Introduction to Asian American Studies ETHN 14: Introduction to Asian American Studies Department of Ethnic Studies & Asian American Studies Program California State University, Sacramento Week 14 Session 1 Final Exam Preparation Session 1

Last Time Demystify exams by identifying important dimensions of well crafted essays, discussing common errors, and presenting strategies for successful preparation and execution. Each of you has a powerful mind and can be successful in classes like this one and in college in general. But many of you need practice on how to put these ideas to good use during an exam or for an analytical/persuasive paper. How students do on assessments of their learning such as exams, papers, and projects reflects a number of influences: commitment, time management, motivation, levels of academic preparedness, etc.

Today Go over the format of the final exam. Examine two final exam topics and practice interpreting the prompt, translating the prompt into a thesis.

Final Exam Format Worth 25 points or 25% of your final grade Choice of two essay topics (shared today), one on the politics of API representations in the media and the other on the politics of APIs and education. (15 points) Two ID terms from Part III lectures (last six weeks of class). You will not know these ahead of time. (5 points each) Make sure to bring in your midterm exam grade rubric for improvement points. Whatever improvements are made in each of the three areas—ideas, organization and coherence, and support—that will be added to your midterm exam score.

Skill Areas Evaluated Your work was evaluated in three areas: Ideas – How well you responded to the topic, how well you interpreted the prompt into an effective thesis. Organization & Coherence – How well you structure and build your argument, how well you use logic, how well you guide your reader through your reasoning. Support – How well you convince, how well you select, describe, and analyze evidence to support your argument.

Topic 1: Media Representations In the 2008 edition of his book, The Contemporary Asian American Experience, Professor Fong wrote the following: “Today’s images of Asian Americans in popular culture have improved and provide more breadth than in the past. This is a contrast from earlier days when popular images of Asians and Asian Americans were predominantly mediated by non-Asian studio executives and writers. The earlier characterizations were often quite negative and demeaning” (pp. 192-193). Since 2008, structural changes to popular media have altered how racialized, gendered, and classed images are funded, produced, transmitted, and debated. Given these changes, does Dr. Fong’s observation still hold true? Develop and defend a thesis that responds to this question and explores the history of API media representations to present day.

Essay Topic 2: Politics of Education On October 8, 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed Assembly Bill AB-176 (Bonta) to create new state guidelines for collecting disaggregated demographic data on APIs with regard to health and education. Since then, numerous advocate groups in the API community have expressed disappointment noting that the veto reinforces stereotypes and disadvantages among some API groups. Develop and defend a thesis that explains why the panethnic political identity “Asian and Pacific Islander American” can be both helpful and challenging for advocates of API equity in education.

(1) Ideas When you are provided with a prompt that requires you to develop a thesis and make an argument, your thesis should include all of the ideas in the prompt. Incorporating similar vocabulary into your thesis is a good strategy. Topic: Sociopolitical Context of API Immigration Asian American Studies scholars routinely situate the emergence of the umbrella term Asian and Pacific Islander American, or “API,” within an historical context of national expansion, colonization, and marketplace dominance. As a result, a central dimension of the collective Asian and Pacific Islander American experience is strong similarities in the sociopolitical context of arrival to and settlement in the United States among different national origin groups. Develop and defend a thesis that characterizes this shared experience with regard to U.S. national interest, labor market conditions, and immigration policy.

Translating the Prompt & Formulating a Thesis Sample Topic Asian American Studies scholars routinely situate the emergence of the umbrella term Asian and Pacific Islander American, or “API,” within an historical context of national expansion, colonization, and marketplace dominance. As a result, a central dimension of the collective Asian and Pacific Islander American experience is strong similarities in the sociopolitical context of arrival to and settlement in the United States among different national origin groups. Develop and defend a thesis that characterizes this shared experience with regard to U.S. national interest, labor market conditions, and immigration policy.

Ideas in the prompt (1) The term API is linked to U.S. national expansion, colonization, and marketplace dominance. (2) Individual API groups experienced similar conditions as they immigrated to and settled in the U.S. (3) These conditions are related to or reflect U.S. national interest, labor conditions, and immigration policy.

