1. WHY Asian American Studies Today?
Janelle Wong, PhD
University of Maryland
Asian American Studies Program

2. Why study Asian Americans today?
1. Critical lens for understanding laws and policies that shape “Who we Are” as nation

3. Why study Asian Americans today?
2. Experience of “Race” as an important and dynamic process

4. 3. Connections between different groups
“Every reason that exists against the toleration of free blacks in Illinois may be argued against that of the Chinese here.” - San Francisco Alta paper, 1853

5. Lynchings
1871 Alta California newspaper reports: “Twelve hours ago…fifteen staring corpses hung ghastly in the moonlight, while seven or eight others, mutilated, torn and crushed lay in our streets, all of them Chinamen.”
Other instances of historical discrimination (other Asian groups)

6. In the Mid-1880s, Dominant Stereotypes of Chinese Were…
Excellent cooks, known for exotic cuisine?
Well adapted for clearing wild lands, farming skills?
Especially well-suited for sewing garments, because of small hands?

7. “No people in all the East are so well adapted for clearing wild lands and raising every species of agricultural product…as the Chinese”
Plan Submitted to U.S. Congress to Recruit Workers to Build Transcontinental Railroad and Farmworkers -quoted in Takaki 1990, 22
1870, nearly 9 percent of California’s population was of Chinese origin

8. Eastern and Southern European Immigrants during the Asian Exclusion Period Faced…
Widespread social hostility, including physical mob attacks?
Restrictions on immigration?
Legal racial restrictions on becoming citizens, similar to the Chinese?

9. Many Immigrants Faced Hostility
European immigrants were confronted with widespread hostility, but never faced the kind of legal racial restrictions on becoming naturalized citizens experienced by Asian immigrants

10. “Who are We?” : Connections between US laws and race
1906, the San Francisco Board of Education attempted to force Japanese students who were attending public school in San Francisco to attend the segregated Chinese school
1913 California Alien Land Law prohibits Asians, mostly Japanese, from owning land or from long-term leases
1930s – Washington State attempts to pass laws barring marriage between White women and Filipino men

11. Is immigration to the U.S.
Studying Asian Americans helps us to understand immigration as a force in shaping the U.S.
Is immigration to the U.S.
Increasing?
Decreasing?
Leveling off?

12. Leveling Off

13. Immigration to the US is mostly from
Asia?
Latin America?
Africa?

14. Since 2011, foreign Born Entering U. S
Since 2011, foreign Born Entering U.S. Each Year is Mostly from China Net Migration (Legal and Undocumented) from Mexico negative - The Economist

15. Not largest, but fastest growing
Today, 1 out of 7 Asian immigrants is undocumented
- AAPI data 2017

16. Immigration policy hidden force that shapes our views of different groups

17. Recruitment of High-Skilled Immigrants after 1965, especially in the 1990s
Most Asian Americans have arrived in the U.S. since 1990
72% of high-skilled visas go to immigrants from Asia, mostly Indians and Chinese
Majority of international student visas go to Asian immigrants, with largest number going to students from China
- Brookings 2014

18. An Asian American Population Transformed
More than 50% of Chinese immigrants in the U.S. have a bachelor’s degree. In China, the rate is about 8%. (While 17% of Mexican adults in Mexico have a college degree, about 5% of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. have a college degree) -J. Lee 2015
So, U.S. immigration policy creates a highly educated Asian American class and this group sponsors highly educated family members. And the Model Minority stereotype is given life.

19. All Groups, Not Just Asian Americans, Invest in Education
Once one takes into account differences in parents’ income and education levels, “the amount of investment [in education], for the most part, is not significantly different from that of Whites” for blacks, Latinos, or Asians.
-Bureau of Labor Statistics 2014
All groups have a “cultural value” for education

20. Is a Four-Year College Degree Necessary for Success?
Latinos value four-year degree more than Asian Americans
2013

21. 2013

22. Asian Americans Experience with Discrimination: Poorer Service
In an average month, do any of the following things happen to you?
You receive poorer service than other people at restaurants or stores.

23. Experiences with Discrimination: Non English Speaker
In an average month, do any of the following things happen to you?
People act as if you don’t speak English.

24. Why Asian American Studies today?
U.S. Complex story of exclusion, changing modes and degrees of discrimination and public policy
Revealed through the study of Asian Americans today