Asian American Studies Commons^™

Intersectional Dynamics Of Race And Gender: Voting Behavior And The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, Daniella Basdeo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Presidential elections do more than choose a leader; they give us an inside look at how identity shapes voters’ choices. The 2024 election made this especially clear. Looking at Kamala Harris, who represents multiple underrepresented identities, we see a candidate who is not only a woman and a person of color, but specifically a woman of color running at the national level. This election is the first time we see several minority identities in a candidate in a presidential race, and what makes this unique is that, at the national level, it is much harder for candidates to be fully …

Glossed Over, Rebecca Oh

Theses and Dissertations

Glossed Over is a collection of interdisciplinary artworks exploring my Korean-American diasporic identity and how gender, queerness, religion, neurodivergence, and internet culture intersect within that experience. Through a blend of painting, woodworking, and sculpture, this installation carries the various elements of undefinable 한 (pronounced: han), a concept I attempt to define and contextualize in the Introduction and throughout this thesis. Each artwork operates through coded language, metaphor, and partial disclosure, offering space for the othered to find recognition through subtle cues and signifiers. Through Glossed Over and this thesis, I scratch the surface of my journey in reconciling generational trauma …

An Exploration Of Self-Identity In Transracial Adoptees From China, Aliya Dejun Sarris

Honors Theses and Capstones

Sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the author began to notice that the newest wave of Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) activism was not inclusive of transracial adoptees, or people adopted by parent(s) of a different race. This study explores the unique identity of transracial adoptees specifically from China. The author explores the topics of identity, family, friends, community and overall belonging through the lens of primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include seven, hour-long interviews that the author conducted herself. Overall, the study concludes that transracial adoptees have a qualitatively different experiences than non-adopted peers that – although an incredibly …

The Yellow Qipao, Feibi Wang

Honors Projects

This is a creative project centered around the pre-production of a short film about queer Asian American Christianity and the research that went into it. The synopsis of the script written for the short film is a life in the day of Aspen. Aspen prepares for church and is indecisive of the clothes they want to wear, because they are gender non-conforming. They come out to their mom and there is conflict. My research going into this project consists of researching media representation of queerness, Asian American identity, and Christianity, and how the three identities intersect in Aspen’s life and …

Asian American History And Politics, Rahaf Abdalkareem

Ethnic Studies Student Zines

Asian American Studies offers a scholarly avenue to discuss questions of racial inequality, domestic capitalism, and global imperialism. The debate also includes research on how Asian Americans of the first and second generations cope with adaptation and assimilation, in particular on their Americanization and active pursuit of higher education and prestigious professions in a community that still discriminates against them. In the United States, Asian American Studies focuses on the identities, historical and current perspectives of people and communities. Nationalism, migrants, Asian American masculinity, Asian American femininity, cultural politics, and media coverage are topics and concerns that are central in …

A Look At Asian American Studies, Emery Mckee, Ryan Caragher, Emma Rohrer, Gabe Velazquez

Ethnic Studies Student Zines

Our Zine hopes to cover the multitude of topics discussed in our Intro to Asian American Studies class. Each section is based on a reading relevant to a specific subject covered in the class, whether that be the history of Japanese internment camps or the globalization of the Filipino workforce. After a deeper analysis of the history and tradition in each reading, our zine also focuses on the social, political, and intellectual significance of Asian American articles and stories. There are many significant facts and key ideas that truly speak for themselves on the issues and events being discussed along …

History, Culture, And Humanity: Contextualizing Modern Oppressions, Rosalyn Arvizu, Payton Asch, Thalia Petronelli

Ethnic Studies Student Zines

In our Fall 2020 Introduction to Asian American Studies class, small student cohorts were tasked with creating a zine page for the various concepts analyzed in class. We read many articles in relation to Asian American oppression, both globally and locally. This included topics such as the history of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the anti-Chinese movement, and the various racializations different Asian ethnicities faced. We read about the model minority myth and its prevalence after the Vietnam War, Korean War, and Cold War. Additionally, we discussed the militarization and radicalization of the United States' colonial projects in Hawai'i, Guam, …

