Comparative Studies 241: Introduction to Asian American Studies

Prof. J. Wu and Steve Yao

Questions for September 26 and 28

For information about the class, including lecture outlines and handouts, see http://www.history.ohio-state.edu/people/wu.287/courses.html

1. What factors lead to the rise of the Asian American movement? How did Asian American participation in the antiwar, New Left, and women’s movements develop the Asian American movement? Explain the different ideological connotations of the terms "yellow," "Oriental," and "Asian American." Who tended to participate in pan-Asian organizations?

2. What is the relationship between Asian American Studies and the Asian American movement? What theoretical frameworks guide the development of the field? How have these approaches changed over time?

3. What does Espiritu mean by the concept of a panethnic group? What does Espiritu mean by the terms "ethnic disidentification" and "racial lumping?"

4. What are the priomordialist and the instrumentalist theories regarding ethnicity? What are the three critiques that Espiritu makes about these theories? What is her

conception or focus regarding ethnicity?

5. What does the following passage suggest about the significance of culture in relation to ethnic identity?

"Panethnic groups in the United States are products of political and social processes, rather than of cultural bonds. For these groups, culture has followed panethnic

boundaries rather than defined them." (p. 13)

6. Explain the concepts of "assimilation," "symbolic ethnicity," "interpretive memories," and "emergent ethnicity." How do they apply to Asian Americans? How do these concepts relate to Espiritu’s theories about ethnicity?

6. What is the significance of the title, Strangers from a Different Shore?

7. What is the relationship between westward expansion and Asian immigration?

8. Define the concept of a "transnational industrial reserve army" and explain its significance for Asian immigration.

9. Compare the immigration experience of the various Asian subgroups. Consider their motivations for immigrating and their backgrounds (rural versus urban,

educational level, religious beliefs, etc.). How did their experiences differ based on the size of the immigrant population, the gender composition of the group, the

international status of their native country, and their reception in the United States?

10. 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?

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

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

San Francisco State Strike

1920 Japanese-Filipino strike

multigroup enclaves

Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA)

Vietnam War

I Wor Kuen (IWK)

"triple oppression"

Naturalization Law of 1790

Page Law of 1875

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

Re Ah Moy, on Habeas Corpus

dual-wage system

contract labor system

"credit-ticket" system

Chinese Six Companies

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