Contemporary Asian American Experience, The: Beyond the Model Minority

by Fong, Timothy P.

• ISBN13: 9780130918345
• ISBN10: 0130918342
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div

Summary

This book examines the contemporary history, culture, and social relationships that form the fundamental issues confronted by Asians in America today. Comprehensive, yet concise, it focuses on abroad range of issues, and features a unique comparative approach that analyzes how race, class, and gender intersect throughout the contemporary Asian American experience. Chapter topics cover the history of Asians in America; emerging communities, changing realities; Asian Americans and educational opportunity; workplace issues; anti-Asian violence; Asian Americans and the media; Asian American families and identities; and political empowerment. For anyone interested in an understanding and awareness beyond the simplistic stereotype of the "model minority"--through the exposure to important concerns of Asian American groups and communities.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction: Changing Asian America	1	(1)
Visibility and Invisibility	1	(8)
Who Are Asian Americans?	5	(4)
Organization of the Book	9	(1)
Perspective of the Book	10	(2)
Comments on the Second Edition	12	(1)
Notes	13	(2)
The History of Asians in America	15	(24)
Visibility and Invisibility	15	(10)
Immigration	16	(3)
Anti-Asian Laws and Sentiment	19	(2)
World War II and the Cold War Era	21	(4)
Post-1965 Asian Immigrants and Refugees	25	(10)
The 1965 Immigrants Reform Act	25	(4)
Global Economic Restructuring	29	(2)
The Vietnam War and Southeast Asian Refugees	31	(4)
Conclusion	35	(1)
Notes	35	(4)
Emerging Communities, Changing Realities	39	(38)
Visibility and Invisibility	39	(5)
Settlement Patterns	44	(6)
Nativity and Geographic Distribution	44	(2)
New Communities	46	(4)
Asian American Self Employment and Consumer Buying Power	50	(10)
Asian American Consumer Buying Power	58	(2)
Socioeconomic Profile	60	(12)
The ``Model Minority Myth''	60	(10)
Beyond the Model Minority	70	(2)
Conclusion	72	(1)
Notes	73	(4)
The Right to Excel: Asian Americans and Educational Opportunity	77	(40)
Visibility and Invisibility	77	(4)
Why Asian Americans Do So Well in School	81	(8)
Nature/Genetics	81	(3)
Nurture/Culture	84	(3)
Relative Functionalism	87	(2)
Educational Issues Facing Asian Americans	89	(12)
Limited English Proficiency (LEP)	89	(4)
Parental Pressure and Stress	93	(4)
Racial Tensions and Violence in Schools	97	(4)
Backlash in Higher Education	101	(10)
Alleged Quotas in Higher Education	102	(3)
Problems with Subjectivity	105	(2)
The Admissions Controversy Continues	107	(2)
Broad Enrollment Trends in Higher Education	109	(2)
Conclusion	111	(1)
Notes	112	(5)
Workplace Issues: Beyond Glass Cellings	117	(34)
Visibility and Invisibility	117	(1)
Glass Ceiling	118	(9)
Science, Engineering, and High Technology	119	(4)
Federal Government Employment	123	(4)
Asian Americans Fighting Back	127	(6)
Two Celebrated Court Cases	128	(5)
Language Rights	133	(5)
Accent Discrimination	133	(3)
``English-Only'' Rules	136	(2)
Asian American Working-Class and Labor Movement	138	(8)
Community-Based Labor Organizing	140	(6)
Conclusion	146	(1)
Notes	147	(4)
Anti-Asian Violence: Breaking the Silence	151	(37)
Visibility and Invisibility	151	(2)
Anti-Asian Violence	153	(8)
Verbal Assaults	154	(4)
Physical Violence	158	(3)
Contributing Factors to Anti-Asian Violence	161	(12)
Anti-Immigrant and Perpetual Foreigner Sentiment	161	(1)
Economic Competition	162	(3)
Move-In Violence	165	(2)
Poor Police-Community Relations	167	(6)
Asian American and African American Relations	173	(8)
History of Korean-Black Tensions	176	(3)
The Aftermath	179	(2)
Conclusion	181	(2)
Notes	183	(5)
Charlie Chan No More: Asian Americans and Media Images	188	(33)
Visibility and Invisibility	188	(1)
History of Asian American in Motion Pictures	189	(9)
The Controversy over ``Rising Sun''	196	(2)
Asian Americans on Television	198	(8)
Asian Americans on TV in the 1990s and the New Millennium	202	(4)
Asian Americans in the Theater	206	(5)
Asian Americans in Sports	211	(6)
Conclusion	217	(1)
Notes	217	(4)
More Than ``Family Values'': Asian American Families and Identities	221	(48)
Visibility and Invisibility	221	(1)
Asian American Families	222	(9)
Changing Roles of Asian American Families	238
Asian American Identity and Mental Health	231	(10)
Asian American Ethnic Identity	232	(3)
Stressors on Asian American Mental Health	235	(4)
Underutilization of Services	239	(2)
New Asian American Families and Identities	241	(23)
Interracial Marriage	241	(3)
Why Do Asian Americans Interracially Marry?	244	(5)
Biracial and Multiracial Asian Americans	249	(5)
Amerasians	254	(2)
Gay and Lesbian Asian Americans	256	(4)
Korean Adoptees in the United States	260	(4)
Conclusion	264	(1)
Notes	264	(5)
The Final Frontier: Asian American Political Empowerment	269	(36)
Visibility and Invisibility	269	(4)
History of Asian American Political Activism	273	(5)
Asian American Political Empowerment 1970s-Present	278	(13)
Asian Americans in Electoral Politics	281	(4)
Who Votes, Who Does Not, and Why	285	(6)
Increasing Political Clout	291	(5)
New Political Strategies	296	(3)
A Reevaluation Is Needed	297	(2)
Conclusion	299	(2)
Notes	301	(4)
CONCLUSION: COMING FULL CIRCLE	305	(9)
Visibility and Invisibility	305	(1)
Beyond the Model Minority	306	(1)
New Directions in Asian American Studies	307	(2)
The Next Steps	309	(3)
Speak Out, Act Up	309	(1)
Embrace Diversity and Change	309	(1)
Work Together and with Others	310	(1)
Think Globally, Act Locally	310	(1)
New Thinking and Teaching	311	(1)
Conclusion	312	(1)
Notes	312	(2)
Bibliography	314	(31)
Index	345

