Toulmin Argument Claim: For Minorities

Toulmin Argument Claim: For minorities in the United States, ethnicity is an inextricable part of personal identity. Assimilating into the dominant culture entails sacrificing an integral part of the self. Moreover, assimilation often means severing ties to one's community of origin. "In America, trying to forget about being a minority can still get you in as much trouble as being one," (p. 4). Subclaim 1 and Support: Ethnic identity may be an artificial construction in American culture. Most of the supports in Chang's essay derive directly from Eric Liu.

Liu argues that identifying as Asian-American is a choice, and may also be entirely unnecessary. Referring to Liu as "one of Asian America's biggest stars" adds credibility to this specific support (p. 3). Chang also uses Liu to show how personal identity may be seriously conflicted for Asian-Americans who have historically enjoyed wealth and power. Subclaim 2 and Support: One important subclaim of the argument is that Asian-Americans struggle with ethnic identity different than other minority groups in the United States.

Citing Liu allows the author to explore the issue of ethnic identity from the specific perspective of Asian-America. The author also draws from personal experience late in the essay to support the claim that ethnicity and identity are inextricably entwined even for groups that have assimilated into the dominant culture. Chang also notes that while most Asian-Americans have not experienced discrimination to the extent that African-Americans have, discrimination is still endemic. As support for the subclaim, Chang notes that early Asian immigrants were culled from a professional demographic.

The Asian-American experience is qualitatively different from that of other minority groups in the United States and most specifically African-Americans. Therefore, Asian-American identity construction is experienced differently from the identity construction of other non-white groups. Specific Supports: Chang uses a few statistics as specific support such as by stating that "half of all Asian-Americans intermarry," and that Asian-Americans have the highest median income of all ethnic groups in the United States including Caucasians (p. 3). Supports are both factual and opinionated. Warrants: Warrants include the following. First, race exists.

Chang claims that American culture is race-conscious even if race does not exist scientifically. Second, ethnicity and/or race are integral to identity formation. Most Americans are conscious of their race or ethnic identity and use that to create in-group relationships and to define themselves. The extent to which Americans are race-conscious may be far greater than in other societies because of the unique immigrant experience in America. Third, American society assumes a dichotomy between assimilation and ethnocentrism.

Finally, many Americans may assume that Asians are a "model minority." Rebuttal: Citing Liu, Chang shows that many scholars believe that race does not exist and that race is entirely contrived. It may indeed be important to transcend race and.