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.
Is it morally right to fight in Iraq? This question is at the heart of Lt. Ehren Watada’s story, featured in the L.A. Times, October 16, 2006, by Teresa Watanabe.
Watada, 28, is an Army first lieutenant who earlier this year became the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq, calling the war illegal and immoral. Although Read More →
I’ve written before about how American-style capitalism is inevitably spreading around the globe and influencing traditional Asian cultures. Here’s an another example of that phenomenon: as MSNBC reports, many Chinese business school students are being required to learn how to play golf to help them succeed in international business dealings once they graduate:
Debates relating to affirmative action seem to be heating up again. This fall, voters in Michigan will vote on a ballot initiative that would prohibit the use of race or gender in university admissions. In this context, how Asian Americans fit into the equation is also still being debated. As printed at Diverse Issues in Education Magazine, one Read More →
During the 2000 and 2004 elections, Republicans were accused of trying suppress minority and immigrant votes in many key states. Whether they are true or not, it’s pretty clear that voter intimidation is more associated with conservatives and Republicans than it is with liberals and Democrats. Are Republicans in fact more likely to try to suppress votes? It Read More →
It’s not likely that all groups of color share similar political and social views. But just how different are these views between Blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans? A new study by researchers at Northwestern University tries to shed light on this question and finds some interesting patterns:
Affluent Asian Americans are significantly more opposed to affirmative action than poorer Asian Read More →
You’ve probably heard by now that according to Census Bureau calculations, earlier today, the U.S. population officially reached the 300 million mark. Of course, there are numerous cultural, economic, and political implications of this accomplishment, but you might be interested to know that as the Springfield Republican reports, when the U.S. population topped 200 million in 1967, an Asian American Read More →
Earlier today, it was announced that the winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize is Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist whose bank has been instrumental in facilitating small business ownership and reducing poverty in Bangladesh:
Muhammad Yunus . . . pioneered the use of microcredit, the extension of small loans to benefit poor entrepreneurs. Grameen Bank has been instrumental in helping Read More →
Is it an advantage or disadvantage to be applying for college as an Asian American? This was one of the questions asked at the recent annual conference of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. As Inside Higher Education reports, meeting’s participants had plenty to say in regard to how Asian Americans are treated compared to other groups when Read More →
I have previously written several posts that describe how American culture has been and continues to penetrate traditional Asian cultures and societies, whether that relates to body image, fast food and health, corporate capitalism, or social relations. However, as the Associated Press/Salon reports, Malaysia is trying to buck that trend by punishing those who use a slang language that combines Read More →
Many Asian Americans have consistently noted through the years that the mainstream media and entertainment industry too often just does not “get it” when it comes to portraying Asian Americans in a balanced and non-stereotypical way. With that in mind, it’s always nice to find instances in which the establishment actually recognizes this shortcoming and fesses up about it. Read More →
People who aren’t familiar with World War II will probably not know who the woman identified as “Tokyo Rose” is. Her name is Iva Toguri D’Aquino, a Japanese American woman wrongly convicted of treason by the U.S. after World War II, who died this past week at the age of 90. The Guardian Unlimited has a brief summary of Read More →
It is widely believed these days that much (though not all) of China’s products and technologies are based on designs or ideas that have been “inspired by” — many would even say stolen — from other companies and countries. In fact, this type of commercial and military copying is a common technique that developing countries use in order to close Read More →