Excerpts

This book is intended primarily for college-level courses, but is written in a clear and direct narrative form that can easily reach a broader audience. InThe Sociological Imagination(1959), C. Wright Mills chides authors for what he calls "socspeak," the complex writing style commonly used in the social sciences. Mills complains that in academic circles, anyone who writes "in a widely intelligible way" is belittled for being "a mere journalist."1 As a social scientist, I know many colleagues who criticize the journalistic writing style for being too simple. As a former journalist, I also know that journalists criticize academic writing style for being too abstract. Despite these criticisms of each other, social scientists and journalists do share a common goal: increasing understanding of the issues confronting today's society. You will find the academic/journalistic approach in this book refreshing because it combines the rigor of scholarship with the accessibility of journalism. It will also help you to better appreciate the significance of the research work of scholars from a variety of academic disciplines. The Contemporary Asian American Experiencehas several major objectives. The first is to provide you with a sound academic background to better comprehend the history, culture, and social relationships that form the fundamental issues Asians in America confront today. This book analyzes the interrelationship of race, class, and gender and explores how these factors have shaped the experiences of Asian Americans. I hope that you will arrive at a new level of understanding and awareness beyond the simplistic stereotype of the "model minority" through exposure to important concerns of Asian American groups and communities. Second, this book offers a balanced and comparative analysis of the different Asian ethnic groups, newer immigrants, and American-born Asians. The Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos were among the earliest immigrants from Asia, but I also discuss concerns of the newer immigrants such as the Koreans, Asian Indians, and Southeast Asian refugees, who have come in large numbers to the United States since 1965. With this in mind, I organized the chapters by specific issues rather than by individual ethnic group. In addition, the book is balanced in terms of strong representation of how the various topics pertain to and impact Asian American women. Third, I analyze competing aspects of the Asian American experience. Most of the early research on Asian Americans focused on the "positive" cultural aspects of a strong work ethic and filial piety, amazing success in education, and enviable economic upward mobility. Since the 1970s, however, an increasing number of Asian American scholars have challenged what they believe is an overemphasis on anecdotal evidence and superficial statistical data. They have focused on issues of prejudice and discrimination, underemployment, educational problems, family and intergenerational conflict, and a host of other social concerns intended to provide a comprehensive picture of the Asian American experience. Fourth, this book compares and contrasts various theoretical perspectives throughout the text where appropriate, a unique approach, but necessary given the diversity of issues covered. For example, I discuss different theories on immigration, immigrant adaptation and assimilation, ethnic entrepreneurship, educational achievement, ethnic identity, interracial marriage, and political incorporation, among others. Within this, recent Asian immigrants greatly differ from earlier immigrants in socioeconomic background and adjustment to American society. Clearly there is a need to review traditional concepts and theories, which are primarily based on historical experiences. Lastly, an up-to-date collection of immigration, demographic, socioeconomic, and educational data on Asian Americans is included. Liberal use of tables highlights this