The dissertation consists of a critical analysis as well as the novel Tigers Born in the Same Year. The critical analysis interrogates the relationship between Asian American subject position in the United States, the history of Asian American literatures, and the conflict between inherited binary narratives and nuanced, specific story-telling. In order to move beyond such narratives as struggling with the label "model minority," wrestling between "Asian" and "American," and being "Asian enough," it is necessary to synthesize these literary and sociocultural inheritances with nuanced, specific lenses. From synthesis may arise a new space, one where rather than alienation and measuring up, there can be a sense of home. Tigers Born in the Same Year seeks language for social reckoning through personal discovery, representing a challenge to established narratives while recognizing the need to explore how they were built, the impacts they have, and what exists in the spaces beyond them. In Tigers Born in the Same Year, when 13-year Minyoung Walsh witnesses the molestation of her sister by their older brother, she must make one of three choices: stay silent, fight back, or shout. Based on these three possibilities, three lives are braided together in the novel. All three Mins must reckon with who they have become and why following the illness and passing of their father. Whether or not the Mins in these lives are ultimately able to find a sense of home will largely depend on how they have been able to reckon with themselves, and on building a selfhood through they can live, grow, and seek the choices that will lead them forward. All the while, a fourth Min wanders in an endless bardo, between lives, seeking that same sense of rest, of wholeness, of knowing she has come to the right end of her path.

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What is it like to grow up in the United States Midwest, without an accessible co-ethnic population, as a second-generation Korean American Christian? Drawing from forty-seven in-depth interviews of second-generation Korean American Christians who grew up in the Midwest, an analysis of the data reveals several aspects of their lives. First, Korean American families are moving to the Midwest for educational and economic gain, because of pre-existing networks with friends and family, and through family sponsorships. Second, this data reveals the long-term consequences of racism this population faces, causing some to desire to leave the Midwest, to internalize their oppression, or to work towards changing society through their careers and churches. Religious identity is a key factor in helping respondents process the racism they have faced. Second-generation Korean American Christians in the Midwest also find a sense of belonging, that they did not find in their neighborhoods and schools, through ethno-religious communities: Korean American Christian youth camp and/or organizations during college. Participation in these groups strengthened both their religious and ethnic identities.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 2003. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 258-264).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Calvin Theological Seminary, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-129).

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains v, 111 p. Includes bibliographical references.