Thesis: The term API represents people that came to the United States from Asia. These groups faced hardships that many take for granted. Thesis: Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (API) came to the United States in search of the American Dream. Each of the API groups that immigrated to the U.S. before the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act arrived because of U.S. national interest, faced tough labor conditions, and were excluded through immigration policies. Thesis: The arrival of early Asian immigrants to the United States coincided with and fueled American political and economic expansion. Three groups—Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos—illustrate the manner in which inhumane labor conditions, racial discrimination, and exclusionary immigration policies motivated individual ethnic groups to band together under the term “API.”

Topic 1: Media Representations In the 2008 edition of his book, The Contemporary Asian American Experience, Professor Fong wrote the following: “Today’s images of Asian Americans in popular culture have improved and provide more breadth than in the past. This is a contrast from earlier days when popular images of Asians and Asian Americans were predominantly mediated by non-Asian studio executives and writers. The earlier characterizations were often quite negative and demeaning” (pp. 192-193). Since 2008, structural changes to popular media have altered how racialized, gendered, and classed images are funded, produced, transmitted, and debated. Given these changes, does Dr. Fong’s observation still hold true? Develop and defend a thesis that responds to this question and explores the history of API media representations to present day.

Organization & Coherence Analytical essays require several paragraphs. Some students provided essays that were one paragraph long. Some were two. By organizing your ideas into paragraphs, you are guiding your reader through your thinking. You are showing that you are being deliberate about organizing your thoughts. The structure of your argument tells your professor that you are prepared. You know the material in such a way that you can manipulate course ideas into arguments, critiques, opinions, statements, observations, and so on. Well crafted topic sentences are key. Typically, your professor can tell the level of preparation for and sophistication of thinking in your essay by reading just the topic sentences. If you know the essay topics beforehand, it helps to memorize these before heading into your exam.

The United States wanted to have power in the world and Asian American immigrants such as the Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos provided cheap labor. The Chinese were the first. They came from the same are in China and were poor and uneducated. They were sojourner immigrants who created Chinatowns in the United States. These towns were run by clan-based groups and other organizations such as the Six Companies. The Chinese were heavily discriminated against in numerous ways. Ordinances were passed that basically kept them segregated from other ethnic groups and confined in the enclaves that we know today as Chinatowns. Chinese who wanted to mine gold were discriminated against by state law. The Foreign Miners Tax was a tax aimed at minorities (Mexicans first then the Chinese) that was so high it discouraged non-whites from mining gold therefore limiting the competition. Eventually, the Chinese were excluded from immigrating to the U.S. through the Chinese Exclusion Act. And this relates to the ways other Asians were eventually excluded. The Japanese were basically excluded through the Gentlemen’s Agreement which was an understanding between the U.S. and Japanese governments. Japanese and Filipinos also did hard labor that Americans didn’t want to do. But the Filipinos had a somewhat different story because they were kind of part of the United States after they were taken over by the U.S. after the Spanish-American War. This meant that they could come to the United States when immigrants from other countries like China and Japan could not. Filipinos came over and worked in low-paying jobs like Carlos Bulosan describes in America is in the Heart. Today, we don’t really know about these hardships and we tend to take them for granted because history of APIs is not taught very often in schools.

Sample 1 The United States wanted to have power in the world and Asian American immigrants such as the Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos provided cheap labor. The Chinese were the first. They came from the same are in China and were poor and uneducated. They were sojourner immigrants who created Chinatowns in the United States. These towns were run by clan-based groups and other organizations such as the Six Companies. The Chinese were heavily discriminated against in numerous ways. Ordinances were passed that basically kept them segregated from other ethnic groups and confined in the enclaves that we know today as Chinatowns. Chinese who wanted to mine gold were discriminated against by state law. The Foreign Miners Tax was a tax aimed at minorities (Mexicans first then the Chinese) that was so high it discouraged non-whites from mining gold therefore limiting the competition. Eventually, the Chinese were excluded from immigrating to the U.S. through the Chinese Exclusion Act. And this relates to the ways other Asians were eventually excluded. The Japanese were basically excluded through the Gentlemen’s Agreement which was an understanding between the U.S. and Japanese governments. Japanese and Filipinos also did hard labor that Americans didn’t want to do. But the Filipinos had a somewhat different story because they were kind of part of the United States after they were taken over by the U.S. after the Spanish-American War. This meant that they could come to the United States when immigrants from other countries like China and Japan could not. Filipinos came over and worked in low-paying jobs like Carlos Bulosan describes in America is in the Heart. Today, we don’t really know about these hardships and we tend to take them for granted because history of APIs is not taught very often in schools.

