Who is an Asian American?
The term "Asian American" encompasses many ethnic groups. The 2000 United States Census used the following terms for Asian American groups:
Asian Indian
Bangladeshi
Bhutanese
Cambodian
Chinese
Filipino
Hmong
Indo Chinese
Iwo Jiman
Japanese
Korean
Laotian
Malaysian
Maldivian
Nepalese
Okinawan
Pakistani
Singaporean
Sri Lankan
Taiwanese
Thai
Vietnamese
Notice that Hawaiian is not included here, since it is part of the United States, even though people of Hawaiian descent are often classified as being of Asian heritage, and therefore known as Asian Americans.
U.S. Census Bureau, "The Asian Population 2000," Table 4 Asian Population by Detailed Group, 2000, http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kbr01-16.pdf.
Important Events in Asian American History
1848: Gold rush in California prompts wave of immigration from Asia to California. 1854: Commodore Perry of the U.S. signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with Japan, opening up ports for American traffic 1865-1869: Transcontinental Railroad project employs thousands of Chinese immigrants, who are paid much less than any other ethnic group working on the project 1924: The Immigration Act of 1924 sets quotas on immigration, specifically to limit Asian immigration February 19th, 1942: President Franklin Roosevelt signs order for internment of residents of the United States with Japanese ancestry. Thousands are held in camps in the Southwest as a reaction to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor January 2nd, 1945: The order that set up internment camps is pulled. Detainees are released from camps. 1946: The last internment camp closes in Santa Fe 1960’s: “Asian American” begins to replace “Oriental” as a new movement towards civil rights emerges. Young Japanese Americans seek redress from the government for internment camps. 1965: The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 does away with the former immigration quotas 1969: San Francisco State University establishes one of the first Ethnic Studies department. Many west coast schools follow. 1970’s: Yuki Ichioka, a professor at UCLA, officially coins the term “Asian American”, using to it to cover a variety of nationalities living in the United States 1982: The murder of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American from Detroit, sparks awareness and unity for Asian Americans. 1988: President Ronald Regan signs the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which establishes retribution for detainee camp survivors 1996: Gary Locke becomes first Asian American governor on the United States mainland (Washington)
Discussion Questions
1.) Although the groups have been looking at non-fiction sources, in Ethnic Studies, should ficiton also be included? (Example: Amy Tan is a well respected Chinese-American fiction writer.) Should students be directed to the works of Asian-American authors as part of their studies?
2) Along similar lines, should music, art, and videos be included as part of an Ethnic Studies collection?
3) Finally, should language-instruction materials be included in such a collection?
4) How important is it for a library to provide Ethnic Studies materials? For example, should a library develop even a small Asian American Resources collection if very few of their patrons are Asian American? Or would limited resources be better spent elsewhere, in areas more pertinent to users' needs and backgrounds?
5)If a library provides an Asian American section, should there be equal resources dedicated to other areas of ethnic studies?
6) How important is it that librarians in major Asian Studies libraries be of Asian heritage?
Group Members |
Kristin Carr, Katherine Manning, Michelene Orteza Links: Profile & Guides |
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