Revisiting Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the chronotope: Diaporas in the
novel American Born Chinese
Hsiang-ling Ophelia Huang
Abstract
Inspired by Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the chronotope, this paper conducts a document
analysis of the novel American Born Chinese in order to explore visible diasporic (Asian
American identity) and what is behind this diasporic community. Gene Luen Yang’s
American Born Chinese (2006), a graphic novel, won numerous awards, including the 2007
Michael L. Printz Award. American Born Chinese addresses issues like racial struggles,
stereotypes, assimilation, and understanding of identity. Within diaspora studies, the common
dimension of diaspora for the most part remains subordinated to the focus of spatial dispersal.
Looking beyond space and time in the production and reproduction of diaspora, the
chronotope concept treats diaspora identities as a social interactive practice of time-space,
investigating how a particular community perceives its surroundings and their voice and own
positions in the society. Diaspora in this paper then emerges as a particular form of
representation of American born Chinese’s identity and life experiences. This paper first
employs Bakhtin’s idea of chronotope to introduce and analyze visible Diasporas in the novel.
Further, the contextual analysis reveals with the image of Asian American consciously and
subconsciously. Yang’s perspectives over cultural capital, education issues, immigrant
identity, forced assimilation, transnational conflicts etc., which are woven into American Born
Chinese, so that a more comprehensive Diasporic Asian American subjectivity is presented to
the contemporary readers. This article concludes with discussions on the shifting modification
on the idea of diaspora and raises some questions for re-envisioning the concept of
chronotope that are relevant to identity, self-consciousness, membership practice for Asian
immigrants and their second generations in the USA.
Key Words: diaspora, Identity, chronotope, American Born Chinese
*****
I.
Introduction
The field of cultural identity refers to ancestry, language, culture, inherent change, evolution, and
identification with a specific racial/cultural group. After all, no matter the topic, the work of scholars in this field,
aim to investigate the dynamic, constantly moving property of both human being individuality and social
normative regulation. Because of the rapid development of international trade and technology, increasing number
of people have been migrating overseas to Taiwan because of economic, political, social reasons, and even
marriage (the so-called “foreign brides” in Taiwan); “new immigrants”, this phenomenon of the contemporary
times inevitably happened in Taiwan with over 475,000 population in past 26 years (please refer to Figure 1.).
Figure 1. Registered Population of New Immigrants, by Ministry of the Interior, Republic of China Taiwan), 19872013
Nationality
Population
Total
Vietnam
87,712
154,451
(32.5%)
Indonesia
27,708
Thailand
8,340
Philippine
7,523
Cambodia
4,428
Japan
3,943
Korea
1,151
Other
13,790
Spouse from
Main Land of China
307,876
320,709
Mainland China
(67.5%)
Hong Kong
12,833
&
Macao
Total
475,340
475,160
Accompanied by the continuously expanding number of this new immigrant (and their second generation)
population, issues relevant to new immigrants’ education started to catch researchers’ attention. However, empirical
research usually focused on immigrants’ education through their K-12 progresses. In terms of immigrants’
education in higher education remains blurred, which leads to some hypothesis and background questions behind
Foreign Spouse
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Revisiting Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the chronotope: Diaporas in the novel American Born
Chinese
this study. Such questions include the following: Under what educational conditions do immigrants perceive and
interact in current higher education context? How can we encourage teachers in higher education become more
culturally aware and competent? How can we facilitate interaction/communication between immigrants and their
teachers/peers in schools? Consequently, every time immigrants interact with others in schools, they are not only
learning or exchanging information; they are as well constructing and reconstructing a sense of who they are, how
they are view/expected, and how they connect to the world. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore new
immigrants’ identity construction and negotiation in G. L. Yang’s novel American Born Chinese, and to project the
findings in Taiwan higher education context, thus bettering new immigrants’ education quality.
II. Diaspora and Culture: Theory and Practice
Diaspora in Theory
“Diaspora” a term originally referring to Jewish dispersion among Gentiles after captivity (p.30), means a type of
forced movement of people from home to different countries (Fenton, 1999). Nowadays, scholars use diaspora to
investigate the migration itself and migrants all over the world (J.C.Ma & Cartier, 2003; Chen, 2004).
