Kaleidoscopic Ethnicity ― International Migration and the Reconstruction of Community Identities in India

Returning to her ancestral home of Kerala, India, Kurien (sociology, U. of Southern California) conducted an ethnographic study of out-migration to Persian Gulf nations by tracking three communities that have sent workers there for temporary jobs since the 1970s: Ezhava Hindu, Mappila Muslim, and Syrian Christian. After analyzing factors accounting for differences in patterns of migration, earnings use, and social change in the context of ethnicity issues since colonial days, she concludes that these nouveau riche patterns were shaped by, and in turn have transformed, social status, gender behavior, and religious identity. Includes a glossary. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Prema A. Kurien is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Southern California and a research associate for the Project on Religion and the New Immigrants in Los Angeles, at the University of Southern California's Center for Religion and Civic Culture.