History Of Asian Americans, Brittany Le, Christine Sivilay, Mollie Frager

Ethnic Studies Student Zines

For our History of Asian Americans project, we aimed to creatively showcase some of the important topics discussed in the readings throughout this course. Additionally, our group related these historical topics to modern day issues or personal experiences. This was particularly interesting due to the current events taking place this semester like COVID-19, BLM Movement, and the election. In our project, we strayed away from summaries and explanations as much as possible while still providing context. We aimed to use our creative and critical thinking to highlight certain underlying aspects of the readings we thought were important, but may not …

Asian Americans: Life And History In The United States, Annalyn Boothe, Shuyi Jiao, Hailey Freitag

Ethnic Studies Student Zines

In this zine, we educate ourselves on the history of Asian Americans and reflect on how the past has shaped our present and continues to construct the future. With the exception of Ocean Vuong’s novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, all the texts we studied are academic. Generally, the academic texts discuss how one anti-Asian policy leads to further exclusion and/or oppression. These chronological examinations of Asian immigrants in the United States helped us recognize and critically investigate current social and economic tensions experienced by Asian Americans. In order to clearly illustrate the ongoing cause and effects of past polices …

Reflections On A Movement, Mark Bautista, James Estillore, Paolo Garcia, Nadia Mohebati

Ethnic Studies Student Zines

In this zine, we aimed to explore several texts and discuss their significance in understanding both Asian American history and politics, as well as the oral histories and experiences that are often forgotten. In addition to this, each topic covered in our zine investigates how these events throughout time have shaped and continually affected the Asian American experience today. Throughout our time dissecting these select texts on the topic of Asian American Ethnic Studies, the editorial team came to understand the significance of employing a framework of the Asian American plight in regard to how we process modern events. From …

Introduction To Asian American Studies: Final Zine Project (5), Delaney Tax, Maria Zesbaugh, Ashley Montrezza

Ethnic Studies Student Zines

This zine allowed us to confront the ways in which colonization and its historical implications play into modern race relations. This is especially evident in the ways bodies are valued and devalued based on social location, birthplace, and racial appearance. Our weekly zines confronted the direct interactions between colonial violence and individuals, as well as their communities. We also worked to intentionally contrast this to the western construction of whiteness, and pulled from historical and modern examples of how whiteness has been weaponized against Asian communities in order to further marginalize them. Adjacency to whiteness, however, has also been used …

A Study Of Asian American Issues In The United States, Nicoline Pedersen, Krista Celo, Eden Stilman, Seren Ventullo

Ethnic Studies Student Zines

Throughout this zine you will explore a variety of obstacles that Asian Americans have faced in regards to their immigration and acclimation into American society and culture. Over the last century, individuals from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa have either migrated to America in hopes of a better life, or have been forced out of their homes due to war conflicts or as a necessity for cheap labor. Despite the means of their arrival, Americans have historically maintained an imperialistic outlook that America is the superior country. While the white American believes he is saving these transpacific countries from …

Peril, Pandemic, And Crisis: Asian American Studies, Alexis Desany, Carter Lawton, David Wiley

Ethnic Studies Student Zines

Hello and Welcome to our Zine!! We are so happy you stopped by! :) We were presented the opportunity to create a zine on Asian American studies through Josen Diaz’s ETHN course. Although this started out as a project, it became so much more to our group. We had the opportunity to explore different Asian American cultures, their history, and their influence on American culture and politics. This project allowed us to relate all of the historical readings from the Chinese Exclusion Act and the world wars to events that occur today. Over the semester, we developed our overall knowledge …

Bringing The Marginalized Into Conversations About American Raciality, Erin Kane, Keely Gaeta, Emily Norris

Ethnic Studies Student Zines

In this collection of analyses that explore the multi-faceted Asian American identity, we hoped to speak honestly about the Asian American condition. The Asian American condition is one of constantly being without a seat at the table of the American racial consciousness. This zine delves into Asian American identity through the lenses of history, psychology, and lived experience. The historical perspective of Asian American identity has been explored at the hands of the “benevolent” West. History is written by the victors. For Asian Americans, the victor has always been the United States meaning that the interpretation of their identity has …

