Reference Articles

Wang, Yu-Wei Shen, Frances "Model Minority Myth." Encyclopedia of Counseling. 2008. SAGE Publications. 17 Aug. 2011.

Bankston III, Carl L. Hidalgo, Danielle Antoinette "Asian and Asian American Studies." 21st Century Sociology. 2006. SAGE Publications. 17 Aug. 2011.

CQ Researcher Articles

US-China Relations: Is a future confrontation looming?

Journal Articles

Fung, K. & Wong, Y.R.. (2007). Factors Influencing Attitudes towards Seeking Professional Help among East and Southeast Asian Immigrant and Refugee Women. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 53(3), 216-18.

This article explores the attitudes of Asian American immigrants and refugees towards mental health care. The authors studied women from five ethnic minority communities because they have lower rates of mental health service utilization.

Questions to Consider:

1. What are some of the cultural and economic reasons behind these lower rates? How is professional help understood within these communities? Provide examples.
2. What can be done to increase mental health care with these populations? Does the article recommend any programs to increase factors influences towards seeking help?

Nogawa, H. & Suttie, S. (1984). A Japanese-American Basketball League and the Assimilation of its Members into the Mainstream of United States Society. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 19 (3-4), 259-267.

This study examined the effects of participation in a Japanese-American youth basketball league on assimilation into the dominant American culture. Although participation in the league didn't seem to promote assimilation, it did appear to reflect an aspect of ethnic solidarity for Japanese-Americans.

Questions to Consider:

1. Because this study was done in 1984, based on the information in the textbook, do you think the results would be different if the study were conducted again today?
2. What aspects of Japanese Americans' immigration make their assimilation process different from that of other Asian Americans?

Pyke, K.D. & Johnson, D.L. (2003). Asian American Women And Racialized Femininities: “Doing” Gender across Cultural Worlds. Gender & Society, 17(1), 33-54.

This article examines the ways that Asian American women ‘do’ gender across both ethnic Asian and mainstream social settings, looking more generally at the ways in which gendered cultural worlds are constructed.  The study finds that young Asian American women construct a highly rigid and patriarchal world that is named as Asian, and a more egalitarian and flexible world that is named as mainstream white and American. 

Questions to Consider:

1. What are the two orienting approaches that have guided research on gender in recent years?  How is the authors approach different?  How do they explain their choice of approach?
2. Describe the social construction of gender as the authors present it.  What do they mean by “gender displays”?
3. The authors used a “grounded method” in their research.  What is this?  How is it more relevant for what they are doing?
4. The authors state: “Our findings illustrate the powerful interplay of controlling images and hegemonic femininity in promoting internalized oppression” (51).  What do they mean?  Can you think of similar examples of controlling images and hegemonic gender definitions from other ethnic or racial groups?

Nopper, T.K. (2010). Colorblind Racism and Institutional Actors’ Explanations of Korean Immigrant Entrepreneurship. Critical Sociology, 36(1), 65-84.

This article discusses the role of both colorblind racial ideology and the disadvantage thesis in explaining the participation of immigrants in entrepreneurship, particularly as small business owners.  She also analyzes how the various dimensions of colorblind racial ideology are embedded in the ways respondents interpret their cultural worlds.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the disadvantage thesis?  How is this thesis different from the more heavily used cultural approaches that have been deployed in the literature about Korean immigrant entrepreneurship?
2. What is colorblind racism?  What are the three dimensions of colorblind racism that are embedded in the disadvantage thesis as it is used in this study?
3. The author concludes that “Koreans’ cultural orientation and ethnic resources were considered mitigating factors” (82).  What in their cultural orientation mitigated the impact of immigrant disadvantage?  What does she mean by ethnic resources?  Provide an example.
4. The author also concludes that “the focus on Korean group characteristics drew from and reproduced colorblind racial ideology” (82).  Explain, and provide examples.

Reyes, Angela. (2011). 'Racist!': Metapragmatic regimentation of racist discourse by Asian American youth. Discourse Society, 22(4), 458-75.

This article discusses post-Jim Crow forms of racism such as color-blind and laissez-faire racism, and the post-racism of the contemporary moment, to illuminate the construction of perceptions of racism among contemporary youth.  Crying ‘racist’ becomes a rich resource for achieving a number of interactional effects that renegotiate the position of Asian American youth with respect to the range of racial categories that circulate throughout US society” (458).

Questions to Consider:

1. The author discusses Hill’s “folk theory of racism.” Describe this theory.  How is racism portrayed from this perspective?  What solutions to the problem of racism fall directly out of the way racism is portrayed in this theory?
2. What are the “five examples in recent years (2005–9) that illustrate how cross-racial racist accusations operate in political commentary and studio entertainment”?  Summarize each.  How are these examples contradictory to the understanding of racism that underlies the “folk theory of racism”?  What purposes do these examples serve?
3. What is referentialism?  How does Reyes argue that referentialism allows contemporary racism to persist?

1. How does the author link the earlier examples of crying racist in entertainment and politics to the specific examples from her ethnographic data on Asian American youth?  Is her conclusion compelling?

 

Yoshihama, M., Ramakrishnan, A., Hammock, A.C. & Khaliq, M. (2012). Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Program in an Asian Immigrant Community Integrating Theories, Data, and Community. Violence Against Women, 18(7), 7-17.

This research project aims to fill an existing gap in research and practice on intimate partner violence (IPV) in immigrant communities.  The authors developed an IPV prevention program in an Asian Indian community in the Midwest. Building on the notion of “cherished value and strength of the community” (2) they created targeted campaign aimed at community-based participation.

Questions to Consider:

1. What were some of the reasons for the authors’ program implementation within the target community? Provide background from the article and connect to the textbook themes.
2. What are some of the limitations of the IPV program? How did the program identify potential clients (participants) within the community. How was the program received by the community.

 

Lee, J. and Bany, J.A. (2009). Imperial Citizens: Koreans and Race from Seoul to LA. Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 38(5), 428-429.

This work explores the facets of Korean migration and experienced faced in their host location. Discussions about race are centerpointe in the nuances of contemporary immigrants and Korean immigrants’ experiences are depicted in this work.

Questions to Consider:

1. What are some of the reasons Koreans immigrated to the U.S.? What were some of the examples provided within the article? Consider if this is what is understood by mainstream America.
2. How do Koreans make sense of their place within American race discourse? What does the article say about race? Consider the distancing hypothesis.