Sample 2 The Chinese were the first group to come to the United States from Asia in large numbers. They came because of the Gold Rush. These immigrants were sojourners. This means that they came with the goal of making money and returning home. The Chinese were discriminated against in numerous ways. They were heavily taxed in ways that were unfair and that targeted them. The Foreign Miners Tax made it so that they had to pay heavy fines for mining in California. The taxes and punishments made it so that they could not earn a decent living. Many of these immigrants could not afford to go home and some were too ashamed that they did not want to return anyway. Eventually, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 ended immigration from China. The common issue with the taxation and the exclusion Act was that White Americans were able to find ways to make it so that Chinese were not competition for jobs and wealth. Japanese immigrants came to the United States also to make money. Some went to the Hawaiian sugar plantations and others came to the west coast of the U.S. Like the Chinese, the Japanese came here for a better life. Unlike the Chinese, the Japanese had a government that looked out for its immigrants. When the Japanese came over originally, they were mainly men. They were treated poorly and Alien Land Act of 1913 barred Japanese and other groups from owning agricultural lands in California. Its goal was to discourage Japanese from immigrating. Eventually, particularly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II, Japanese were no longer allowed to immigrate to the United States. This was also after the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 which was an understanding between the U.S. government and the Japanese government that said that Japan would no longer send immigrants. This was related to issues with the San Francisco School Board and segregation of Japanese American children into schools with Chinese American children.

Sample 3 Early Asian and Pacific Islander American groups each experienced harsh labor conditions related to American expansion. Prior to 1965, Asian and Pacific Islander American immigrants worked in some of the most challenging environments in the United States. The Chinese came at the height of Manifest Destiny, a period of westward expansion during which the United States claimed territory west of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. These early immigrants came as sojourners during the Gold Rush. They intended to come to “Gold Mountain,” strike it rich, and return to China wealthy. Instead, they were forced to work in hard labor situations such as agriculture, laundries, and railroads. Japanese and Filipino immigrants also had to do similar types of work. Together, these and other minority groups helped settle the California land after the nation seized the territory by digging irrigation systems and planting, picking, and packaging produce, and by building railroads. These forms of labor reflect national interest and important similarities between the three API groups. All three groups provided cheap labor, faced exploitation, and saw very little earnings in return. Many Chinese who intended to go back to China could not afford to do so. Also, these types of jobs directly contributed to the growth of the economy. Today, agriculture continues to be a major component of the California and United States economies.

Support How well first-year students usher in evidence to make an argument reflects their level of college preparedness. Most students in our class need help in this area. In general, most students could select ideas from class that are relevant to the essay topic. Some struggled to do this well. That’s a red flag to your professors that your engagement in the course is weak and/or your preparation for the exam was rushed or ineffective. Most students provided more summary than analysis. Many students went on and on about a key term or series of key terms but never explained how they serve as evidence. Instead, the author assumes that the reader makes the connection between the evidence and the thesis on their own. Why does the idea matter in the argument? What is your reasoning? How does it relate to the reasoning you offer in other places where you’re analyzing evidence? Don’t just regurgitate ideas. Extend them! Show what you think!

Provide analysis after each main topic Provide analysis after each main topic. Some students provided analysis entirely in their concluding paragraph. As best you can, you want to explain significance of the topics and evidence in your essay throughout your essay, not just at the end.