Culture Sensitivity in Theory
With of Brown’s modification (2004), culture diversity awareness (sensitivity) is theoretically defined in
terms of how one’s beliefs are constantly in movement by internalizing one’s own knowledge of others, respecting
other cultures’ contributions to society, participating in cross-cultural interactions, and nurturing equitable
behaviors in one’s self and others (Ladson-Billings, 1999; Noordhoff & Kleinfeld, 1993; Zeichner & Hoeft, 1996).
To go beyond a theoretical definition of culture diversity awareness (sensitivity) and present a more
applicable perspective on culture diversity awareness and its evaluation, (Lindsey, Robins, & Terrell, 1999) have
proposed a culture proficiency continuum of six “unique ways of seeing and responding to difference” (p.31) as
follows:
1. Cultural destructiveness: The elimination of other people’s cultures
2. Cultural incapacity: Belief in the superiority of one’s own culture and behavior that disempowers
another’s culture
3. Cultural blindness: Acting as if the cultural differences one sees do not matter or not recognizing that
there are differences among and between cultures
4. Cultural precompetence: Awareness of the limitations of one’s skills or an organization’s practices when
interacting with other cultural groups
5. Cultural competence: Interacting with other cultural groups using the five essential elements of cultural
proficiency as the standard for individual behavior and school practices: a) acceptance and respect for
difference, b) ongoing assessment of one’s own and the organization’s culture, c) attention to the
dynamics of difference, d) continuous expansion of cultural knowledge and resources and e) the adaption
of one’s values and behaviors and the organization’s policies and practices
6. Cultural proficiency: Esteeming culture; knowing how to learn about individual and organizational
culture; interacting effectively in a variety of cultural environments
Classroom diversity, as part of the context of teaching, has significant influence on both teacher beliefs
and practices (Banks & Banks, 2001; Chen & Goldring, 1994; Gay, 2000; Feinberg & Soltis, 1992). Some studies
point out the positive influences of classroom diversity on teachers’ beliefs, in that it 1) serves as an incentive to
educate all students effectively and equally, 2) encourages teachers to try new teaching strategies and approaches ,
and 3) develops teachers’ recognition that the a given teaching practice does not guarantee expected common
outcomes and may not fit all students (Gamoran, 1992; Johnson, 1990; Louis, 1990). Students as well as teachers
can benefit from classroom diversity. Research has shown that teachers with higher cultural diversity awareness are
able to exert stronger influence on students in the areas of both social and academic achievements (Brown, 2002;
Gay, 2000).
Classroom diversity may also place negative pressure on teachers (Chen & Addi, 1990; Chen & Goldring,
1994). One difficulty arises from conflicts between beliefs about diversity and the practical demands of a diverse
classroom. Confirming the results of previous studies (Chen & Addi, 1990) reports that diversity can create
difficult working conditions. On the basis of 370 teacher questionnaires, Chen and Goldering (1994) concluded
that classroom diversity creates “role conflict” (p.61). Teachers initially look on the bright side of classroom
diversity, but they gradually face instructional problems and then advocate for ability grouping. Furthermore,
diversity is unpredictable and varies in different contexts. For instance, a common explanation for pre-service
teachers’ incompetence in managing classroom diversity is that they lack experience interacting with diverse
students (Brown, 2004; Larke, 1990; Milner, et al., 2003). This argument supports the premise that there is a close
relationship between teaching competence and the personal diversity awareness that develops from ongoing
exposure to diverse student populations.
Diversity vs. Teacher Practice
A preponderance of studies focused on how to increase classroom diversity awareness (Brown, 2004;
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Hsiang-ling Ophelia Huang
Ladson-Billings, 1999; Noordhoff & Kleinfeld, 1993; Banks & Banks, 2001; Sleeter, 2001). This research shows
that multicultural concepts can be taught and a long-term schema established through 1) constructing a supportive
peer community, 2) shaping a non-confrontational teaching environment, 3) experiencing cross-cultural immersion
with facilitated explanations and follow-up reflections, and 4) connecting past experiences and multicultural
pedagogy and concepts of social justice (Banks & Banks, 2001; Brown, 2004; Sleeter, 2001). Other studies point
out the limitations of training for diversity in teacher preparatory programs. For example, Deering (1995) found
that novice teachers’ attitudes and behaviors were hardly changed by cultural diversity courses. Other studies have
found that teachers’ beliefs and behaviors are constructed early in life and are not easily amenable to change
(Flanagan, 1995; Richardson, 1996). Another major issue is accountability for diversity training in teacher
education (Deering, 1995; Ponterotto, Baluch, Greig, & Rivera, 1998).
