Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies – Comprehensive Bullet-Point Notes

Learning Objectives

Analyze and evaluate major social issues experienced by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI)
- racialization, orientalism, militarization, colonization, imperialism, immigration, climate change
Critically analyze intersectionality (race, gender, sexuality, class, citizenship, age, language)
Describe historical & contemporary AAPI experiences; assess growth & diversity
Recognize theories/knowledge produced by AAPI scholars & communities
Identify AAPI resistance, solidarity work, institutional transformation for racial justice

5.1 Introduction to Asian & Pacific Islander Studies

Asian American Studies (AAS)
- Core discipline within Ethnic Studies; interdisciplinary
- Born from Third World Liberation Front strikes (SF State 1968, UC Berkeley 1969)
- Still fights for institutional legitimacy; programs often student-driven
Demographic shift after Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler)
- Influx of Southeast Asian refugees (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)
- Curricula now include Arab American, Pacific Islander, Mixed-Race, undocumented Asian perspectives
- Ongoing need for broader inclusion of class, gender, sexuality, immigration status
Chapter road map
- 5.2 “Who Are Asian Americans?” – census data, panethnicity, orientalism, racialization
- 5.3 Immigration & Exclusion – policies shaping AAPI communities over 500 yrs
- 5.4 Wars & Imperialism – U.S. militarism as migration “push–pull” factor
- 5.5 Pacific Islander Studies – Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, Chamorro, Fijian, etc.
Terminology notes
- “Asian,” “Asian American,” “AAPI,” “API” used interchangeably; not citizenship-bound
- Filipina/x/o & Filipinx acknowledge gender-expansive identities

5.2 Who Are Asian Americans?

Diversity & Panethnicity

2020 Census: >20 million Asian Americans; origins in >20 countries
Fastest-growing racial group; growth steepest in Southwest & South
Largest ethnicities 4.1 M Chinese + 4.1 M Indian, 2.9 M Filipino, 1.8 M Vietnamese, 1.5 M Korean, 0.77 M Japanese (Monte & Shin 2022)
Multi-ethnic & multiracial counts
- 532{,}135 reported two-plus Asian ethnicities; 4.1 M Asian + another race
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander (NHPI): ext{NH}≈620{,}000, Samoan 212{,}000, Chamorro 156{,}000, Tongan 65{,}000, Fijian 50{,}000
California Asian population >6 M (↑25\% since 2010)
Panethnic identity = political coalition amid external racial lumping; not cultural sameness

COVID-19 & Anti-Asian Racism

Stop AAPI Hate launched 19 Mar 2020; ~100 incidents/day first week
Data: women report 2\times men; 60\% non-Chinese victims ⇒ pan-Asian targeting
Historian Erika Lee to Congress (18 Mar 2021): anti-Asian violence >150 yrs; “very American”
Myths countered: model minority, honorary white status

Varied Degrees of Pan-Asian Identity (Dhingra & Rodríguez 2021)

East Asians exhibit stronger pan-ethnicity than South or Southeast Asians
Refugee histories & post-9/11 Islamophobia shape South/Southeast Asian distinctiveness

Vincent Chin Case (1982) – Birth of 1980s Pan-Asian Movement

Chinese American beaten to death by two white autoworkers; lenient sentencing (probation + \$3{,}780)
Led to creation of American Citizens for Justice; first national Asian American civil-rights campaign

Third World Solidarity & AAPA

Term “Asian American” coined 1968 UCLA conference; AAPA founded UC Berkeley 1969
Influenced by Black Power & Bandung 1955 Afro-Asia solidarity
Goal: contest U.S. imperialism & anti-Black racism; led TWLF strikes → Ethnic Studies departments

Richard Aoki – Field Marshall, Black Panther, TWLF Leader

Japanese American internment survivor; West Oakland upbringing; early BPP leader
Later controversies re FBI-informant claim; evidence inconclusive; legacy of interracial solidarity endures

Orientalism

Edward Said: Western “style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient”
Roots in Greek/Roman stereotypes; Aristotle (“Asians as slaves”)
Columbus sought Asia → linked colonization of Americas & Asia
Orientalism justifies empire; feminized Asia vs. masculine Europe; persists in “forever foreigner” trope

