Asian American Studies Commons^™

A Home Shielded By Laws: Freedom Suits And Enslaved Mothers, Heidi Martin

Digital Legal Research Lab

This project collects, digitizes, and makes accessible the freedom suits brought by enslaved families in the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, Maryland state courts, and the United States Supreme Court. This project places families in the foreground of our interpretive framework of slavery and national formation.

Using TEI encoding, we focused on outcomes, relationships between individuals and the claim for freedom made. Using these data sets, I focused specefically on mothers petitioning for their children. Of the 508 cases I utilized, 131 included children and a parental figure. I set out to distinguish the additional burden mothers had …

In The Waiting: The Role Of The Slave Bastille In Antebellum D.C., Ellyzabeth Morales-Ledesma

Digital Legal Research Lab

In 1808 the Transatlantic Slave Trade ended and in turn the government created a federally protected human market. As the South's demand for human labor force increased the domestic slave trade rocketed and in turn created even more turmoil for the Black population if the United States. Slave Traders and Man-Dealers took advantage of the market and kidnapped Free Black men women and children. While waiting to be sold enslaved people would be admitted into holding cells and jails; this was the creation of slave jails and Slave Bastilles. Slave jails served as places where the horrors of a human …

Habeas Corpus As A Means For Economic Freedom In The Progressive Era, Janana Khattak

Digital Legal Research Lab

Habeas corpus protects individual freedom by allowing detained individuals proper trial. Economic liberty, or the “right to earn a living in an occupation of choice without unnecessary government interference,” is a key component of individual freedom. Following the depression of 1893, the Progressive Era ushered in a sharp increase in productivity. This was in part because of an immigration boom. While immigrants sought economic opportunities for the betterment of themselves and their families, ideologies of nativism rose.

Advisor: Katrina Jagodinsky

Building Our Own Houses: Aapis In Congress, Daenerys Pineda

CMC Senior Theses

During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian hate peaked and came to national attention. Given the country-wide scope of this issue, a potential avenue for its address is through federal representatives, and particularly through those representatives who identify as Asian-American. This community’s political participation began long before 2020, and this thesis evaluates how Asian-American representatives have provided meaningful political representation in various situations for a national Asian-American constituency. For the purpose of this thesis, I define substantive representation as an action of a representative, using their particular political powers and privileges, in the interest of their constituents. I conduct three case studies …

Effectively Educating Asian Americans On Rank Choice Voting, Justin Balwan, Darren Jin, Mathew Marrone, Jasmine H. Namdar

Publications and Research

Our poster demonstrates the most effective way to educate the Asian American community on Rank Choice Voting.

Sovereignty, Statehood, And Subjugation: Native Hawaiian And Japanese American Discourse Over Hawaiian Statehood, Nicole Saito

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Although discourse over Hawaiian statehood has increasingly been described by scholars as a racial conflict between Japanese Americans and Native Hawaiians, there existed a broad spectrum of interactions between the two groups. Both communities were forced to confront the prejudices they had against each other while recognizing their shared experiences with discrimination, creating a paradoxical political culture of competition and solidarity up until the conclusion of World War Two. From 1946 to 1950, however, the country’s collective understanding of Japanese American citizenship began to shift with recognition of the community’s military service record and an increased proportion of veterans elected …

3rd Place Contest Entry: Sovereignty, Statehood, And Subjugation: Native Hawaiian And Japanese American Discourse Over Hawaiian Statehood, Nicole Saito

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Nicole Saito's submission for the 2021 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won first place. It contains her essay on using library resources, a three-page sample of her research project on the consequences that Japanese American advocacy for Hawaiian statehood had on Native Hawaiians, and her works cited list.

Nicole is a junior at Chapman University, majoring in Political Science, History, and Economics. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Robert Slayton.

