| dc.description.abstract | This project involves anthropological field research focusing on the interrelationships among Latin American immigrant families, social service programs, and immigrant experiences in Oklahoma as part of the larger process of social and cultural incorporation into the receiving society. A secondary focus is the examination of formal and informal strategies used by families to access social services when formal services are unavailable or perceived to be unavailable. The study will test the hypothesis that "immigrants from poorer countries must daily negotiate the lines" of racial, cultural, and gender "difference established by state agencies as well as groups in civil society" (Ong 1996:737). The family as an economic, social, and political unit will be considered against the dominant ideology that calls for individual self-sufficiency as a prerequisite of ideal citizenship. More specifically, the experiences of women provide a mechanism for examining the socio-economic variables guiding the process of cultural incorporation. The primary research setting is in a large urban area, Oklahoma City, where formal programs targeting Latino groups have long been established through government and community organizations. Using ethnographic research methods, including questionnaires, informal and formal interviews, and participant-observation in the Latino community and with social service providers, research findings should contribute to understandings of the changing dynamics in Latin American immigrant families, the role of social services in the making of cultural citizens, as well as to advance dialogue on the process of globalization, transnational identities, and human rights issues. | |