It is not enough to provide multicultural training; attention should also be paid to the evaluation and
accountability of these training efforts (Ponterotto, et al., 1998). However, no research has gone beyond teacher
preparatory education to investigate how in-service teachers become socialized as they learn to teach diverse
student populations. According to Wu and Shaffer (1987), experience is instrumental in the shaping of belief
systems. Through experiences, beliefs are more thoughtfully developed and tend to endure longer. This argument
supports the indispensible role that experience plays in teachers’ instructional development. We are only beginning
to ask questions about the role of experiences in developing teachers’ sensitivity toward immigrants and
instructional strategies for dealing with diversity.
III. Methodology
In order to learn more about immigrants’ diaspora background and culture sensitivity which they encounter
in daily classroom and during interaction with peers, I conducted an extensive evaluation and critique of G. L.
Yang’s novel American Born Chinese to begin this inquiry; further, to contextualize this study, a textual analysis
with critical pieces and evidential excerpts were in use to answer the central research question--- How can we
define “visible diasporas” in American Born Chinese? Employing M. Bakhtin’s Chronotope concept as the
theoretical framework to analyze American Born Chinese, I then shift the focus to investigate the relationship
between time and space. Bakhtin (1981) stated that the chronotope, functioning as the primary means for
materializing time in space, emerges as a center for concretizing representation, as a force giving body to the entire
novel. All the novel’s abstract elements , philosophical and social generalizations, ideas, analyses of cause and
effect—gravitate toward the chronotope and through it take on flesh and blood, permitting the imaging power of art
to do its work. Such is the representational significance of the chronotope. (p.250-51)
IV. Results
The Novel
This study found that in American Born Chinese, a central question was raised for understanding new
immigrants’ identity construction and deconstruction-“what does it take to fit in?” In this session, I will first briefly
introduce the novel American Born Chinese. Through dividing the novel into three main domains, 1) an
immigrated boy (Jin Wang)’s life in the school, 2) the ancient fable of Monkey King, and 3) Chin-Kee, the
representative of the negative Chinese Stereotype, this section aims to identify visible diasporas through portraying
how immigrants struggle to fit in, to surf between two cultures, and to negotiate between their individually and the
normality.
? American Born Chinese, a graphic novel, has received several literary awards and honors (i.e. a National Book
Award finalist and winner of the Printz Aware and Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album); in which, Gene Luen
Yang employs a subtle way to handle racism without being preachy you over the head with a message. This novel
was considered as the art, with clever storylines, and thoughtful message about tolerance and acceptance in
schools. Addressing sexual innuendo, potty humor, fighting, and a fairly graphic scene, Yang cleverly weaves three
apparently unrelated stories into a successful executed commentary and life lessons about the trials and tribulations
of being different.
First, through the story of Jin Wang, an American-born Chinese boy, who moves with his family from San
Francisco’s Chinatown to a typically white community; Yang tackles the issue of racism which immigrants
frequently encounter in schools. Jin Wang’s life in the school was exposed to racism, bullying, and taunts; Jin
Wang’s miserable isolation finally terminated until a Taiwanese boy, Wei-Chen Sun, who moves in and they
become friends. Through this part of the novel, the level of discomfort of intercultural interaction is observed; it
vividly depicts how immigrants suffer from gaining acceptance and capitalizing on opportunities available in the
US. People (like Jin Wang’s white classmates) had experienced some dismaying moments (i.e. surprising,
shocking, and anxious) during their first interactions with people from cultures that were completely unfamiliar or
strange to them. The tension rose in teachers because they were totally unacquainted with the fixed norms and
conventional expectations embedded in students’ cultures. This finding is supported by Barna (2009), who
describes the situations when people from diverse cultures encounter each other:
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Revisiting Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the chronotope: Diaporas in the novel American Born
Chinese
There is now the possibility of confusion due to differing communication styles
or of a possible challenge to one’s worldview or a way of life. Such unknowns
place them on the alert. Their innate bodily system is at work being forever
watchful for anything might place it off balance. If the individual encounter goes
smoothly such individuals can relax, resulting in their heart rate and blood
pressure returning to normal. If not, the tension they may hold makes them ready
to react to a possible challenge (p.140).
