ASAMST 20AC

What are paradigms?

Commonly held worldviews and values among the people, constructed socially

What are some paradigms of the Asian American experience?

White supremacy, assimilation, solidarity, etc

What is the White supremacy paradigm?

Belief that White race is inherently superior to the other races, and that they should jhave control

What is the “Yellow Peril” threat?

Idea branched off White supremacy —> that Asian integration would lead to degrdation of the White race and societal decline, stemming from cheap Asian labour. Led to discrimination of Asian immigrants, and portrayed them as unfit to become citizens/expulsion and exclusion

What is the assimilation paradigm?

Gradual process to which a person or group belonging to one culture adopts the practices of another

Forced assimilation vs. Unforced assimilation?

Forced assimilation is when individuals are pressured and forcibly made to assimilate, like in Japanese American detention camps, or assimilating and becoming more American + denying own culture to prevent targeted attacks

Why is the assimilation paradigm different today?

Because due to policies outlawing discrimination, there is the fake idea of a “level playing field” for all regardless of race

What are some examples of policies outlawing discrimination?

Brown v. Board, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act, Immigration Act, etc

What is the segmented assimilation theory?

The idea that assimilation is not just a solution for all, and that there are two models of assimilation — upwards and downwards

Upward assimilation vs. Downward assimilation

Upward assimilation is when individuals from marginalized groups improve their social status and integrate into the dominant culture (ie. Asian professionals living in suburbias and assimilating to culture), while downward assimilation is when individuals assimilate to the lower classes of society due to racial and economic barriers.

• Downward assimilation —> Emergence of a new rainbow underclass

What is the Orientalism paragidm?

The Orientalism paradigm refers to the way Western societies view and depict Eastern cultures, often stereotyping them as exotic, primitive, and backward. It emphasizes the power dynamics involved in the representation and interpretation of the East by the West.

What are some ways Asian Americans have resisted paradigms?

Asian American panethnic solidarity across ethnic lines, where Asian Americans are binded together by externally imposed racism

What are some unifiers of panethnic Asian American movement?

Coming together on the basis of funding social services, programs, coming together to garner political power, and Anti-Asian violence → Response towards violence

What are some critiques of the Asian American Panethnicity?

New or smaller ethnic groups are not given representation, such as Pacific Islanders becoming second class to the better economically off Asian Americans in Hawaii

The Solidarity paradigm?

Third World Movements that united people of colour in the US and their White allies

What is Robert' Flauner’s idea of Internal Colonialism?

Idea that Asian American experience comes from colonial experience, which is very similar to other racial minorities in the US, including:

• Colonial experience

• Racial oppression

• Historical connection between the Third World internationally and in the US

Immigration vs. colonization?

Immigrants are voluntary, colonized groups are through violence

Relation of class in to the shared experience of colonialism?

Class can lead to multi-racial labour solidarity, as White workers have historically benefitted from non-White workers in the lower levels, according to the split labour market theory

What is the split labour market theory?

When one racial group is paid lower, the standard of everyone in the market is lowered → ie. employment of cheap Asian labour and exploiting of workers in order to stop strikes by White workers or lower wages

What are the three responses to colonialism?

Flight, adapt, resist

What is the dual domination theory?

In which Asian Americans are separated and pressured by the US and Asian side. The US side is pressured by forced assimilation and racism, whereas the Asian side is challenged by the loyalty paradigm, and the extra-territorial domination (country’s political and cultural control over the community) paradigm

What are the two parts of racism in social constructs?

Individual prejudice and institutional racism

Individual prejudice vs. Institutional racism?

Individual prejudice is the arbitrary belief or feeling towards a racial or ethnic group, and institutional racism are policies that disempower racial and ethnic groups, thus reinforcing inequality (ie. “Model Minority” during Civil Rights movement)

What were the conditions that led to the Asian American movement?

