The views and opinions expressed on this site and blog posts (excluding comments on blog posts left by others) are entirely my own and do not represent those of any employer or organization with whom I am currently or previously have been associated.
Academic Version: Applying my personal experiences and academic research as a professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies to provide a more complete understanding of political, economic, and cultural issues and current events related to American race relations, and Asia/Asian America in particular.
Plain English: Trying to put my Ph.D. to good use.
I received the following item about the courageous actions of a group of NYU students opposing racism in the New York City music scene:
Greenwich Village, NYC – Last night, 20 New York University students held an educational rally to demonstrate against “Ching Chong Song,†a Brooklyn indie-folk band. (Both band members are Caucasian). The NYU students stood outside the band’s performance Read More →
Today is Sunday, February 18, 2007 — Lunar New Year (as known to many as Chinese New Year), the Year of the Pig. In my article about Tet, a Celebration of Rebirth, I describe how Lunar New Year is celebrated among the Vietnamese. But for a more detailed description of how the Year of the Pig is likely to Read More →
As I’ve written about before, for centuries now, there has been tension and even hostility between Japan and Korea over Japan’s history of colonial rule over the Korean peninsula and in particular, its actions against Koreans during World War II. Sixty years later, as the Boston Globe reports, these same tensions are now being played out in a controversy regarding Read More →
Is it a sign that the Vietnamese American community is increasingly entering mainstream American society, or that it remains an unusual curiosity? You can judge for yourself — a new exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum entitled “Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon” captures the multifaceted immigration and resettlement experiences of Vietnamese Americans around the country:
Similar to the U.S., Japan has apparently been experiencing a rise in bullying by schoolchildren against each other. As BBC News reports, many feel that the way to cut down on such bullying incidents is to reinstate corporal punishment:
Japanese schools should rethink their decades-old ban on corporal punishment, a government-appointed panel has urged. The report, submitted amid growing concern Read More →
These days, television has the ability to give us detailed images of what war is like. But what about images of what devastation caused by an atomic bomb looks like? After the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed on August 6 and August 9, 1945 respectively, and after some 250,000 people had died in their immediate aftermath, Read More →
Now that Viet Nam has officially been admitted to the World Trade Organization, how will this change the country, if at all? As BBC News reports, this question was the heart of recent meetings of Viet Nam’s central government:
Vietnam’s Communist Party is now facing up to the political consequences of its decision to integrate the country with global capitalism. Read More →
As I’ve written about before, Toyota is preparing to compete in NASCAR’s premier series, the Sprint Nextel Cup. This year, as a reflection of the recent success of Japanese automakers and the difficulties of U.S. automakers in general, Toyota also expects to surpass General Motors to become the #1 global automaker in sales. Within this context, as the New Read More →
In recent years, it’s no surprise that American culture and American-style capitalism have pervaded many areas of Chinese society. Has this “invasion” gone too far? This is the question being asked right now as many Chinese are pressuring managers of the Forbidden City in Beijing to close a Starbucks cafe that’s located inside its walls because of complaints that Read More →
In this day and age, we all need a little bit more understanding of Muslims, and in particular, of Muslim Americans. Ever since 9-11, it’s no secret that they have been targets of suspicion, prejudice, paranoia, government surveillance, and misunderstanding. Salon.com reviews a book that tries to educate us on the many facets of Muslim American lives — American Read More →
Recent news about stricter measures in foreign adoptions is worrying adoption agencies who seek Chinese babies for their Western clientele. Those who are homosexual, obese, older than 50, and worth less than $80,000 are no longer suitable to be adoptive parents according to the new criteria. Such restrictions are criticized in the New York Times (NYT) Op-Ed contributed by Read More →
Most people have probably heard of the European Union (EU) or the North American Free Trade Zone (NAFTZ), but I’d guess that most have not heard of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Up to now, it’s a loose confederation of countries in Southeast Asia that has done little more than talk and make pledges of cooperation. At Read More →