Based on the ancient Chinese mythology of Monkey King, the second part of this novel depicts a monkey who is
not content to rule over his monkey fellows, seeking extraordinary powers in order to be accepted as a human or
even God. After undergoing numerous trials to attain godhood, the monkey learns an interesting lesson, where
Yang intentionally leaves an open-ending for readers to wonder the issue of identity crisis. In addressing the
Monkey King’s process of searching “who I was”, “who I am”, and “who I can or want to become”, it is evident
that intercultural experiences may help people ease their tensions and encourage intercultural interactions, break
existing stereotypes and cultural generalizations, and scaffold their knowledge of cultures. Intercultural experiences
increase immigrants’ capabilities to assimilate the perspectives of dominant (white) cultures and project themselves
into the expected requirement from the outside world. This finding enhances understanding of immigrants’
intersubjectivity, which was defined as interpersonal connection, symbolic interaction, and negotiation of mutual
social agreement from one subject to another (Habermas, 1970 ; Dai, 2010; Coelho, 2003; Crossley,
1996). Particularly, Monkey King’s intersubjectivity reveals in his dreaming of home (belongingness), yet he
continuously lived in exile.
Last but not least, the third story in American Born Chinese, describes Chin-Kee, a best described as the
ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who visits his cousin, Danny, a popular Anglo boy in the school. Through
carefully examining this part of the novel, here I assert to re-envision the concept of chronotope relevant to
immigrants’ identity. Configurations of time and space are deconstructed and reproduced in Chin-Kee’s language
use and his unique way of interaction/communication with others in the school. The shifting modification of
diaspora is found in human characteristic of learning from experiences; that is, immigrants are able to label
meanings to their past experiences and they draw inferences from what dominant groups (white students) say and
do. Intercultural experiences shaping immigrants’ beliefs can be illustrated by adopting the concept of “the ladder
of inference” ( Schön 1978; Argyris 1993). At the first rung of the ladder, immigrants observe and experience
what is said and done in an intercultural context, and as they move to higher rungs of the ladder, they gradually
give personal, social, cultural, and organizational meanings to their experiences. As a result, they can filter past
experiences and gradually learn how to choose useful data from their past histories to effectively foresee future
actions. In this sense, intercultural experiences not only act as the database of immigrants’ constant inferential
knowledge but also the supplementary lens for them to interpret the dominant group’s (white students) behaviors,
thus preventing them from making unwelcome behaviors due to cultural differences in class. Therefore, besides
time and space, diasporas should be discussed in terms of immigrants’ social relations. While studying diasporas,
boundaries and focus should not be placed between immigrants and the dominant groups; the interconnections
among both groups lead to uncover the displaced and relocated definition of immigrants’ belongingness (i.e. the
true identity of Chin-Kee at the end of the novel).
V. Conclusion
It is quite likely that this paper creates more questions than it does provide answers. I am woefully aware of
the number of topical intersections that remain unaddressed-for example, an examination into the role of time in
determining such visible diasporas as the existance of sterestypes, the negotiation between self and others, th the
need to eliminate traces of hiritage, and the desire to fit in. In American Born Chinese, intersubjectivity can be
established through social interactions when people are able to engage in others’ worlds and play the role of the
other (Mead, 1967). For the dominant group (white students), intercultural experiences served further as the root
of their tolerance and open-mindedness toward other cultures (Chinese), while assimilating immigrants’ struggles
to adapt to a new culture develops empathy. In the school context, various opportunities exist for immigrants to
contrast themselves with “others” and to question hidden but prevailing norms. However, while immigrants learn
to avoid being “different”, how can they maintain their origins and individuality. Yang successfully examined the
intricacy experienced by immigrants born in one country dissimilar to their parents, revealing the kind of
dissatisfaction with roots, home culture, and even heritage. To what extent, these immigrants are no longer
outsiders? Consequently, this experience of intercultural communicating/negotiating process, which facilitates to
deeper and stronger emotional bonds between immigrants and the dominant group, can be formed and consolidated
at a sufficient level to lead to an encouraging and mutually beneficial learning environment in schools.
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Revisiting Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the chronotope: Diaporas in the novel American Born
Chinese