Exclusion & segregation, Japanese American internment, Cold war leading to suspicions of treason purely on the basis of being Chinese (Chinese Confession program)

What were some new social movements that emerged during the Vietnam War?

Civil Rights movement, Black power, anti-war movement, international youth movement, etc

Civil Rights Movement v. Black Power?

Civil Rights was focused on ending segregation and used the approach of nonviolent. civil disobedience in application to public morality. Black Power thought Civil Rights was too limited and tame, led to student organizations + the Black Panther Party

What is Operation Rolling Thunder?

A sustained aerial bombardment campaign conducted by the United States during the Vietnam War —> led to MLK statment linking Vietnam War to Civil Rights movement

What were the TWLF strikes?

1968 in SF State, and 1969 in Berkeley

Strikes that demanded the establishment of the school of ethnic studies, individual of colour in faculty and admissions, and control over programs

• SF state has a college of ethnic studies, UCB only has a department

What were some lessons learned from the TW Movement?

Use leverage (work, professional, corporate, students, etc), need for continuity (student organizations fragmented and future generations had to start from scratch), solidarity within and internationally, need for relevant demands, and establish a culture of struggle (coming together of diverse backgrounds)

What is CONTELPRO?

J. Edgar Hoover ordered a directive to expose, disrupt, misdirective, discredit, neutralize and eliminate of the activities of the movements and their leaders —> Black Panthers in-fighting

What is the national origins quotas?

The Johnson–Reed Act (1924), also known as the Asian Exclusion Act, was passed. The act introduced nation-origins quotas allocating specific numbers of immigrants to different countries proportional to the origins of the population present in the United States

What were some losses of the Asian American Community Movement/TWLF?

Collins report, exit of African American Studies from Ethnic Studies department (1974)

What is the Collins report?

An internal university review of Asian American studies, where it was found that community components was part of the curriculum, that there was no laxness in handing out A grades, and that students benefitted from community work

• HOWEVER, the report still said that community programs were not the place for university to become involved —> end of community work in Asian American studies

What were some gains of the Asian American Community Movement/TWLF?

• Solidarity established in three levels —> Panethnicity within Asian Americans, internationally & US, and multiracial

• Transition from student to community activism

What is the International Hotel (I-Hotel)?

A hotel in San Francisco, Manila town where Asian elders oftentimes resided. It was first purchased by Shorestein to be torn down and replaced (faced with student led opposition), then re-sold to a liquor baron in Thailand, then finally demolished in 1979 —> Now the site has been sold to Catholic Archidocese as a senior housing center with community run programs

What are some reasons for the New Asian Migration?

Immigration Act of 1965, global reconstruction of capitalism, and the Vietnam War

How did the Immigration Act of 1965 lead to an influx in Asian immigrants?

The act replaced the quota system with new hemispheric quota system, and so Asian immigrants were able to migrate into the US on a first come first serve basis

Impacts of the Cold War on the Immigration Act of 1965/Asian migration?

Discriminatory immigration policy looked bad for the US, LBJ issued Immigration Act of 1965

What were three historical periods for Asian migration?

1. Large scale immigration on labour (1850 - 1943)

2. WW2 (1943 - 1965)

3. Post-1965 Asian migration

What is the Immigration Preference System?

Seven point system that focused on family reunification, such as unmarried children of US citizens, spouses of permanent residents, married children, brothers and sisters, etc

Why was category three expanded?

Category three is focused on professional workers of exceptional ability, which was expanded during the Cold War & Vietnam War due to the increasing needs of the expanding military industrial complex

• This also led to need for medical professionals after Vietnam War —> Nurses and doctors

What were some effects of the Immigration Act of 1965?

Immigrants became more middle class, as professional training/education and familiarity with US institutions gave them a head start

• Most immigrants were also educated in institutions that modelled themselves after Western styled education, and so were able to research better neighbourhoods, better schools, and had money to purchase homes with family units

What is the global restructuring?

