History 346: Introduction to Asian American History

Prof. J. Wu

Reading Questions Week 2

Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore, pp. 77-176.

1. Compare the work, family, and community experiences of Asian Americans on the mainland versus Hawaii.

2. Describe the structure of plantation society. What does Takaki mean by plantation paternalism? What is its significance?

3. Compare the strike of 1909 with the strike of 1920. What other strategies did Asian Americans employ to resist unfair treatment in Hawaii?

4. Explain Takaki’s statements:

a. "The ‘Chinese laundryman’ was an American phenomenon."

b. "A uniquely Chinese-American social institution, the store was a center of life in the Chinese community."

What do these statements suggest about the transmission or transformation of culture?

5. Compare the experiences of Chinese immigrants in the southern, eastern, and western regions of the United States.

6. Why do certain Asian American groups pursue or not pursue ethnic enterprise as a strategy? How does ethnic enterprise vary among the Asian American

communities? What support networks or systems exist to promote ethnic enterprise?

7. Identify the terms and explain their significance for Asian Americans

Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association

Organic Act of 1900

pidgin English

foreign miners’ license tax

dual-wage system

anti-miscegenation laws

People v. Hall

The Chinese Six Companies

1868 Burlingame Treaty

1870 Civil Rights Act

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