In 1882, Congress enacted immigration legislation excluding
"idiots," "lunatics," and "Chinese laborers." Eventually, a series
of laws restricted the entry of every Asian group, though over a
period of decades these laws were repealed one by one. The most
dramatic change in immigration law came in 1965. Though designed to
encourage European immigration, the unintended result of changes in
the selection system was that the Asian immigrant population jumped
from one million in 1965 to seven million in 1990. This is the
first comprehensive study of how U.S. immigration policies have
shaped - demographically, economically, and socially - the six
largest Asian American communities: Chinese, Filipino, Japanese,
Korean, Vietnamese, and Asian Indian. For each group, the book
offers detailed information, much of it previously unknown or too
scattered to be useful, on gender ratios, age distributions,
foreign- versus American-born ratios, geographic settlement,
employment profiles, income, and poverty. The author also focuses
on the impact immigration policies have had on three important
areas of Asian American life experience - educational performance,
political participation, and self-identity. He simply questions the
validity of the images of Asian Americans as academic "whiz kids,"
their communities as relatively lacking in strong political
interests, and the presence of a unified Asian American identity.
Throughout, the author counters the frequent lumping together of
Asian Americans by demonstrating their tremendous diversity of
background, history, motivation, and achievement. As their numbers
have grown, the visibility of Asian Americans has prompted
policymakers, scholars, journalists, community organizers,
activists, and, of course, restrictionists to take Asian Americans
more seriously. At the same time, they have sometimes become the
target of racist hostility, which is occasionally physical but more
often sociopolitical and economic, such as the recent concerns over
the disproportionate number of Asian Americans admitted to
prestigious colleges and universities. Serious gaps in fundamental
information about Asian America persist, leading to serious
distortions. This pioneering work of research and analysis is
intended as a step toward a better understanding of relationships
and experiences that few have bothered to study.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
