Argues that history and historical necessity have shaped current Asian American projects, not the theoretical products of poststructuralism, Anglo American feminism, or postcolonial theory. Through an examination based on new work from scholars in Asian American and ethnic studies, the author explores these historic, demographic, and political…

Examines television portrayals of the Asian American family during the Reagan-Bush era as a model minority group. Argues that Asian Americans encounter racism and marginalization and that only relatively few achieve the "American dream." Analyzes the portrayal of Asian Americans in television documentaries and dramas. (JB)

Addresses how significant the theoretical debates in the humanities and social sciences are for Asian American and ethnic studies and whether theory can be borrowed and applied to Asian American subjects or whether these subjects are too distinctive. The author discusses the intellectual and ideological consequences in deploying postcolonial and…

Details the participation of Asian American high school students in pan-Asian student organizations, reporting that most of the schools' Asian Americans embraced Asian American panethnicity as a source of personal pride, social support, and political strength. Students also fashioned differing versions of panethnicity to accommodate their varied…

Reviews primary and secondary source material about Asian-American Vietnam veterans. Reveals the reality of marginality faced by Asian Americans and Pacific Americans in the war theater and in the larger society. Subjects' war time and postwar experiences show that the U.S. promise of democracy has not been realized. (SLD)

This paper contains edited excerpts from a report written by Asian American students at the University of California, Berkeley, Law School in 1975 in response to the faculty's proposal to eliminate or reduce the special admissions program for Asians on the grounds that they have "made it" in American society. (Author/AM)

Discusses Asiacentrism and its place in Asian American Studies, what can be learned from Afrocentrism as a paradigm, and the political and philosophical implications of Asiacentrism. The authors propose the development of an Asiacentric paradigm as a critique of the dominant Eurocentrism in theory-building in Asian American Studies. (GR)

Discusses three cultural changes influencing the practice of Asian American Studies scholars and their operating assumptions. The author examines the concept of denationalization in arguing how these cultural phenomena are forcing a paradigm shift in Asian American Studies. (GR)

Using averages to characterize populations is misleading. The normal curve for income per capita for Asian Americans is wider than for other groups. While some Asians are wealthy, many are poor. Census data are used to analyze the status of women, educational attainment, and affirmative action among Asian Americans. (VM)

Explores post-1965 South Asian American writers writing in English and the role of geography and memory and how political and societal factors of the "capitalist new world order" continue to determine the physical and metaphorical location of postcolonial writers in the diaspora. It examines South Asian American writers' compelling evocations of…

Discusses how the changing context of immigration shapes the experiences of Asian-American children and young adults. Analyzes how length of U.S. residence, language usage, family economic status, and family structure affects children's educational experience and labor-market prospects. Data show complexities beyond the Asian-American "model…

Discusses how postmodern theories might contribute to the development of Asian American Studies as an intellectual field of inquiry and a vehicle for political and social change. The author explains how the postmodern direction toward inclusion, multiplicity, and heterogeneity is particularly well suited to an analysis of the contemporary Asian…

Deconstructs certain naturalizing features of the concept "Asian American" in contemporary discourse, and argues the term is now obsolete and detrimental for political purposes. The author suggests an active practice of coming to terms with ever-changing social conditions, an exercise that may change what Asian American means, while…

Whether the conceptual framework involves historical periods, historical themes, or other principles, researchers and writers concerned with Asian Americans and Pacific Americans consider several new themes in addition to the earlier examinations of history, literature, and sociology. The accompanying bibliography reflects the breadth of interest…

Explores suggested contradictions to grasping contemporary Asian America as a socio-ideological formation. It is suggested that the emergence of Pacific Asian economies in the global economy has had a transformative effect on the Asian American self-image, causing Asian Americans to see themselves as either grounded in local communities or as…