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Understanding the History of Asian America
Unapologetic perspectives on the Asian American experience in this country.
Published on June 16, 2023
The Making of Asian America: A History
Erika LeeLee provides a sweeping view of Asian American history with this book. It clearly and methodically plots how Asians have long been a critical group to America’s success, despite being discriminated against in many ways, including immigration policies. Lee also starkly maps out the contrast between Asian Americans as victims of ongoing hate crimes and as “model minorities” placed on the highest of pedestals.
The Color of Success: Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority
Ellen D. WuBeing thought of as a “model minority” might sound like a compliment, especially after enduring the label “yellow peril,” but Wu examines just how detrimental this “positive” stereotype has been for the Asian American community. She traces how America’s perception of Asians went from overt to benevolent racism, and details the consequences of both legacies on the racial dynamics of a diverse but divided country.
Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People
Helen ZiaZia, author of “Last Boat Out of Shanghai,” pens a powerful account of a pivotal period in the formation of Asian American identity. Zia takes both a personal and historical look at how diverse groups of Asian communities came to be seen as one single monolith, and explores historic events, like the 1982 racially motivated murder of Vincent Chin in Detroit and the Los Angeles Riots.
Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans
Ronald TakakiProfessor Takaki’s insightful, encompassing chronicle of Asian American history has been a staple on college curricula since its initial publication in 1989. Spanning centuries of America’s past, Takaki tackles how stereotypes about various Asian ethnicities and Asians as a whole have affected the group — and the country’s — fortunes and created racial rifts.
American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War
Duncan Ryūken Williams“American Sutra” puts the experiences of Buddhist Japanese Americans during World War II — and the even more outsized stigmatization they experienced — front and center in a way almost no other scholarly work has. Bringing this hidden history to light reveals how American ideals around religious freedom fall short.