Many Asian Americans have made great strides in achieving the American Dream. However, this diverse population faces great challenges from outside their communities as well as from within. Asian American Issues brings to the fore eight major issues affecting the Asian American population today, including media stereotypes of a model minority, transnationalism, panethnicity, intergenerational conflict, and cultural expression. Students will find that the background narrative and questions for debate and discussion are a meaningful way to engage in the current events of this growing ethnic group. The history of Asian immigrants in the United States spans more than 200 years. Today, they are the third largest minority group. Almost half live in the West but there are population shifts to other regions of the country. As they become more visible, community dynamics continue to evolve. Each generation also struggles with what it means to be Asian American.

People outside and within colleges and universities often view these institutions as fair and reasonable, far removed from the inequalities that afflict society in general. Despite greater numbers of women, working class people, and people of color--as well as increased visibility for LGBTQ students and staff--over the past fifty years, universities remain "ivory towers" that perpetuate institutionalized forms of sexism, classism, racism, and homophobia. Transforming the Ivory Tower builds on the rich legacy of historical struggles to open universities to dissenting voices and oppressed groups. Each chapter is guided by a commitment to praxis--the idea that theoretical understandings of inequality must be applied to concrete strategies for change. The common misconception that racism, sexism, and homophobia no longer plague university life heightens the difficulty to dismantle the interlocking forms of oppression that undergird the ivory tower. Contributors demonstrate that women, LGBTQ people, and people of color continue to face systemic forms of bias and discrimination on campuses throughout the U.S. Curriculum and pedagogy, evaluation of scholarship, and the processes of tenure and promotion are all laden with inequities both blatant and covert. The contributors to this volume defy the pressure to assimilate by critically examining personal and collective struggles. Speaking from different social spaces and backgrounds, they analyze antiracist, feminist, and queer approaches to teaching and mentoring, research and writing, academic culture and practices, growth and development of disciplines, campus activism, university-community partnerships, and confronting privilege. Transforming the Ivory Tower will be required reading for all students, faculty, and administrators seeking to understand bias and discrimination in higher education and to engage in social justice work on and off college campuses. It offers a proactive approach encompassing institutional and cultural changes that foster respect, inclusion, and transformation. Contributors: Michael Armato, Rick Bonus, Jose Guillermo Zapata Calderon, Mary Yu Danico, Christina Gomez, David Naguib Pellow, Brett C. Stockdill, Linda Trinh Vo.

The "1.5 generation" (Ilchomose) refers to Koreans who immigrated to the United States as children. Unlike their first-generation parents and second-generation children born in the United States, 1.5ers have been socialized in both Korean and American cultures and express the cultural values and beliefs of each. In this first extended look at the 1.5 generation in Hawai'i, Mary Yu Danico attempts to fill a void in the research by addressing the social process through which Korean children are transformed from immigrants into 1.5ers. Dozens of informal, in-depth interviews and case studies provide rich data on how family, community, and economic and political factors influence and shape Korean and Korean American identity in Hawai'i. Danico examines the history of Koreans in Hawai'i, their social characteristics, and current demographics. Her close consideration of socio-cultural influences firmly establishes the 1.5 generation in the mainstream discussion of identity formation and race relations.