This concise introduction to contemporary Asian societies goes beyond the clichés and stereotypes to explore the cultural dynamics of the region.... Bringing together a range of excellent "Asian" experiences, the authors show that there is no one "Asian" culture. They explore the impact of the colonial era and examine how current global trends intersect with local traditions and histories. Drawing upon recent advances in critical communication and cultural studies, the authors survey the politics of the information age, religion, the position of women, sexuality, and ethnic identity. With examples from countries across the region, Asia provides the tools needed to recognize, understand, and discuss Asian cultures and cultural difference.

Asia in the New Millennium introduces students to the major nations of Asia, focusing on China, North and South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia,... Pakistan, and India. The book explores the political, economic, cultural, and historical forces that help explain how these nations are coping in the modern world. The book is ideal for beginning students of Asian politics and studies, and for teachers in schools and universities who desire to add an Asian component to their curriculum. Students will find numerous maps of the region, tables offering comparative data, and photographic essays of important Asian leaders to aid their study.

The 1980s witnessed the introduction of Asia into the core curriculum at undergraduate institutions throughout the United States, and Asian materials... are now at the threshold of general knowledge in literature, history, and the social sciences. The Columbia Project on Asia in the Core Curriculum was inaugurated in 1984 under the sponsorship of Columbia University to support this integration of Asian materials into the general education curriculum. The project, chaired by Wm. Theodore de Bary, Ainslie T. Embree, and Carol Gluck, has received ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Henry Luce Foundation, The Panasonic Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education. The three Guides are designed for faculty members who are integrating Asian material into general education courses primarily focused on the Western tradition or canon. Each Guide contains approximately forty essays, written by leading specialists, and each essay conforms to a common format that makes the Guides useful to those who are integrating these materials into introductory courses in the various academic disciplines. The Guides will be an invaluable resource for course preparation. And each will be an indispensable reference for faculty and students alike.

In a single moment in time, four year old Garret Frey was transformed from an active and energetic four-year-old to a quadriplegic, ventilator-dependent... boy who struggled to make sense of a world in disarray. For seven years, Garret worked with Clinical Psychologist Dr. Karen Pirnot as Garret learned that his mental powers could help compensate for the loss of body function. As I Am details the struggles of Garret's mother to advocate for a "normal," childhood education for her son in the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In order to be afforded a stimulating learning environment in the least restrictive environment, Garret's legal case went through a lengthy court process, ending in his appearance before the Justices of the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruling in Garret's favor set precedence for access to public education for thousands of handicapped children throughout the nation.

In this important and masterful synthesis of the Chinese and Japanese experience in America, historian Roger Daniels provides a new perspective on the... significance of Asian immigration to the United States. Examining the period from the mid-nineteenth century to the early 1980s, Daniels presents a basic history comprising the political and socioeconomic background of Chinese and Japanese immigration and acculturation. He draws distinctions and points out similarities not only between Chinese and Japanese but between Asian and European immigration experiences, clarifying the integral role of Asians in American history.Daniels' research is impressive and his evidence is solid. In forthright prose, he suggests fresh assessments of the broad patterns of the Asian American experience, illuminating the recurring tensions within our modern multiracial society. His detailed supporting material is woven into a rich historical fabric which also gives personal voice to the tenacious individualism of the immigrant.The book is organized topically and chronologically, beginning with the emigration of each ethnic group and concluding with an epilogue that looks to the future from the perspective of the last two decades of Chinese and Japanese American history. Included in this survey are discussions of the reasons for emigration; the conditions of emigration; the fate of first generation immigrants; the reception of immigrants by the United States government and its people; the growth of immigrant communities; the effects of discriminatory legislation; the impact of World War II and the succeeding Cold War era on Chinese and Japanese Americans; and the history of Asian Americans during the last twenty years.This timely and thought-provoking volume will be of value not only to specialists in Asian American history and culture but to students and general historians of American life.

(Applause Books). Includes: Amy Hill: Tokyo Bound ; David Henry Hwang: Bondage ; Velina Hasu Houston: As Sometimes in a Dead Man's Face ; Lane... Nishikawa and Victor Talmadge: The Gate of Heaven ; Dwight Okita: The Rainy Season .

This groundbreaking book traces the transformation of Asian Americans from a few small, disconnected, and largely invisible ethnic groups into a... self-identified racial group that is influencing every aspect of American society. It explores the events that shocked Asian Americans into motion and shaped a new consciousness. Helen Zia, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, writes as a personal witness to the dramatic changes involving Asian Americans.

This book examines Asian American ethnicity and communication, looking at: immigration patterns, ethnic institutions, family patterns, and ethnic and... cultural identities. William Gudykunst focuses on how communication is similar and different among Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, and Vietnamese Americans. Where applicable, similarities and differences in communication between Asian Americans and European Americans are also examined. Gudykunst concludes with a discussion of the role of communication in Asian immigrants' acculturation to the United States.

These brief anthologies of ethnic American literature are ideal for ethnic, multicultural and American literature courses. They are designed to... introduce undergraduates to the rich but often neglected literary contributions of established and newer ethnic writers to American literature. Each text is organized chronologically by genre and represent a wide range of literature. An introduction provides an historical overview and a celebration of the diversity within each ethnic group. It also addresses the general literary concerns students are likely to encounter in their readings. A seperate thematic table of contents provides the instructor with more flexibility in the classroom.