Racialized Dualities

Yellow Peril: Asians as threat (economic, sexual, moral). E.g., 1882 Chinese Exclusion, COVID scapegoating
Model Minority: Asians as docile, high-achieving proof of U.S. meritocracy; emerged 1960s to discredit Civil Rights claims; masks structural racism & intra-AAPI disparities
Hyper-sexualization & Page Act 1875 (banned “prostitutes” ⇒ practically all Asian women);
- Dragon Lady vs. Lotus Blossom stereotypes; fueled by U.S. wars/occupations
Violence continuum: Atlanta spa shootings (16 Mar 2021) killing 8 (6 Asian women)

5.3 Immigration & Exclusion

Chronology of Restrictive Laws

Page Act 1875 – first race-based exclusion (Chinese women)
Chinese Exclusion 1882 – bans Chinese laborers; prototype of passports, “illegal” status, deportations
Gentlemen’s Agreement 1907 – limits Japanese laborers; permits “picture brides” (~20{,}000 1908\text{-}1920)
Asiatic Barred Zone 1917 – blocks South/West Asians
Immigration Act 1924 – ends ALL Asian immigration
1965 Immigration & Nationality Act
- Replaces quotas with 170{,}000 Eastern-Hemisphere visas (≤20{,}000/nation)
- Priority: family reunification & professional skills ⇒ influx of doctors, engineers, nurses
- 1972\text{-}1977 Asian inflow avg. \approx136{,}800/yr (≅ 34\% of total immigrants)

Labor & “Coolies”

Post-slavery indenture: 429{,}623 South Asians + 17{,}904 Chinese to Caribbean 1838\text{-}1917
Term “coolie” = racialized cheap labor; conditions akin to slavery; many deceived/forcibly shipped

Hawai‘i Plantations

Multiethnic workforce (Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Hawaiian, Puerto Rican)
Gender wage gap: 1915 male field 0.78 $/day vs female 0.55
“Divide-and-control” by planters ⇒ cross-ethnic strikes; birth of Pidgin English

Farm-Labor Organizing

Fil-Am leaders Larry Itliong & Philip Vera Cruz merge AWOC with Chávez/Huerta NFWA → UFW (1966)
Strategy: multi-racial unity vs Teamsters’ divide tactics

Filipina/x/o Nursing Pipeline

U.S. colonial curriculum ⇒ English-medium nurse training; \approx18\% of CA RNs are Filipino
COVID: Filipinos = 4\% U.S. nurses but \approx33\% nurse deaths

Ethnic Enclaves & Spatial Racism

Little Manila (Stockton): urban renewal displacement 1967\text{-}1972; activism for preservation
Japantown (SF): post-WWII redevelopment; community “Save Japantown” debates
Chinatown: 19th-century medical scapegoating; segregation; “No dogs or Chinese” signs

Undocumented Asian Americans

>1 million (≈12\% of U.S. undocumented)
Racial assumptions (e.g., “obedient Asian”) reduce profiling but foster invisibility; differential support-seeking

5.4 Wars & Imperialism

Framework

Wars as key “push–pull”: U.S. militarism destabilizes homelands (push) & creates U.S. wealth/jobs (pull)

Philippine-American War 1899\text{-}1913

Treaty of Paris 1898 transfers Philippines to U.S.; “Manifest Destiny” & “White Man’s Burden” ideology
Human exhibits at 1904 St Louis World’s Fair reinforce racial hierarchy

Korean War 1950\text{-}1953 (no peace treaty)

~4 M deaths, 11 M family separations; U.S. troops still stationed; lasting trauma esp. on women

Japanese American Incarceration

Pre-Pearl Harbor surveillance; EO 9066 (19 Feb 1942) → >120{,}000 removed from West Coast
Assembly centers in racetracks; WRA camps (10 sites). Wages 8–12/mo
Loyalty Questionnaire Q27/Q28 → \approx12{,}000 “no-no boys” sent to Tule Lake
Resistance: Fred Korematsu Supreme Court case (1944); Fair Play Committee draft resistance
Redress: Civil Liberties Act 1988 \$20{,}000 per survivor
Japanese Latin Americans (~2{,}300) kidnapped for POW exchange; ongoing redress struggle

