Research Paper On Asian American Culture

Historian Daryl Joji Maeda called the The Asian American movement “a multiethnic alliance comprising of all ethnicities by drawing on the discourses and ideologies of the Black Power and anti-war movements in the United States as well as decolonization movements around the globe.” By the 1960s, a new generation, less attached to the ethnic differences that plagued Asian immigrant groups, began to grow and work together. The black and white binary race treatment in the US alienated Asian-Americans as an other, causing some to begin their own rally for Asian-American civil rights.

Imagine a distant post-apocalyptic future in which a group of researchers discovers a stack of DVDs of 20th and 21st century Hollywood movies of Asian American actresses. After watching those movies, what might the researchers conclude about the characteristics of Asian American women in the movies? Certainly, they will view Asian American women as sexual and erotic objects of the society that white men can score with ease. Why do I assume they will think that way? The answer is a simple, yet controversial one: mostly, the media, as the history proves, portrays Asian American women either as erotic sex slaves of white men or as insidious personalities who lure their prey into a trap with their sex appeal. If we look into the history,

It doesn’t matter what kind of ethnicity you are, or how you were brought up. Everyone is deeply rooted in their own culture. “Culture” has a different meaning to everyone. Comparing American culture to Chinese culture we will find many different meanings to the word “culture”. For example, we Americans are always looking for something bigger and better for our future, and the Chinese are content with a small reserved lifestyle with no intentions of changing it for something bigger. A culture is a way of life of a group of people-the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and are passed along by communication and imitation from

Over the course of history, South Asians have been mistreated and undermined within American society. This is especially evident after the terror attacks of 9/11 in which Americans shunned its South Asian Population, and reduced them to devastating stereotypes. This has created tension and hostility within the South Asian community, thus pressuring them to being more Americanized, and further creating a fixation towards becoming more white. The obsession with American culture has caused many to conform, leaving behind cultural and religious parts of their identities. It is necessary to explore the history behind the mistreatment of South Asians to understand why the change in identity such as those portrayed with Changez in The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Amir in Disgraced have occurred. These main characters of South Asian descent make it is clear that the American dream for immigrants creates a constant struggle between national and transnational identities as racism and hostility are being thrust upon them by American society.

Asian Americans are a diverse group of people who are among the fastest growing minority groups in the United States. Despite their minority status, they often surpass Whites in America and do so while holding on to their cultural values regarding family, education, and success.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” (Mahatma). Our culture identifies who we are and how we behave in social environments and provides us with a foundation in which to live our lives and raise our families. Each individual culture has certain customs and courtesies that are important. Exposure to the cultures of others can be intimidating and can leave a person feeling confused and unsure about how they fit in (Schaefer 60). Culture shock can leave a person feeling out of place in an unfamiliar culture (Schaefer 60). Our diverse societies demand understanding and acceptance of other cultures. Learning and understanding these cultures before being

Being Chinese-Vietnamese American, I have always seen myself as being very unique. In addition to celebrating the Western holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day, my family celebrates our mixture of Chinese and Vietnamese cultures with two other big holidays: Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Although many cultures celebrate holidays differently, one thing is always consistent in most of these celebrations: the important role of food.

In Asian American studies, identity is “a set of characteristics or a description that distinguishes a person or thing from others” (Ho 125). One would have to truly perceive his or her culture, language, beliefs, customs and values in order to be viewed as a distinct person in terms of identity. However, many Asian Americans are often faced with personal struggles when they are finding their own identity. These included the issues of assimilation, and contradictions of race and identity within their family and school life. They may sometimes feel insecure with their identity as Asian Americans due to their position as racial minorities in the Unites States. As a consequence, some would unconsciously reject their identity when their emotions are severely damaged in confronting with unequal treatment or being labeled with the Asian stereotypes. In his article “Distilling My Korean American Identity,” Patrick S.

In the mid to late 19th century, many people from China began coming into California. They faced oppression and hardships throughout this time, but despite their hardships they fought on and resisted. Some of the hardships were similar and others not so much. Their genders affected the nature of some of the experiences they faced. Men were used as free labor and the women were kidnapped as prostitutes. The Asian American experience in mid to late 19th century America was a great struggle for both men and women; their experiences carried some similarities but also differed greatly.

First, Chinese Americans preserve their ethnic identities through holidays. One of the biggest holidays is the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year is different from the regular New Years in that it relies on the moon cycles instead of the western calendar, so it falls on different days each year. There is a lot of preparation that goes into the Chinese New Year. People start cleaning their houses and decorating them with spring couplets on the twentieth day of the twelfth moon. Spring couplets are short poems written on red scrolls of paper in black. A popular New Years tradition in the United States is the exchanging of red envelopes containing money, which are called hong-bao. Most families spend this holiday celebrating together because this holiday, above others, emphasizes family and family ties.

The Making of Asian America: Book Review In The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee the readers are introduced to a new perspective of Asian Americans. Prior to reading this novel, the audience may not have known how important the Asian American culture is to the foundation of the United States. Lee She incorporates ideas that in a high school history class has been ignored, such as the Chinese Massacre that occurred in Rock Springs, Wyoming In class we were briefly introduced to different Asian cultures via film, as we saw in the film that colonial masters looked to Asian countries to gain an imperial benefit.

This week we mainly discuss about the Social Movement. During 1960s, different ethnic face different problem, we have the American Indian Movement, Asian American problem, black power movement, etc. I have three movement that I will discuss in this essay.

Look around you and notice that everyone has something hidden. That something cannot be seen with the eye like a physical object, but more of something buried down deep in the roots. History books mention the founding of the United States of America and how everything started in this country. But there has always been a big part excluded out of the books. Most of them talk about the Americans, but what about the Asian Americans who have contributed to this country? They had to go through harsh discrimination and unfair laws and rules. Asian Americans have a history that has been untold. Everything has been buried because their voices cannot be heard. Look around you again and move around. Objects may look different or you may even see other

Struggles of Finding One’s Identity In the essay Growing Up Asian in America by, Kesaya E. Noda talks about finding her identity. Noda starts the essay by stating how the identity she was given was not one she received through her own personality and actions. Rather, society quickly gave her an identity with its own respected stereotypes due to the color of her skin. Society “hurtled” this identity at her with an expectation that she fulfill the attributes characterized with an Asian American.

Students from several organizations banded together to teach a dance workshop Thursday evening, March 17 in the Pegasus Ballroom as a part of UCF’s first Asian-American Heritage Week.