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.
As one of the regular posters on the Discussion Forum initially pointed out, and as described in this article in the Baton Rouge Advocate, Michael Lohman, a 28 year old White male doctoral student in mathematics at Princeton University, was arrested after an investigation found that he had surreptitiously cut the hair of Asian women on the Princeton campus and slipped Read More →
AsianWeek magazine has an article that discusses the recent phenomenon of Hollywood studios remaking Asian movies, specifically a new generation of supernatural thriller/horror movies. Rather than the traditional blood-and-gore slasher films American audiences are used to seeing, these new thrillers, best represented by The Ring which was a remake of the Japanese film Ringu, rely more on “atmospheric” elements such Read More →
The New York Times reports that according to Census Bureau data from 2003, among women with a Bachelor’s degree, Asian Americans have the highest median personal income at $43,700. They are followed by Black women at $41,100, then Whites at $37,800, with Latinas close behind at $37,600. Among men with a college degree, Whites earned the most at $66,000 Read More →
The Washington Post has an article that discusses one of the most vexing issues that Asian Americans contend with — situations where highly qualified Asian American college applicants are rejected to the top schools in favor of other applicants of color who have objectively lower qualifications. In other words, many Asian Americans apparently find themselves to be the victims of Read More →
Many of us may have an idealized image of European society — very open, tolerant, and multiethnic/multicultural. However, a new survey apparently finds that increasing numbers of Europeans are growing intolerant of immigrants, as reported by Reuters through Yahoo News:
The study, based on pan-EU opinion surveys between 1997 and 2003, found a significant increase in support for the view that Read More →
The Contra Costa Times reports that the University of California, which operates the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (one of the country’s most important military laboratories), has just agreed to settle a lawsuit in which hundreds of Asian American engineers and scientists alleged systematic pay and promotion discrimination against it, for the amount of 1.2 million dollars. However, as the article notes, Read More →
Another sign of the changing demographic times — as more and more Koreans are locating in the Washington D.C./northern Virginia metropolitan area, they and their businesses are increasingly making their presence known. Case in point — as this Washington Post article describes, Koreans are increasingly dominating the business district of Annandale, Virginia (just west of Alexandria). In fact, the Read More →
The Pacific News Service has a very interesting article that describes the epidemic of smoking among men in Viet Nam and its inevitable health consequences. At the same time, the article also explains that one of the most successful anti-smoking campaigns waged in the U.S. was to reduce smoking among Vietnamese Americans. Some excerpts:
More fallout from globalization: the Washington Post has an interesting article about the rash of obscene, hostile, and racist comments that are increasingly directed at call center operators in India. As the article explains,
” ‘You Indians suck!’ an American screamed on the phone,” recalled a soft-spoken Manzoor, 25 [an Indian call center operator]. “He was using a lot of Read More →
For whatever reasons, there seems to be a virtual epidemic of Chinese food deliverymen being murdered or visciously attacked and robbed. As this New York Daily News article points out, the latest involves the brutal murder of 18 year old Huang Chen in New York City by two teenagers who allegedly murdered him to get money to buy some new Read More →
AsianWeek Magazine has a feature article about Hollywood’s 25 Worst Portrayals of Asian Americans. You should definitely read the article yourself to learn the details about each portrayal, but their top ten of the most notorious portrayals are:
10. The movie Year of the Dragon 9. Charlie Chan 8. Fu Manchu 7. William Hung 6. The sitcom All American Girl starring Read More →
Yesterday was International Women’s Day and as reported by Yahoo News, violence against women was the most significant topic of protest in several countries:
Asia has marked International Women’s Day with rallies and protests against a wide range of gender inequalities and acts of violence, although there were some celebrations for hard-won victories. In Bangladesh, where hundreds of women continue to be Read More →
