Ong and De Genova

This week's readings are revealing on multiple levels; they at once unveil the power dynamics of transnational cultural capital and simultaneously, at times, fall into the traps they are seeking to avoid. For example, Ong tries to dispel the notion of a static "Chineseness" (111) that is employed even in academic discourses that try to dismantle orientalist rhetoric. However, earlier in her piece, she refers to the way that "Americans" react to the Chinese influx in Northern California. She says that the Chinese quest for social capital "destablizes the sense of political security for American residents" (Ong 97). Is it possible to talk about these issues without falling into the traps of the issues? Is she not, unconsciously, and most likely unwillingly, conflating whiteness with Americanness here? Even while she seeks to explore a new, transnational, globalized American identity, to uncover the layers of power hierarchy that are embedded within racial and place-based identities in America, she is pointing to a normalized, static "Americanness" that is interchangable with whiteness.

The article, for the most part, however, is very illuminating. Ong discusses multiple strategies of accumulation of cultural capital, offering insights into the ways that actions such as philanthropic donations convert into "social distinction" (93). On page 112, she defines flexible citizenship, pointing to specific tiers of the job industry that Chinese immigrants occupy and employ as a means to work their way up the (mythical?) cultural ladder in America. Similarly, De Genova talks about how "Mexican Chicago" refers to the way that Mexican-Americans interact with their own sense of "Mexican-ness" in relationship to the way that "Mexican-ness" is placed on them by the state and mainstream America's racialization of them (96). He, like Ong, addresses what "Americanness" has come to mean, and includes the concept that "Americanness" involves linguistic homogeneity, which immediately excludes many people from embodying America. While he specifically is referring to Chicano folks who speak two (or more) languages, his argument can be applied to Ong's assessment of the "Hong Kong money elite" as well.