With different histories, cultures, languages, and identities, most Americans of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese origin are lumped... together and viewed by other Americans simply as Asian Americans. Since the mid 1960s, however, these different Asian American groups have come together to promote and protect both their individual and their united interests. The first book to examine this particular subject, "Asian American Panethnicity" is a highly detailed case study of how, and with what success, diverse national-origin groups can come together as a new, enlarged panethnic group. Yen Le Espiritu explores the construction of large-scale affiliations, in which previously unrelated groups submerge their differences and assume a common identity. Making use of extensive interviews and statistical data, she examines how Asian panethnicity protects the rights and interests of all Asian American groups, including those, like the Vietnamese and Cambodians, which are less powerful and prominent than the Chinese and Japanese. By citing specific examples educational discrimination, legal redress, anti-Asian violence, the development of Asian American Studies programs, social services, and affirmative action, the author demonstrates how Asian Americans came to understand that only by cooperating with each other would they succeed in fighting the racism they all faced. Yen Le Espiritu is Assistant Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego.

Asian American plays provide an opportunity to think about how racial issues are engaged through theatrical performanceophysical contact, bodily labour,... and fleshly desireoas well as through the more standard elements of plot, setting, characterization, staging, music, and action. Other Spaces of Asian America showcases seven exciting new plays that dramatize timely themes that are familiar to Asian Americans. The works variously address immigration, racism, stereotyping, identity, generational tensions, assimilation, and upward mobility as well as post-9/11 paranoia, racial isolation, and adoptee experiences. Each of these works engages directly and actively with Asian American themes through performance to provide an important starting point for building relationships, raising political awareness, and creating active communities that can foster a sense of connection or even rally individuals to collective action.

This exciting anthology of work by up-and-coming writers is the first to profile a new generation of Asian American poets. Building on the legacy of... now-canonized poets, such as Li-Young Lee, Cathy Song, and Garrett Hongo, who were the first to achieve widespread recognition in the American literary community, this new generation also strikes off in bold new directions. "Asian American Poetry: The Next Generation" gathers for the first time a broad cross section of the very best work of these young poets, much of which has never before been published or has appeared only in hard-to-find journals and first books of poetry. The poems collected in "Asian American Poetry: The Next Generation" lay a groundwork for readers while at the same time expanding the scope of American literature. Featured poets, all under the age of forty, include Timothy Liu, Adrienne Su, Sue Kwock Kim, Rick Barot, Brenda Shaughnessy, Mong-Lan, as well as less familiar names. Their backgrounds combine many ethnicities and their perspectives and concerns broaden the boundaries of Asian American poetry. Some continue with styles and topics closely related to those of their predecessors while others break conventional patterns and challenge readers with new subject matter, fresh language, and powerful new voices. A foreword by Marilyn Chin puts the book in context of both Asian American national identity and history, and makes the important distinctions between generations clear. "Asian American Poetry: The Next Generation" opens the door on a dynamic, developing part of the poetic world, making it finally accessible to students, scholars, and poetry fans alike.

Asian Americans are the most heavily immigrant population and their numbers are steadily rising from less than a million in 1960 to more than 15 million... today. They are also a remarkably diverse population representing a vast array of ethnic groups, religions, and languages and they enjoy higher levels of education and income than any other U.S. racial group. Historically, socioeconomic status has been a reliable predictor of political behavior. So why has this fast-growing American population, which is doing so well economically, been so overlooked the U.S. political system? Asian American Political Participation is the most comprehensive study to date of Asian American political behavior, including such key measures as voting, political donations, community organizing, and political protests. The book examines why some groups participate while others do not, why certain civic activities are deemed preferable to others, and why Asian socioeconomic advantage has so far not led to increased political clout. Asian American Political Participation is based on data from the authors groundbreaking 2008 National Asian American Survey of more than 5,000 Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, and Japanese Americans. The book shows that the motivations for and impediments to political participation are as diverse as the Asian American population. For example, native-born Asians have higher rates of political participation than their immigrant counterparts, particularly recent adult arrivals who were socialized outside of the United States. Protest activity is the exception, which tends to be higher among immigrants who maintain connections abroad and who engaged in such activity in their country of origin. Surprisingly, factors such as living in a new immigrant destination or in a city with an Asian American elected official do not seem to motivate political behavior neither does ethnic group solidarity. Instead, hate crimes and racial victimization are the factors that most motivate Asian Americans to participate politically. Involvement in non-political activities such as civic and religious groups also bolsters political participation. Even among Asian groups, socioeconomic advantage does not necessarily translate into high levels of political participation. Chinese Americans, for example, have significantly higher levels of educational attainment than Japanese Americans, but Japanese Americans are far more likely to vote and make political contributions. And Vietnamese Americans, with the lowest levels of education and income, vote and engage in protest politics more than any other group. Lawmakers tend to favor the interests of groups who actively engage the political system, and groups who do not participate at high levels are likely to suffer political consequences in the future. Asian American Political Participation demonstrates that understanding Asian political behavior today can have significant repercussions for Asian American political influence tomorrow.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of Asian American participation in US politics. Written to be easily accessible to... students, the book covers historical and cultural context, political behavior and attitudes, interest groups and parties, elected officials, and public policies that have an important impact on Asian Americans.The role of identity provides an organizing theme which allows students to see connections between different aspects of Asian American politics. Andrew Aoki and Okiyoshi Takeda explain how the fate of Asian Americans has been powerfully influenced by the way they have been portrayed in the media, and more generally, in US society. Students are introduced to the “forever foreigner” image, which has helped to marginalise Asian Americans, and the “model minority” myth, which can give policymakers misleading impressions. The book also stresses how Asian Americans have worked to take control of their image and political fortunes. Students learn how the Asian American Movement helped to promote a “panethnic” identity which could strengthen Asian American political influence.Asian American Politics is a lively and accessible introduction, ideal for students taking courses in race and politics.For more information and resources visit the accompanying series website: www.politybooks.com/minoritypol