Resources

A Micro Syllabus on Asian American Experiences and Politics

May 17, 2021 2739

Un-modeling the ‘model minority’ — a term often used to describe Asian American populations in the United States — is a crucial and necessary step towards undoing the systemic racism within communities nationwide and acknowledging the “immense diversity” and complexity inherent to Asian American communities.

“Asian Americans have a complicated place in the U.S. racial structure,” notes a recent article in the Washington Post, “including how this group looks at affirmative action, racial threat and discrimination, and racial coalitions.” That aerticle reports on a micro-syllabus released by publisher Taylor & Francis focused on the growing body of research that studies the Asian-America and Pacific Islander, or AAPI, populations alongside other groups of color. The AAPI population is “too diverse to expect a high degree of political uniformity, and deep internal political divides may [still] be developing today.”

A large percentage of AAPI populations are immigrants, making transnational considerations important. Additionally, it is worth acknowledging the level of coherence that does exist within such communities in the face of its cultural diversity. The syllabus also examines how this coherence might be conceptualized and how Asian American experiences of marginalization occur within the greater context and pattern of racial politics in the United States. Learning about present day experiences of marginalization can be further contextualized in relation to the hostility, violence, and legal exclusion experienced by earlier generations of Asian Americans. Readings by Roger Daniels, Ronald Takaki, Sucheng Chan, Mae Ngai, Beth Lew-Williams, and Erika Lee offer greater insight on past experiences.

The Asian American experience cannot be understood without the addition of past research that has laid the foundation for understanding Asian American marginalization and subsequent political behavior today. As the Post article relates, in 1986, Don Nakanishi published a seminal research paradigm in which he categorized Asian American politics into four contrasting but intersecting dimensions. The American Political Science Association built upon that and recently published a review of more than two decades of research on Asian American politics, simultaneously celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Understanding Asian Americans requires taking a broad perspective, as these identities are shaped by historical and transnational forces that cross scholarly disciplinary lines. Political theorist Claire Jean Kim states that Asians have been triangulated in relation to Blacks and Whites, praised for socioeconomic achievements but also treated as “forever foreigners” who cannot assimilate. Thus, while this syllabus is just a start, understanding and studying the intricacies of Asian American experiences can help dismantle racial prejudices across American societies.

(Photo: Jason Leung/Unsplash)

Kenalyn Ang is the social science communications intern with SAGE Publishing. She is also a communications student at the USC Annenberg School. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, identity-making and representation through the written word, and creative sensory marketing and branding strategies.

View all posts by Kenalyn Ang

Related Articles

Popular Paper Examines Ensuring Trustworthiness in Qualitative Analysis
Impact
July 10, 2025

Popular Paper Examines Ensuring Trustworthiness in Qualitative Analysis

Read Now
Why Men Have a Bigger Carbon Footprint Than Women  
Insights
July 8, 2025

Why Men Have a Bigger Carbon Footprint Than Women  

Read Now
AAPSS Looking for Civic-Minded Social Scientists or Science-Minded Leaders
Recognition
July 7, 2025

AAPSS Looking for Civic-Minded Social Scientists or Science-Minded Leaders

Read Now
Leor Zmigrod on the Ideological Brain
Social Science Bites
July 1, 2025

Leor Zmigrod on the Ideological Brain

Read Now
When Clarity Isn’t Enough: Rethinking AI’s Role in Cognitive Accessibility for Expert Domains

When Clarity Isn’t Enough: Rethinking AI’s Role in Cognitive Accessibility for Expert Domains

The promise of artificial intelligence in accessibility work is often framed in hopeful terms. Large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 are increasingly […]

Read Now
Closing the Gender Pay Gap: Why Intermediaries Matter

Closing the Gender Pay Gap: Why Intermediaries Matter

Despite decades of reform, gender pay gaps (GPGs) remain a stubborn and unjust feature of labour markets globally. On average, women are […]

Read Now
Degrading Sites of Punishment and Pain: The Case for Abolishing Prisons

Degrading Sites of Punishment and Pain: The Case for Abolishing Prisons

Prisons have been in crisis in England and Wales for 200 years. The state has responded with piecemeal, ‘pragmatic’ reforms which have […]

Read Now
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments