Sunday, June 30, 2019

Qian Zhang: Week One Readings for ASA 002


In the article Taking Action: Asian American Faculty against Injustices in the Academy, Shirley Hune discusses the racist situation which Asian Americans as a ‘model minority’ experience. The research mostly focuses on the experience of Asian American females in the 1970s’ academic surroundings. I consider the article to be a remarkable academic work because it enlightens the reader about a ‘model minority’ approach and intersectional racism, which I think is among the most significant social issues nowadays.
In my opinion, providing the historical aspect to the reader, namely the comparison of various historical periods of racism for males and females of Asian American origin is a well-structured and educating aspect of the article. For instance, I found it outrageous that the American government attempted to significantly restrict the immigration law for Asian people in the 1940s (5). I also liked the way the article discussed racism from the legislative perspective, proving that racism against Asian Americans is an institutionalized reality.
However, the most compelling facts about the article is its discussion about the way racism complicated in modern days. For instance, the creation of ‘model minority’ is the opposite idea to traditional racism, but, nonetheless, such idea shows the governmental neglect regarding the Asian American minority. Another modern complication is intersectional racism which means that in comparison to Asian American males or white women, Asian American females have to fight both against sexism and racism simultaneously.
Conclusively, I found the article informative. The way the author focused on the disadvantages of the ‘model minority’ approach and intersectional racism which Asian American females face nowadays is persuasive and reasonable. Also, the article made me think about the way the government creates positive narratives to change the perception of a particular problem among the citizens, namely the issues which Asian Americans face in a result of the ‘model minority’ approach.






 Work Cited
Hune, Shirley. “Taking Action: Asian American Faculty against Injustices in the Academy.” Class Readings, 2019, pp. 1–30.




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