Minority Groups' Conceptualization of Multiculturalism and Ethnic Identity in Hawai'i: The Japanese American and Polynesian Experience

Abstract

The goal of this thesis is to examine minority groups' conceptualizations of multiculturalism and ethnocultural identity in Hawaiʻi. Two of Hawaii's minority groups were studied- Japanese Americans and Polynesians. A multi-method study on ethnic identification in a multicultural society is presented. Students at the University of Hawaiʻi completed ethnic identification surveys on ethnocultural identification, attitudes toward ethnic identification, likeness to other groups, and social distance. A sample of the Japanese Americans and Pacific Islanders represented in the first phase participated in interviews where the themes about living in a multicultural society and its relation to ethnic identification were further explored. This procedure enabled valuable insights into what multiculturalism and ethnic identity mean to different groups of people and implications for future research are discussed.