Vikki S. Katz - Böcker

Complicating the common view that immigrant incorporation is a top-down process, determined largely by parents, Vikki Katz explores how children actively broker connections that enable their families to become woven into the fabric of American life. Children’s immersion in the U.S. school system and contact with mainstream popular culture enables them more quickly to become fluent in English and familiar with the conventions of everyday life in the United States. These skills become an important factor in how families interact with their local environments. Kids in the Middle explores children’s contributions to the family strategies that improve communication between their parents and U.S. schools, healthcare facilities, and social services, from the perspectives of children, parents, and the English-speaking service providers that interact with these families via children’s assistance. Katz also considers how children’s brokering affects their developmental trajectories. While their help is critical to addressing short-term family needs, children’s responsibilities can constrain their access to educational resources and have consequences for their long-term goals. Kids in the Middle explores the complicated interweaving of family responsibility and individual attainment in these immigrant families.Through a unique interdisciplinary approach that combines elements of sociology and communication approaches, Katz investigates not only how immigrant children connect their families with local institutional networks, but also how they engage different media forms to bridge gaps between their homes and mainstream American culture. Drawing from extensive firsthand research, Katz takes us inside an urban community in Southern California and the experiences of a specific community of Latino immigrant families there. In addition to documenting the often-overlooked contributions that children of immigrants make to their families’ community encounters, the book provides a critical set of recommendations for how service providers and local institutions might better assist these children in fulfilling their family responsibilities. The story told in Kids in the Middle reveals an essential part of the immigrant experience that transcends both geographic and ethnic boundaries.

Complicating the common view that immigrant incorporation is a top-down process, determined largely by parents, Vikki Katz explores how children actively broker connections that enable their families to become woven into the fabric of American life. Children’s immersion in the U.S. school system and contact with mainstream popular culture enables them more quickly to become fluent in English and familiar with the conventions of everyday life in the United States. These skills become an important factor in how families interact with their local environments. Kids in the Middle explores children’s contributions to the family strategies that improve communication between their parents and U.S. schools, healthcare facilities, and social services, from the perspectives of children, parents, and the English-speaking service providers that interact with these families via children’s assistance. Katz also considers how children’s brokering affects their developmental trajectories. While their help is critical to addressing short-term family needs, children’s responsibilities can constrain their access to educational resources and have consequences for their long-term goals. Kids in the Middle explores the complicated interweaving of family responsibility and individual attainment in these immigrant families.Through a unique interdisciplinary approach that combines elements of sociology and communication approaches, Katz investigates not only how immigrant children connect their families with local institutional networks, but also how they engage different media forms to bridge gaps between their homes and mainstream American culture. Drawing from extensive firsthand research, Katz takes us inside an urban community in Southern California and the experiences of a specific community of Latino immigrant families there. In addition to documenting the often-overlooked contributions that children of immigrants make to their families’ community encounters, the book provides a critical set of recommendations for how service providers and local institutions might better assist these children in fulfilling their family responsibilities. The story told in Kids in the Middle reveals an essential part of the immigrant experience that transcends both geographic and ethnic boundaries.

This unique “yearbook” captures the extraordinary events and effects of 2020 on children and media scholars and practitioners. Contributors reflect on how the compounding crises of 2020—the COVID-19 pandemic, international protests for racial justice, and the climate crisis—have prompted them to re-evaluate some aspects of their research, teaching, or production related to children, adolescents, and media.Crises can be opportunities for clarity, revealing creative ways to address collective challenges. This volume, which began as a special issue of Journal of Children and Media, reveals such insights. Contributors discuss how the crises of 2020:Prompted them to reconsider theories and concepts central to research on children, adolescents, and mediaFostered new priorities for how and what they teachSpurred creative ways to produce high-quality, accessible educational media for children globallyAffected their media engagement with their own children, while they researched children’s media use during social distancingWeighed more heavily on scholars and practitioners of color, and how professional communities can best respond to those challengesThese 36 international contributions reveal how children and media scholars and professionals worked through the crises of 2020, putting newfound clarity to creative use in the service of children all over the world.

This unique “yearbook” captures the extraordinary events and effects of 2020 on children and media scholars and practitioners. Contributors reflect on how the compounding crises of 2020—the COVID-19 pandemic, international protests for racial justice, and the climate crisis—have prompted them to re-evaluate some aspects of their research, teaching, or production related to children, adolescents, and media.Crises can be opportunities for clarity, revealing creative ways to address collective challenges. This volume, which began as a special issue of Journal of Children and Media, reveals such insights. Contributors discuss how the crises of 2020:Prompted them to reconsider theories and concepts central to research on children, adolescents, and mediaFostered new priorities for how and what they teachSpurred creative ways to produce high-quality, accessible educational media for children globallyAffected their media engagement with their own children, while they researched children’s media use during social distancingWeighed more heavily on scholars and practitioners of color, and how professional communities can best respond to those challengesThese 36 international contributions reveal how children and media scholars and professionals worked through the crises of 2020, putting newfound clarity to creative use in the service of children all over the world.

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of how media produced by ethnic communities, and for ethnic communities, affect identity and perceived lines of division between "us" and "others," as well as how the production and consumption of ethnic media affect the character of the larger media and societal landscapes.

Integrating key ethnic media studies with original research, this book makes a unique contribution by covering both consumers and producers of ethnic media, as well as the history of ethnic media, its role in ethnic communities, the effect of globalization, and the professional challenges faced by ethnic media journalists. A compelling discussion on the future of ethnic media concludes the book and points the way toward further research.

Key Features:

A fresh viewpoint: The book focuses on how and why ethnic and racial minorities produce and consume media for themselves—not just how they are represented in or by the media.An ecological approach: The authors explore the growth of ethnic media in different socio-political contexts and approach ethnic media from the vantage points of both the audience and the media organization.An international focus: Provides readers with comparative examples from around the world.A conceptual and practical focus: Conceptual content is relevant, timely, and connected to readers' lived experiences through real-world case studies.A student-friendly presentation: In each chapter, introductory bullet points identify the main concepts and issues, key terms are defined, student projects are suggested, and discussion questions are provided.