Aging Across Borders: The Case of Older Taiwanese Immigrants and their Return Counterparts

This dissertation seeks to enrich scholarly and public understandings of the graying of the post-1965 immigrants. It addresses the ways in which older migrants who arrived to the U.S. at an earlier life stage make sense of changes and challenges when transitioning to a later life stage. Specifically, I compare and analyze how aging immigrants in the U.S. as well as returnees combine different material and cultural resources from their home and host country to manage various types of support that they need and desire. The data used in this study was collected from interviews with 56 immigrants and 52 returnees as well as participant observation during 14 months of field work in both the U.S. and Taiwan. Drawing on these data, I argue that aging migrant populations critically interpret and apply concepts of tradition and modernity in order to manage life transitions and social changes in a national and transnational setting.