Explores the way writers address the formation and fate of the contemporary American working class in an age of neoliberal globalization. Specifically, the essay examines Russell Banks's 1985 novel Continental Drift, which interweaves the stories of two characters who pull up stakes and head to Florida in search of a better life: an oil furnace repair man from New Hampshire and a young, single mother from Haiti.
Examines the ethnic identity adaptations of recently arrived immigrant children from China, Haiti and Mexico. Overall, three main types of ethnic identity categories emerged: country of origin (e.g. Chinese), hyphenated (e.g. Chinese American), and pan-ethnic (e.g. Asian or Asian American). These three ethnic identities were examined to assess their relationships with various social and structural variables.
