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Nicholas Lopez
Jodi Eisenberg
Muir 50
January 22, 2014
Research Proposal Draft 1
What makes us who we are? What makes us unique? A driving force in the field of
psychology is the idea of nature versus nurture. That is, who you are biologically versus how you
have been/are raised, which affects your behaviorism. The comparison of our innate qualities and
their effect on our behavior (or vice versa) tells us a lot about who we are and possibly who we
might become. So which is more influential? Its postulated that nurture may be the more
influential force, for it cultivates who we are biologically and regulates who we are biologically.
Its easy to see that different countries have different cultures. Different cultures have different
values which means that children all across the world are raised with different, possibly clashing,
values .As a result, we end up with expectations about how certain people are supposed to
behave and how we, ourselves, are supposed to behave. So, what happens when people are
removed from their nurturing environments and placed into other ones? What happens when you
see a little Chinese girl sitting at a restaurant with African-American parents? My research paper
will aim to analyze international adoption into America and its effect on racial and cultural
identity to see how it affects American culture. Do these children want to get in touch with their
heritage or will they simply embrace American culture? Similarly, what roles do the adoptive
parents play in this issue, if at all?
Nowadays, there are plenty of resources for one to get in touch with their inner Mexican,
Korean, or any other race, but this wasnt always the case. An idea of colorblindness was
prevalent amongst adoptive parents of the last century. They didnt want their adopted children
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to feel different or alienated from the rest of the family. This didnt turn out so well. Instead of
dealing with the issue at a young age, foreign adoptees struggled with racial and cultural identity
as adults. To explore all dimensions of this issue, I will gain an understanding of what causes the
need for foreign adoption (i.e. Chinas One-child policy), how the issue has been/is approached
from the parents perspective, and how the children experience this identity crisis as children,
adolescents, and even adults by using documentary film, testimonials from parents and adoptees,
and written works on relevant topics, such as racial identity in the United States, competency
with respect to adoption, as well as what makes a nation a nation.
As of right now, in terms of primary sources, I have a documentary on adoption and
Chinas One-child policy and a book of testimonials from adoptive parents sharing their stories
of both the adoption process and life as adoptive parents. I intend on using my secondary sources
to better analyze my primary sources in order to gain a better understanding of the struggle to
gain a sense of racial and cultural identity. I want to first touch on the reasons for transracial
adoption (i.e. legislation, social issues, etc.), then transition into parenting, and finally talk about
the experiences of the adoptees, although I may touch on these experiences before addressing
parenting.
My goal is to study transracial adoption and the struggles that both the parents and
children go through in order to determine its effect on American culture both now and in the
future. Furthermore, I want everyone, not just adoptees, who feel alienated because of a racial
and cultural identity crisis to be able to take from this essay a sense of hope and to know that
they are not alone in their struggle.