The U.S. Creation Of The South Vietnamese Air Force, 1955-1975, James C. Jumper Jr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

From 1962 until 1973 the United States Air Force (USAF) built a small but effective South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF). VNAF grew from approximately 4,000 personnel in 1963, flying ninety-six aircraft in six squadrons, to 60,000 personnel and sixty-five squadrons with over 2,000 aircraft by 1973. There was continuous change in the type of aircraft provided to the VNAF as the USAF upgraded VNAF’s capabilities. Training VNAF personnel was a continuing problem for both pilots and support personnel because of the almost constant aircraft upgrades and increase of size of the VNAF. VNAF was growing, developing doctrine, establishing its mission …

Victim Silencing, Sexual Violence Culture, Social Healing: Inherited Collective Trauma Of World War Ii South Korean Military “Comfort Women”, Mijin Cho

VCU Phi Kappa Phi Award Winners

The unresolved reconciliation process for WWII South Korean military “comfort women” presents a case of nationally inherited collective trauma, in which South Koreans far removed in time and space from the historical tragedy feel its implications and obligations for reparations and social healing. In examining the South Korean comfort women redress movement and systemic concealment of WWII military sexual slavery, this study investigates a pattern of victim silencing, characterized by institutional patriarchy and ineffective government involvement, from 1945 to 2019. Following the South Korean government’s formal rejection of the 2015 agreement with Japan regarding a final and irreversible conclusion to …

“I Don’T Want To Hear Your Language!” White Social Imagination And The Demography Of Roman Corinth, Ekaputra Tupamahu

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

This article aims to deconstruct the hidden pervasive whiteness in biblical scholarship and to propose another way to reimagine the linguistic dynamic of Roman Corinth from an Asian American perspective. It highlights the legal and historical interconnectedness of whiteness and the dominance of English. English is a critical marker of whiteness in the United States. In this context, immigrants are expected to conform to and assimilate themselves with whiteness by performing English. This particular racialized context has influenced and resulted in a scholarly historical reconstruction of immigrants in Roman Corinth as “Greek speaking im/migrants.” Immigrants can come from many different …

Challenging Voting Rights And Political Participation In State Courts, Irving Joyner

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

Currents Of Consumption: How National Narratives Of Japanese Cuisine Collide With Localized Forms Of Sushi In Northern California, John Ostermiller

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper examines how national narratives of Japanese cuisine collide with the expectations, preferences, and perceptions of American consumers (particularly Northern California). The global economy has benefited the circulation of positive images of Japan managed by the Japanese government, but the commercialization of Japanese cuisine is also at odds with government efforts. In Japan, sushi is often synonymous with nigirizushi: sliced seafood and a daub of wasabi atop vinegared rice. As part of Japan’s washoku tradition, this singular image of sushi (allegedly) reflects the deepest essence of Japanese cultural sensibilities tied to simplicity, perfection, and nature. But in America, consumers’ …

Disillusionment And Disaggregation: Why Did Asian Americans Vote For Trump?, Catalina Huamei Huang

CMC Senior Theses

In one of the most controversial and interesting election cycles in American history, Republican nominee, Donald Trump prevailed over his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. To many, his victory was shocking, if not completely unexpected, yet the circumstances that catalyzed such a defeat lie in the characteristics of his supporters, made up of several classes, races, and identities. Among them are the multifaceted Asian American population – diverse ethnically and politically. This thesis aims to unravel the reasons for which many Asian Americans gave their vote to Trump on November 8, 2016 through distinctions between their ethnic groups and demographics. It …

Beyond Metropolises: Hybridity In A Transnational Context, Raihan Sharif

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

Beyond metropolises and within transnational contexts, investigating hybridity discourses is long overdue. This article argues that the epistemic violence embedded in such discourse has grave implications for the very impoverished nations and peoples with whom it claims solidarity and that, because this discourse is trendy in academia, its service to neoliberal capitalism is both easy to miss and important to expose. Interstices of postcolonial hybridity discourses, development discourses, and environmental justice discourses—dominant versions of which are segregated from contextual issues—as produced in Western academia and exported to third world countries for appropriation as developmental efforts—reveal epistemic violence, the manipulation of …

From Citizens To Elected Representatives: The Political Trajectory Of Asian American Pacific Islanders By 2040, Christine Chen, James Lai, Karthick Ramakrishnan, Alton Wang

Ethnic Studies

The political power of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) has increased steadily in the United States. By 2040, one in ten Americans will be AAPI, and the number of Asian Americans registered to vote will have doubled (Ong, Ong, and Ong, 2016). This section examines the growing AAPI electorate and projects a trajectory for AAPI civic engagement and political participation from now until 2040. By looking at trends and projections for citizenship, voter registration, voter turnout, elected officials, and political infrastructure, the authors illustrate that AAPI political empowerment will have even a greater influence on the future of American …