The Search For Home: An Analysis Of American-Socialized Filipino American Identity In Literature, Julianna Marie Crame

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many studies on Filipino American literature focus on the first-generation’s struggle with assimilation; however, American-socialized generation 1.5 and second-generation Filipino Americans also face immense pressure. How do generation 1.5 and second-generation Filipino Americans develop their identities in compliance with and resistance to stereotypes created by the dominant American and Filipino communities? To answer this question, I use a postcolonial and Asian American Studies theoretical framework to do close readings of three novels written by American-socialized Filipino Americans from the 2000s-2010s and set in the 1990s. These novels are American Son (2001) by Brian Ascalon Roley for racial stereotypes, One Tribe …

Acculturation And Diabetes Among New York's Bangladeshi Immigrants, Renee Mehrra

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There are more than 3.4 million South Asians in the United States. Among this subgroup, Bangladeshis in New York have a high prevalence of Type 2 diabetes ranging from 15 to 24% compared to the general population. This study examined the effect of acculturation through length of stay in the United States and understanding of the English language, and the role of gender on self-efficacy (SE) and diabetes self-management among 336 New York Bangladeshi immigrants between the ages of 21 and 75 who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with A1C -‰¥ 6.5%, as verified by their medical record …

The Dmz Responds, Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

Seo-Young Chu’s “The DMZ Responds” appeared in Telos 184 (Fall 2018), a special issue on Korea edited by Haerin Shin.

Gender, Culture, And The Educational Choices Of Second Generation Hmong American Girls, Bao Lo

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

Research on the educational achievement of racialized minorities and immigrants have largely discussed culture as either a deficit or an advantage for academic success. This paper explores gender differences in educational achievement and how the educational choices of second-generation Hmong American girls are impacted by racially constructed gender norms. In response to hegemonic and subordinated femininities, second-generation Hmong American girls pursue education to enter mainstream America and reject Asian ethnic culture and femininity. Gender equality is normalized and equated with White femininity and American mainstream culture while Asian femininity and ethnic culture is constructed and subordinated as “other”. This research …

Renluka Maharaj Interview, Steven Zych

Asian American Art Oral History Project

Bio: Renluka Maharaj grew up in the country of Trinidad and Tobago and moved to New York as a child where spent most of her life. Her Eastern and Western background wrapped with modern sensibilities is evident in her bodies of work. Her interests are centered on gender roles, sexuality, colonialism, mythology, iconography and fetishism. Some of the artists that have influenced her work are Yinka Shonibare and Yasumasa Morimura.

Ms. Maharaj completed her BFA at the University of Colorado Boulder and is currently completing her MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she received the …

Determinants Of Academic Success Of Cambodian American Students, Chanthol Oung

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cambodian Americans' (CAs) children still exhibit the second lowest rate of academic achievement in the United States, despite the tenets of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 that promote equality in American education. Furthermore, there is a gap in the literature on the relationship between the academic success of Cambodian American students (CASs) and the parents' and the children's factors. Using a structural strain theory of deviance of functionalism theory, this correlational study (a) explored whether education, income, birthplace, and gender of parents and age at immigration and gender of children the determinants of academic success of CASs …

“Bury Your Head Between My Knees And Seek Pardon”: Gender, Sexuality, And National Conflict In John Okada’S No-No Boy, Patricia A. Thomas

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In “‘Bury Your Head Between My Knees and Seek Pardon’: Gender, Sexuality, and National Conflict in John Okada’s 1957 novel, No-No Boy,” I analyze the ways in which the complexities of gendered sexuality expressed by protagonist Ichiro Yamada intersect with post-World War II and Internment-era national identifications for American nisei. I demonstrate that this apparent story of one man’s pursuit to resolve his conflict over national identity is, in reality, a tour de force of literary subversion that not only destabilizes the subterfuge that surrounded internment but also—in its deliberate failure to resolve questions of national conflict on the …