Sample 3 Early Asian and Pacific Islander American groups each experienced harsh labor conditions related to American expansion. Prior to 1965, Asian and Pacific Islander American immigrants worked in some of the most challenging environments in the United States. The Chinese came at the height of Manifest Destiny, a period of westward expansion during which the United States claimed territory west of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. These early immigrants came as sojourners during the Gold Rush. They intended to come to “Gold Mountain,” strike it rich, and return to China wealthy. Instead, they were forced to work in hard labor situations such as agriculture, laundries, and railroads. Japanese and Filipino immigrants also had to do similar types of work. Together, these and other minority groups helped settle the California land after the nation seized the territory by digging irrigation systems and planting, picking, and packaging produce, and by building railroads. These forms of labor reflect national interest and important similarities between the three API groups. All three groups provided cheap labor, faced exploitation, and saw very little earnings in return. Many Chinese who intended to go back to China could not afford to do so. Also, these types of jobs directly contributed to the growth of the economy. Today, agriculture continues to be a major component of the California and United States economies.

Sample 3 Early Asian and Pacific Islander American groups each experienced harsh labor conditions related to American expansion. Prior to 1965, Asian and Pacific Islander American immigrants worked in some of the most challenging environments in the United States. The Chinese came at the height of Manifest Destiny, a period of westward expansion during which the United States claimed territory west of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. These early immigrants came as sojourners during the Gold Rush. They intended to come to “Gold Mountain,” strike it rich, and return to China wealthy. Instead, they were forced to work in hard labor situations such as agriculture, laundries, and railroads. Japanese and Filipino immigrants also had to do similar types of work. Together, these and other minority groups helped settle the California land after the nation seized the territory by digging irrigation systems and planting, picking, and packaging produce, and by building railroads. These forms of labor reflect national interest and important similarities between the three API groups. All three groups provided cheap labor, faced exploitation, and saw very little earnings in return. Many Chinese who intended to go back to China could not afford to do so. Also, these types of jobs directly contributed to the growth of the economy. Today, agriculture continues to be a major component of the California and United States economies.

Early Asian and Pacific Islander American groups each experienced harsh labor conditions related to American expansion. Prior to 1965, Asian and Pacific Islander American immigrants worked in some of the most challenging environments in the United States. The Chinese came at the height of Manifest Destiny, a period of westward expansion during which the United States claimed territory west of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. These early immigrants came as sojourners during the Gold Rush. They intended to come to “Gold Mountain,” strike it rich, and return to China wealthy. Instead, they were forced to work in hard labor situations such as agriculture, laundries, and railroads. Japanese and Filipino immigrants also had to do similar types of work. Together, these and other minority groups helped settle the California land after the nation seized the territory by digging irrigation systems and planting, picking, and packaging produce, and by building railroads. These forms of labor reflect national interest and important similarities between the three API groups. All three groups provided cheap labor, faced exploitation, and saw very little earnings in return. Many Chinese who intended to go back to China could not afford to do so. Also, these types of jobs directly contributed to the growth of the economy. Today, agriculture continues to be a major component of the California and United States economies.

All three groups faced exclusion as a result of anti-immigrant political pressure by the dominant culture. The Chinese Exclusion Act (Chinese), The Gentlemen’s Agreement (Japanese), and the Tydings McDuffy Act (Filipinos) either ended immigration or placed strict restrictions on the numbers of immigrants allowed to come to the country. Underlying these policies was the goal of limiting Asian American competition for jobs and opportunity. While the early Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino immigrants to the United States experienced similar social and political issues related to westward expansion, colonization, and market dominance, it is important to note that there were significant differences among the groups. The Chinese tended to be from poor and uneducated backgrounds. The Japanese, because of the Meiji Revolution, had a strong central government that required citizens to be educated. Filipinos were American nationals because the nation moved into the Pacific Ocean after reaching the west coast of North America. Despite these differences, the dominant culture lumped the groups together because they were easy to identify as “cultural others” (because of markers such as language and phenotype), segregate from the dominant cultural group, and target through local, state, and federal policies.

To Prepare for Next Session In lieu of reading notes, bring a outline for both essay topics to class. We will work on refining these in preparation for the final.