From Central Cities To Ethnoburbs: Asian American Political Incorporation In The San Francisco Bay Area, James Lai

Ethnic Studies

Asian Americans are increasingly more active and visible in local politics, extending beyond central city limits. While central cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, and New York City remain vibrant 21st-century gateways for contemporary Asian immigrants and community formation, a majority of the U.S. Asian American population currently resides in suburban cities. Between 2000 and 2010, Asian American population growth in the suburbs reached 1.7 million, which was nearly four times the growth during the same period for those Asian Americans living in central cities. ¹ Approximately 62 percent of the U.S. Asian American population is situated …

Political Contributions By Asian Americans: An Analysis Of The 2014 Massachusetts Gubernatorial Campaign, Michael Liu, Paul Watanabe

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

The Institute for Asian American Studies’ report on political contributions by Asian Americans in the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign represented the first time that these contributions were systematically reported and analyzed.1 In that election, Asian Americans constituted 1.0% of all individual contributions. In terms of dollar value, those contributions accounted for 1.1% of the total dollar amount contributed. This report follows that initial study by examining Asian American political contributions to candidates for governor in 2014.

The 2014 governor’s race was energized by the fact that two-term incumbent Deval Patrick chose not to seek re-election. Patrick’s decision touched off a …

Untold Narratives: Refugee Experiences From Laos To Richmond, California, Laiseng Saechao

Scripps Senior Theses

Untold Narratives: A Refugee Experience from Laos to Richmond, California is focused on the Mien refugee experience from Laos to Richmond, California. This thesis highlights the ways Cold War politics, the Secret War, and heavy industrialization have impacted Mien communities who have been displaced from their homelands into refugee camps, and again through sponsorship into the United States. This thesis looks at political theories that discuss inequalities that exist, particularly through environmental degradation and negative health impacts that Mien refugees are experiencing in their resettlement into Richmond, California. Due to the limited scholarly articles and documented narratives that are available …

Creating Knowledge, Volume 8, 2015

Creating Knowledge

Dear reader,

I am delighted to introduce this eighth volume of Creating Knowledge: The LAS Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship. This volume features 19 essays and 14 art works, representing advanced coursework produced in twenty different departments and programs during the 2014-2015 academic year. Several of the essays have been honored with department awards and several draw on research supported by undergraduate research grants. Many were originally written in senior capstone seminars, research-intensive seminars, and independent studies, and many were presented in some form at one of the numerous conferences and showcases sponsored by departments and programs throughout the year. All …

Utopias Misplaced: The Cost Of Outsourcing Dystopian Poetics To North Korea, Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

This is a slightly revised version of the text of a talk that I (Seo-Young Chu) gave as part of the Fall 2014 Franke Lectures in the Humanities at Yale University. I'm sharing the text here to make the lecture more accessible. Topics include: North Korea/the DPRK, the "uncanny body politic," the uncanny valley, "dystopian poetics," what it means to outsource dystopian poetics, the intersection of aesthetics and politics. Authors/artists mentioned include: Thomas Hobbes, Mary Shelley, David Mitchell, Marjane Satrapi, Song Byeok, Sun Mu, Masahiro Mori, Andy Warhol. The talk also discusses the James Bond film Die Another Day.

The Influences Of The American Boxer Indemnity Reparations Remissions On Chinese Higher Education, Xiaojuan Zhou

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to consider the influences of the American Boxer Indemnity Reparations Remissions (ABIRR) on Chinese higher education. These remissions were used to establish two universities, to establish the American Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program (ABISP) to support Chinese students’ studying in America, and to support other higher education- related projects.

This study focused on higher education considering ABISP as an individual case. The ABISP students were selected from all the students who studied in America in the corresponding period in part because of the inconsistencies of research before 1949.

