool employed for the purpose of the study has been developed by John Widdup Berry, a cross-cultural psychologist, who has formulated acculturation theory with its strategies of assimilation, integration, separation and marginalisation. The dissertation attempts to examine cultural attitudes (preferences) of Japanese immigrants and their offspring, and their cultural practices (reflected in acculturation strategies). Postcolonial theory, which is relevant to discourse on dychotomic interrelations and liminality, is employed as an auxiliary tool.