The Changs Next Door to the Diazes: Remapping Race in Suburban California

Description

Examining the San Gabriel Valley, Wendy Cheng unpacks questions of how identity-especially racial identity-is shaped by place. Informed by nearly seventy interviews, Cheng argues that people's daily experiences deeply influence their racial consciousness, providing a model for considering the spatial dimensions of racial formation and the significant demographic shifts taking place across the national landscape.

Wendy Cheng is assistant professor of Asian Pacific American studies and justice and social inquiry in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. She is coauthor of A People's Guide to Los Angeles.

"What sets The Changs Next Door to the Diazes apart is Wendy Cheng's attention to the ways in which the demographic shifts over the last 40 years have made their way into the everyday lives of West San Gabriel Valley residents. Cheng has made a compelling case for the placeness of this part of the San Gabriel Valley." -James Kyung-Jin Lee, University of California, Irvine "Unpacks the innovative ways racial identity is shaped by place in the San Gabriel Valley... Delivers an in-depth portrait of race and place in the SGV." -KCET - LA Letters