Through tracking 1,152 ABISP students of Type …

Support Strategies For Asian American Women Leaders In Massachusetts, Lisa Wong

Support Strategies for Asian American Women Leaders in Massachusetts

The election and appointment of Asian American women to positions in Massachusetts and on the federal level suggest that the face of public leadership is changing. Recent successes for Asian American women in electoral politics provide a unique opportunity to build the pipeline of Asian American women in Massachusetts politics. This research project aimed to identify strategies to increase the number of Asian American women elected to political office in Massachusetts.

The Asian American Electorate In 2012: Estimates Of Voter Registration In Eleven Massachusetts Cities And Towns, Paul Watanabe, Michael Liu

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

Massachusetts’ Asian American community continues to grow rapidly and accordingly Asian American electoral participation increases in importance. Voting is a vehicle to expand opportunities and to enhance their role in the selection of public officials and influencing public policies. This participation, however, does not come easily for some groups and especially for those with a large immigrant component such as the Asian American populations. To be eligible to vote, adult residents must be United States citizens by birth or naturalization, but that is not enough — citizens must also be registered to vote.

This report provides detailed estimates of voter …

From An Ethnic Island To A Transnational Bubble: A Reflection On Korean Americans In Los Angeles, Edward J.W. Park

Asian and Asian American Studies Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Immigration And Belonging: Nation, Class, And Membership In New Migration Policies, Edward J.W. Park

Asian and Asian American Studies Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Asian Americans And Politics: Voting Behavior And Political Involvement, Elizabeth Hoene

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Voting behavior and political involvement are two commonly studied topics among political scientists today, most commonly involving Caucasian, African, and Hispanic Americans. However, there have been relatively few studies done on Asian American and Asian immigrant voting behavior and their political involvement. What causes Asian Americans and Asian immigrants to vote the way they do? How involved are they in American politics and why? These are questions that I am aiming to answer through the studying of the Pilot National Asian American Political Survey 2000- 2001 from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Socioeconomic factors such as income, …

Multiplexing Racial And Ethnic Planes: Chinese American Politics In Globalized Immigrant Suburbs, James Lai

Ethnic Studies

Contemporary American suburbs offer critical insights into the multiple planes of racial and ethnic consciousness and community formations that shape new Chinese American political agendas. In a 2009 Amerasia Journal article entitled "A New Gateway: Asian American Political Power in the 21st Century," I examined the importance of location for understanding the ability of Asian American communities to attain and sustain elected representation. Like real estate, location matters in explaining the political question of "where" Asian Americans are winning elected representation in American politics. That article's thesis was that, rather than focusing solely on metropolitan gateways that had been central …

Voting Behavior And Political Participation, James Lai

Ethnic Studies

Asian Americans have been labeled as the "next sleeping giant" in American politics in key geopolitical states such as California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Washington. ¹ Much of this perception is fueled by the dramatic growth of Asian American communities in these and other states as a result of federal immigration reforms beginning in 1965. This section highlights the major areas of Asian American political participation and behavior that will likely determine whether Asian American politics will live up to this label. These include voter behavior and turnout in local, state, and federal elections as recently as …

A Place Like This: An Environmental Justice History Of The Owens Valley - Water In Indigenous, Colonial, And Manzanar Stories, Monica Embrey

Pomona Senior Theses

This text provides an environmental justice analysis of the stories of the people who lived in the Owens Valley, who watered its land and cultivated its crops—pine trees, apple trees, and kabocha alike. Telling the personal stories of challenge and resistance that manifested alongside the oppressive forces of military and state domination provides the opportunity to align forcibly relocated, exploited and incarcerated people’s struggles throughout time. This text starts with The Nü’ma Peoples who were the first humans to live in the Owens Valley and continues with the struggle for empire between rival colonial empires of agriculture and distant urban …

A New Gateway: Asian American Political Power In The 21st Century, James Lai

Ethnic Studies

Don T. Nakanishi's prescient 1985 Amerasia Journal essay, "Asian American Politics: An Agenda for Research" argued for an interdisciplinary approach to gain a better understanding of Asian American politics. His essay provided an integrated micro/macro and a domestic/transnational approach that was well ahead of its time. Nakanishi's timely essay would prove influential in defining future research parameters of the political behavior of Asian Americans. At the time of the essay's publication, Asians, compared to African Americans and Latinos, were not found in the extant political science literature. Nearly twenty-five years later, however, Nakanishi's interdisciplinary approach has become even more useful …