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Race and Asian American Identity Assignment
(1) Kim argues that a discussion of civil rights in the United States naturally invokes a discussion
of race as a relationship between whites and blacks. What—according to Kim—are some of
the limitations of this model? Why does she urge us to retain it as a mode of analysis? Based
upon Kim’s analysis, how would you answer the question, “Are Asians Black?” How else might
one describe the identities of Asian Americans? In what ways do the experiences of Asian
Americans complicate our understanding of civil liberties in the twenty-first century?
(2) Why do scholars argue that the black/white racial paradigm is becoming obsolete? What are
the historical and demographic factors that have contributed to these critiques of the black/
white racial paradigm? In what ways are the six dimensions of the black/white paradigm
applicable to Asian Americans’ racial experience in the United States? Race and Asian American Identity Assignment Help
(3) Kim identifies affirmative action and immigration as two of the most important Asian Ameri-
can civil rights issues of our day. How is the black/white racial paradigm related to these two
major issues? Are there other Asian American civil rights issues that Kim did not address?
How might the black/white paradigm shape our understanding of these other issues?
(4) What different cultural and social behaviors do Filipino Americans associate with race? How
do Filipino Americans’ individual conceptualizations of race help explain why they identify
with both Asian Americans and Latinos? What role does the demographic composition of
Los Angeles play in shaping the panethnic identification of Filipino Americans?
(5) Under what conditions do Filipino Americans identify with other Asian Americans? Might
the findings of Ocampo’s research differ if this study had been conducted in a different city,
such as San Francisco or New York? What about if it had been conducted in a “new destina-
tion,” such as a city in the American South? Under what conditions do Filipino Americans
identify with Mexican Americans and other Latinos? How does class shape this process?
(6) According to Zhou, why would Asian Americans, by some measures, be considered white?
How is whiteness being defined in this context? What events in the 1960s and 1970s prompted
some to see Asian Americans as “white”? In what ways is this characterization both inaccu-
rate and problematic? Race and Asian American Identity Assignment Help
(7) Why have some Asian Americans felt that they are perceived as “forever foreigners”? In what
ways are the “honorary white” and “forever foreigner” stereotypes congruent with each other?
How have global events within Asia contributed to the reification of these stereotypes within
the United States?
(8) Zhou notes that many Americans of Asian ancestry are ambivalent about the term “Asian
American,” preferring instead to identify themselves (typically) by their parents’ country
of origin. Why do you think they identify themselves in this manner? What effects do class
background, education, and immigrant status have on this phenomenon? Under what cir-
cumstances do members of Asian-origin groups (Korean American, Filipino American, etc.)
embrace a pan–Asian American identity? Under what circumstances do Asian Americans
build coalitions with other ethnic and racial groups (including whites)?
Race and Asian American Identity Assignment Help
(9) In discussing the implications of the model minority hypothesis, Zhou writes, “The model
minority image implicitly casts Asian Americans as different from whites. By placing Asian
Americans above whites, the model minority image also sets them apart from other Ameri-
cans, white or nonwhite, in the public mind.” Explain what she means and cite evidence from
the article to support/refute this idea. When Zhou asks, “Are Asian Americans Becoming
White?” what exactly is she suggesting and why? What criteria does American society use to
assess whiteness and judge Asian Americans and members of racial minority groups? Based
upon your reading of Kim’s article, how might Kim respond to this question? How does Asian
America look if the privileges of whiteness are projected upon Asian Americans?
(9) In discussing the implications of the model minority hypothesis, Zhou writes, “The model
minority image implicitly casts Asian Americans as different from whites. By placing Asian
Americans above whites, the model minority image also sets them apart from other Ameri-
cans, white or nonwhite, in the public mind.” Explain what she means and cite evidence from
the article to support/refute this idea. When Zhou asks, “Are Asian Americans Becoming
White?” what exactly is she suggesting and why? What criteria does American society use to
assess whiteness and judge Asian Americans and members of racial minority groups? Based
upon your reading of Kim’s article, how might Kim respond to this question? How does Asian
America look if the privileges of whiteness are projected upon Asian Americans?
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