Week 8: Kelin Tham-Graul A03

Kelin Tham-Graul

ASA 2 A03

Week 8

In “What Asian Americans Are Bringing to Campus Movements for Racial Justice,” Mark Tseng-Putterman addresses a variety of topics important to Asian American activism, from the representation of Asian American experiences in education to the role of Asian Americans as activists in relation to both Asian American issues and allyship towards other groups. This article voices why the field of Asian American studies is so important, with one reason being that “to see Asian American experiences institutionalized as a field of study is viewed as an opportunity for visibility and empowerment” (Tseng-Putterman, 2016, p. 5). Tony Tran explains that Asian American studies programs provide opportunities for Asian Americans to see themselves in history, which scarcely happens in high school classes. Looking back on my K-12 schooling, it is true that my history textbooks rarely mentioned Asian Americans; Chinese Americans like myself were represented in only a few chapters, namely in sections involving immigration, and many other Asian American ethnic groups were never mentioned at all. This reminded me of “Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation Of Hmong Americans,” by Kaozong N. Mouavangsou and its discussion of the exclusion of Hmong Americans from the US historical narrative; unfortunately, some groups such as the Hmong are so poorly represented in our education system that many people do not even know that this group exists. I agree with Tseng-Putterman that learning about Asian American history through ethnic studies programs, including about Asian American activists and movements, is an important starting point for education and mobilization. As an Asian American who cares about politics and would like to be more involved with activism, I found this article insightful, and its optimistic ending note points toward future improvement.

Question: Wong talks about how "the diversity of the community means there's an obligation to think about solidarity within the Asian American demographic itself" (Tseng-Putterman, 2016, p. 10). In both education and activism, how can we better include and address the experiences and needs of the diverse groups of Asian Americans?

References:

Putterman, M. T. (2016). What Asian Americans Are Bringing to Campus Movements for Racial Justice. Race Files. Retrieved November 12, 2017.

There's a House Burning Next Door. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2017, from http://www.aamunite.org/blog/a-house-burning-next-door