Southeast Asia Conflicts

Vietnam: U.S. escalation 1964 Tonkin → >4 M tons bombs; napalm/Agent Orange
Cambodia: 250{,}000 killed by U.S. bombing; Khmer Rouge genocide 1975\text{-}1979 (≈1.5\text{-}3 M deaths)
Laos: CIA “Secret War”; 50{,}000 Hmong dead; Laos = most-bombed nation

Refugee Waves

1st wave 1975 (~130{,}000) elite/military-affiliated evacuees
“Operation Babylift” 1{,}700 orphans (mixed-race)
2nd wave “boat people” >433{,}000 Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia 1975\text{-}1980 – perilous sea journeys, camps (Pulau Begar, Ban Vinai)
U.S. resettlement in impoverished areas; role reversal (children language brokers); PTSD; Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome among Hmong/Laotian men
Anti-Asian hate in 1980s–90s (e.g., Cleveland School shooting 1989 Stockton)
Criminalization & deportation: 2{,}000 SEA deportees since 1998; VISION Act (AB 937) campaigns
Community resilience: Little Saigon, “pink box” donut economy (Ted Ngoy), Sunisa Lee Olympic gold

5.5 Pacific Islander Studies

People & Place

Oceania = \sim30{,}000 islands, 2.3 M people, 1{,}500 languages; \frac{1}{3} Earth’s surface
OMB definition: Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NH, Guam, Samoa, “other Pacific” incl. Carolinian, Fijian, Micronesian, etc.)
Diaspora: >150{,}000 PI in CA; \frac{1}{3} in L.A.
Core values: interconnection, harmony, sustainability; ocean-centrism

Stereotypes & Representation

Common tropes: massive/violent Samoan men, exotic hospitable paradises, Moana controversies
Oceanic Trust collaboration with Disney achieved cultural corrections (e.g., restricting tuiga to ceremony)
Academic critique: Asian American feminisms must not erase PI voices; NH ≠ all Pacific Islanders

Education Disparities

PI high-school dropout >20\% vs Asian 7.9\%, White 11.5\%
Only 18\% PI adults hold bachelor’s degree (≈ U.S. Black rate, < national 28\%)
Culturally responsive models: Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge (UH Mānoa 2007)

Race, Gender, Generation

Hyper-masculine racialization of PI men (policing violence), contrast to emasculated Asian men
Indigenous feminism highlights settler colonial tourism economy (Trask: Hawaiʻi as sexualized commodity)
Youth as linguistic/cultural innovators (e.g., Bislama media terms in Vanuatu)

Militarization & Climate Change

66 U.S. nuclear tests in Marshall Islands 1946\text{-}1958 ⇒ exile, contamination
Rising sea levels threaten Tonga, Kiribati; call for climate-change refugee solutions
Indigenous knowledge predicts cyclones via seasonal ecological cues

5.6 Key Terms (abridged)

Panethnicity – political grouping of multiple ethnicities (e.g., “Asian American”)
Orientalism – Western discourse constructing Asia as the inferior “Other”
Yellow Peril – narrative of Asian threat
Model Minority – myth of innate Asian success & docility
Chinese Exclusion 1882 – first major race-based immigration ban
Immigration Act 1965 – family/skill-based system; restarts Asian immigration
Coolie – racialized term for Asian indentured labor 19^{th} c.
White Man’s Burden – imperialist ideology (R. Kipling 1899)
No-No Boys – Japanese Americans answering “no” to loyalty Qs 1943
Refugee – forced migrant fleeing war/persecution
Pacific Islander – Indigenous peoples of Oceania per OMB list
Settler Colonialism – structure displacing Indigenous peoples to benefit settlers

Connections & Implications

AAPI histories reveal continuity between U.S. domestic racism & foreign imperialism
Intersectionality shows differential impacts (gendered violence, refugee trauma, educational inequities)
Panethnic coalitions powerful against external racism BUT must avoid internal erasure (e.g., PI invisibility)
Contemporary policy fights (VISION Act, anti-deportation, climate justice) extend historical resistance traditions