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.
Perhaps you may have heard about Michelle Wie, the 15 year old Asian American golf phenom and rising star of the women’s golfing world. She’s been described as the next Tiger Woods and as this New York Times article describes, she’ll be once again competing head-to-head against many of the top male golfers in the world this weekend:
Those of you who are “automotive enthusiasts” probably know by now that the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and the Los Angeles International Auto Show are going on right now. And one of the most anticipated debuts in both shows is the latest Ford Mustang, which blends retro styling from the first Mustangs of the 1960s and early Read More →
Yesterday, as CNN reports, a federal judge dismissed all charges of illegally possessing and copying documents relating to national security that could have been used for espionage purposes against the U.S. against Chinese American Katrina Leung. The judge dismissed the case due to misconduct on the part of federal prosecutors:
“The government decided to make sure that Leung and her lawyers Read More →
If you follow college football, you know by now that last night, the USC Trojans destroyed the Oklahoma Sooners 55-19 in the Orange Bowl/BCS Championship game to repeat as national champions. It was a pretty impressive performance, and as more than one observer has noted, for example in this recent Sports Illustrated/CNNSI.com article, much of the credit goes to USC’s Read More →
The Asian American community (as well as all Americans in general) lost one of its heroes yesterday. Robert Matsui passed away at the age of 63 from a rare blood disorder.
As the Associated Press article reprinted in its entirety below notes, he was an internee during World War II who fought to win reparations and an official government apology for Read More →
This past week, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake (the largest one in almost 40 years and the fourth largest ever recorded) rocked the Indian Ocean, causing massive tsunamis (aka tidal waves) to wash ashore and devastate countries such as Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. The death toll has already passed 100,000 and is sure to continue Read More →
With the arrival of United Airlines flight #869, direct commercial flights to Saigon from the U.S. have resumed for the first time since 1975. My sister actually sent me a clipping from Yahoo News that showed a picture of one of her former boyfriends buying a ticket on that flight.
I applaud this move — it means first, flights to visit Read More →
In the conventional academic literature, these two terms (transnationalism and assimilation) are usually considered close to being opposites to each other, at least as applied to Asian Americans. How can you live in two separate cultures and societies and be considered completely integrated in either one of them?
However, Asian Americans have always had ways to transcend conventional barriers, whether they Read More →
I recently found two articles that are a good example of the frequently contradictory nature of relationships between different Asian ethnic groups, in this case between Japanese and Koreans. The first article, from Salon.com, explains,
Koreans have a harsh history in Japan. Their homeland was under Tokyo’s colonist yoke for 35 years, and in Japan they still face discrimination and cruel Read More →
Chai Vang, a Hmong refugee living in Wisconsin, allegedly shot and killed six people the other day in an hunting dispute. Apparently, Vang mistakenly occupied a hunting perch located on private property, was confronted by the owners (or those who knew the owners), told to leave, started to leave, but then turned around and fired dozens of Read More →
It’s been a long, long time coming, but I’m glad to see that UCLA has just become the first major research university to establish an independent Asian American Studies Department. Previously, the Asian American Studies curriculum at UCLA was only a an interdisciplinary program.
But now that it’s achieved departmental status, it can offer a doctoral Read More →
You might recall that earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is constitutional to consider race as a factor in college admissions as long as racial/ethnic minority applicants are not given extra points in the admissions process. But ironically, wishing to avoid potential lawsuits, many universities are ending programs that specifically targeted students of Read More →
