Ukranian Immigrants in New York: Collision of Two Worlds (The New Americans: Recent Immigration and American Society)

Ukrainian immigrants are an example of the politics of identity and the collision of diverse identities in their adaptation to the American society. Because Ukrainians were stateless nation for many years, defining Ukrainian national identity is not easy. However, Ukrainian identity is paramount both for newly arrived immigrants (as a result of binary identity fostered in the former Soviet Union) and Diaspora members. Children of the Diaspora stress their hyphenated identity sliding between the Ukrainian and American parts. These differences manifest themselves in tensions and misunderstandings. Hence, newly arrived immigrants tend to think about themselves as rebels, while in the eyes of the Diaspora they are retreatists, including all the negative connotations entailed in this word.