The development of the capitalist system globally, and how this restructing affected the immigration process

How did global restructing affect immigration pre and post 1965?

Pre-1965, raw-materials would be extracted from undeveloped third world nations to developed nations to be processed, which required cheap, unskilled labour from aforementioned undeveloped countries —> Cheap manufactured goods then sold to third world countries again

Post-1965, during the demand of the Cold War and rapid industrialisation of Asian countries (Asian NICs), professional immigration surged. This was also boosted by the fear of the domino effect, as loss of these countries meant no minerals and markets

• Led to encouraged use of manufacturing in Asian regions, and discouraged manufacturing in the US

Why was Asian industrialisation so successful?

• Strong government involvement in industrialization

• Strong attraction for foreign investments through Free Trade Zones (FTZ)

• Establishment of repressive regimes to ensure cheaper labour & working conditions

• Runaway shops → Stores moving to nonunion areas, then leaving the US and going to Asia

• Professionals and managerial skills familiar with Western technology (rise of the classes)

What were some reasons to migrate from Asian countries to the US?

Big changes within countries meant political instability. Life in the US also were mostly higher quality with more opportunities, familiar techniques, values and education, especially for children

What is the dual stream of migration, caused by global restructuring?

Professional: Asian immigrants with professional backgrounds are able to use their status to enter into professional, middle-class American society

Unskilled: Lack of job skills/language skills → cheap, unskilled labour jobs

What were the wars in Indochina?

1st Indo-China War (1947-54)

2nd Indo-China War (1957-75)

Cambodian Vietnamese War (1978 - 79)

3rd Indo-China War (1979)

What is the UN definition for refugee?

Someone who, owing to a well founded fear of being prosecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group/opinion

• Outside the country of his nationality

• Unable to or unwilling to returning to the country of nationality

Background for the first Indo-China War?

France and Japan in Vietnam, and in the 1920’s an underground movement starts against France. Japan then invades and establishes puppet government, which is overthrown after WWII when France returns to power.

Viet Minh leads an independence movement with a communist party, resulting in the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu —> France’s defeat led to the signing of the 1954 Geneva Agreement, which partitioned Vietnam into North and South, with the ultimate solution of holding a national election in 1956 to determine the ruling style for the country

How does the Domino Theory relate to US involvement?

The Domino theory states that if one country falls to Communism, all neighboring countries will too. The US was prompted by this theory to work with South Vietnam to fight against North Vietnam (communist side), and planted a leader that opposed planned elections and established the Republic of Vietnam, which sparks the second Indochina War

What happened in the 2nd Indochina War?

South Vietnam almost collapses due to high desertion rate, which leads to US bombing the South + overwhelming troops. The US public was told that the US was on the winning side of the war, and in 1973 the Paris Peace Agreement is signed where the US would withdrawal — However, Civil war in 1973 - 75, and Saigon falls in 1975

Cambodia and the second Indochina War?

In 1970, the US planted a puppet government of a Pro-US general into power in order to bomb North Vietnam along the Vietnam-Cambodian border. This led to the expansion of the war into Cambodia, which included the dropping of bombs on Vietnamese supply routes in Cambodia

• This leads to the rise of Khmer Rouge, which is later ousted by the Vietnamese government in 1979

How was Laos drawn into the 2nd Indochina War?

CIA was involved in training pro-US Laotians to fight North Vietnam —> 7.2 million tons of bombs were dropped on the Ho Chi Minh trail, which led to the persecution of Laotians who were pro-US, leading to refugee flooding

What were the two refugee groups in the IndoChina wars?

First refugee group (1975) —> South Vietnamese officials and US support personnel, who were evacuated to nearby US military bases in Thailand, Guam and Philippines —> offered US assistance up to 3 years to lukewarm reception

Boat & Land refugee (1978 - 1980) —> Those who wanted to prevent political prosecution and starvation (due to US embargo that prevented goods from entering), where 500,000 fled by boats

Conditions of boat and land refugees once they arrived on land?

They lived in temporary refugee camps or went to Thailand —> struggled because they lacked human capital and skills, and US assistance was cut down to 18 months

What were some US Refugee policies?

Orderly Departure Program (1979) —> legal alternative to boat escapes that controlled immigration based on entry and exit permits, based on qualification of applicants (family reunification, military, etc)

HOP & Amerasian Programs

• Amerasian Act (1982) —> Asian children of GIs stationed in Korea and SE Asia

• Amerasian Homecoming Act (1987) —> Child, mother, and relative of soldiers provided with immigrant classification + benefits

What were some results of the US immigration/refugee policies?

Refugees were relocated to colder areas of the US, in poverty stricken, urban areas, which led to tensions between native populations

What were some reasons for the US to provide refugee assistance?

The US was responsible for the war and most refugees were US allies. The US also needed to portray a Cold War image of humanitarianism, and a powerhouse against Communism

Immigrant vs. Refugee?

Immigrants: Planned, family housing, comes with capital, education, family units, urban areas, and is focused on opportunity

Refugees: Unplanned, located in camps, minimal capital, majority unskilled + non-English speaking, not entire families, come from urban and rural areas, and usually suffers from PTSD/escaping prosecution rather than opportunity

How were refugees received?

Initially, US public felt compassion, but it wore off due to economic decline —> led to internal tensions and racial violence due to higher visibility, and local populations viewed them as competition (fishing, hunter, etc)

What is the Model minority myth?

The notion that, despite racial discrimination, Asian Americans have successfully assimilated into the mainstream of American society through hard work and individual merit

What are some problems with the model minority myth?

Assumes society is colour blind with an even playing field, looks at median family income (which is not accurate due to more family members per Asian household), discounts failures of other ethnic groups by posing as an “example”

How did the model minority myth originate?

Asian Americans have the highest educational attainment, employment status, and family income, which was then used in the 60s to contrast with Civil Rights Movements

• Idea that Chinese immigrants are fully self-sustained and apolitical, and that other races should follow suit instead of demand on government investments in public health and welfare

What are some impacts of the model minority myth?

Diverts from real problems and from racial discrimination, causes internal pressure to succeed and to conform to White population, fuels competition and resentment across racial groups

What is Prop 209?

Prop 209 was passed, where predominantly White voters voted against affirmative action under the false assumption that the quotas were allowing unqualified minorities into the UC system

• This was fuelled by the narrative that qualified Asian Americans were not allowed entry into schools due to affirmative action, which was not true

SCA 5

The SCA5 was introduced by Senator Hernandez, which amends prop 209’s bans on race, sex, ethnicity, etc in the California public universities in order to restore diversity representative of California’s graduating high school classes at universities

Nature vs. Nurture argument for Asian American education success

Nature —> genetic superiority of one racial group over the order, which is untrue and has racist qualities

Nurture —> More studying hours by Asian Americans, parental control over students, obligation to the family through academia

What is the tripe package theory?

Some groups have cultural characteristics that allow them to experience higher upward mobility economically. Cubans, Nigerians, Jews, and Chinese, for example, are able to resist temptation while perpetuating feelings of superiority and specialiness internally

What are some flaws of the triple package theory?

History is completely ignored by this theory → ie. Mormons had money to purchase land from Native killings, Nigerians in the US are student elites, successful Cubans in the US are actually mainly White who left Cuba with refugee assistance, Chinese came from professional backgrounds in post ‘65 periods

How many Asian American organizations supported affirmative action?

153

What is the glass ceiling/bamboo ceiling?

Barriers to upper-level employment against qualified women and racial minorities → ie. slower advancement opportunities in an institution compared to White male

Why did Asian Americans suffer from bamboo ceiling?

Asian Americans were stereotyped as quiet, hard working, technically and family oriented, passive, non-confrontational and anti-social —> Would not do well in positions of power, but rather as conformist workers

What is the H1B visa?

A nonimmigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialized, skilled positions

• 1990 Expansion —> Added category for skilled foreign workers in "specialty occupations" requiring at least a bachelor's degree

What are some sources of discrimination in white collar jobs?

Speech & accent discrimination (communications)

Perceptions of forever foreigner (loyalty)

Perceptions of social deviancy (sociability)

Perception of lack of leadership (Charisma)

What were some cases of glass ceilings challenged in court?

Rosalie Tung v. Wharton (1990)
Sexual harassment by employer → When reported, she was denied tenure

• Asian American women have added sexism to the existing racism

• Three negative evaluation letters to tenure, two from the department chair who harassed her

Marcie Wang v. UC Regents (1986)

• Denial of tenure at architecture school, sued for racial and sexual discrimination

• Faculty favouritism towards male studnets, and sexual harassment towards Asian American women

Bruce Yamashita v. USMC (1994)

• Filed a discrimination case against Officers Candidate School of the US Marine Corps

• Rejected → argued that it was related to long pattern of discrimination against minorities, where 60% was rejected

• Pattern of discrimination against him because of his race

What does title VII prohibit?

National origins discrimination —> Imposing English only policies during break, discrimination against foreign accents, denial of promotion, etc

What are some cases of language based discrimination in the work place?

AMPB Security Case 1992, Delano Regional Medical Center 2012 (nurses were humiliated and encouraged to eavesdrop on immigrant workers)

What are sweatshops?

Shops tat have violation of more than one federal or state industrial homework occupational safety and health workers compensation or industry registration law

What are some industries that sweatshops are focused in?

Garments, restaurants, caregiving, electronics, etc

What are some cases of labor trafficking in sweatshops?

Thai Sweatshop Slavery (1995), Garment Sweatshops in LA, AXT Electronics, etc

What is racial formation theory?

Popular culture constructs racial and social categories by promoting dominant stereotypes, establishing racial hierarchies (which justifies why certain groups should have more/ less access to reallocation of resources in society)

How were Asians portrayed in early pop culture?

Negative —> Created public anxiety and fears of aAsians, which reflected public anxieties due to scapegoating of racist labour leaders and politicians

What are some examples of modern day discrimination of Asians in media?

Typecasting, yellow facing/evil and mysterious, uncivilized/model minority in printed media, and whitewashing

What is typcasting in media?

Giving an actor the same type of role, because that actor fits the character. The idea that only a certain kind of role can be given to a person due to their appearance and their demeanour, which overlaps with stereotyping

What is yellow facing?

White actors portraying Asian characters via offensive makeup → Slanted eyes, buckteeth, etc, usually as evil or mysterious characters

What is the uncivilized/model minority stereotypes?

Justification of colonization of the Philippines, and the model minority in opposition to the demands of the Civil Rights Movements

What are some examples of impact of popular culture of Asian Americans?

Led to negative stereotyping/scapegoating —> Vincent Chin

• Murdered by 2 unemployed auto workers who were angry at Japanese auto

• Mostly due to the jurors’ having no contact with Asian Americans → Dependent on what you last saw on TV or read

• Lack of representation becomes problematic, because people are more apt to use popular images when making assumptions about groups

What is a hate crime?

A crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived race, colour, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person

What is the Civil Rights Act of 1968?

Provides limited protections for people whose civil rights are being taken away from them

• Makes it illegal for anyone to injury or intimate with another person due to their race, colour, religion, or national origin

• Victim’s attempt to engage in one of the six protected activities → attending school, public space, applying for employment, etc

What are some root causes of hate crimes?

1. War Demonization

2. Anti-Immigrant Sentiments & Nativism

3. Move-in Violence

4. White Supremacist Ideology

5. Economic Competition

6. Geo-Political Conflict

7. Political Misleadership Attributing Pandemic to Chinese/Asians