Asian-Nation : Asian American News, Issues, & Current Events Blog

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.

September 28, 2006

Written by C.N.

Indian Americans: Model Immigrants?

National-level statistics consistently show that Asian Indians are one of, if not the most socioeconomicly successful of all immigrant or ethnic groups in the U.S. Does that make them the model immigrant group? A recent guest column published at BusinessWeek Magazine argues that yes, Indian Americans are the example that other ethnic/immigrant groups should follow:

Not only are they leaving Read More →

September 26, 2006

Written by C.N.

Asian American Buying Power

As you probably know already, Asian Americans tend to have the highest median household income along with the highest rates of having a college degree. Does this mean that, as a consumer group, Asian Americans have enough buying power for advertisers to take seriously? According to new research, the answer is yes — Asian Americans have an annual buying Read More →

September 24, 2006

Written by C.N.

China Can’t Make Up Its Mind

In recent years, there is increase hope that as China continues to modernize and embrace capitalism (along with hosting the Olympics in two years) that one potential trickle-down effect is that its infamously iron-fisted control over media and other forms of expression and freedom will gradually lessen. However, as Time Magazine reports, the exact opposite seems to be happening:

The New Read More →

September 21, 2006

Written by C.N.

Rising Popularity of Buddhism in U.S.

The history of Buddhism in the U.S. is still relatively short. It first came to the U.S. with the first Asian immigrants back in the 1800s and then enjoyed somewhat of a “trendy” fascination in the 1960s but beyond that, has not really become integrated into the fundamental fabric of American society. However, as the Christian Science Monitor reports, Read More →

September 19, 2006

Written by C.N.

New Status Symbol in China: Tan Skin

In the past and in many Asian countries, having dark skin was associated with lower status, specifically with peasants having to work outside under the hot sun. Conversely, light skin was associated with being wealthy enough not to have to do manual work. However, as Reuters/Yahoo News reports, this traditional perception is slowly being reversed as China’s elite are Read More →

September 17, 2006

Written by C.N.

India Asserting Its Cultural Independence

As you probably know by now, India is on the fast track to becoming the world’s next economic superpower, along with China. As part of their economic and political development, India is also asserting its cultural independence. As the Christian Science Monitor points out, one prominent example of this trend is the process of renaming its cities:

The trend that Read More →

September 14, 2006

Written by C.N.

The Effects of Class, Race, and Place

It should be well-known by now that a person’s race and social class has a large influence on his/her life chances. No matter how much right wing conservatives may disagree, being poor and of a certain racial/ethnic minority in the U.S. is likely to be associated with many socioeconomic and institutional disadvantages. But as CBS News reports, where a Read More →

September 12, 2006

Written by C.N.

More Au Pairs Coming From China

When many of us think of au pairs (young women — sometimes men — who come to live and work in the U.S. in a family’s home), usually we think of them coming from European countries. In recent years however many are increasing coming from China. As the New York Times reports, there are a few different reasons for Read More →

September 10, 2006

Written by C.N.

The State of Muslim Americans

As we approach the five-year anniversary of 9/11, Reuters/Yahoo News has an article that summarizes some of the challenges that many Muslim and Arab Americans still face in their efforts to demonstrate that they are just as American as anybody else:

Ihsan Saadeddin is proud to be an American. But he’s tired of having to prove it just because he’s a Muslim Read More →

September 7, 2006

Written by C.N.

Is China Becoming Less Communist?

As China becomes increasingly integrated into the globalized international community, how is that likely to affect their traditional communist ideology? The New York Times presents one possible answer by reporting that the latest Chinese textbooks significantly downplay China’s communist history and ideology, to the extent that Mao Zedong is mentioned just once in one major textbook:

When high school students in Read More →

September 5, 2006

Written by C.N.

Asian American Students Still Deal with Violence

No matter how much we as Asian Americans show that we want to be part of the American mainstream, it seems almost inevitable that we encounter resistance, hostility, and at times, violence in that process. One group of Asian Americans for whom that is a sad part of their daily lives is high school students. As the St. Paul Read More →

September 3, 2006

Written by C.N.

Reverse Migration Back to China

You may have heard that the world in general and American society in particular is becoming more transnational. Ever wonder what that really means? Well here’s one example of it — as the San Francisco Chronicle reports, more Chinese immigrants are deciding to return to China to live and work, attracted by China’s booming economy, low cost of living, Read More →

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September 28, 2006

Written by C.N.

September 26, 2006

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September 17, 2006

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September 7, 2006

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September 5, 2006

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September 3, 2006

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