Books from the EWU Library
A different mirror : a history of multicultural America by
Ronald Takaki's beloved classic is a "brilliant revisionist history of America" (Publishers Weekly) that dramatically retells our nation's story from the perspective of minorities. Upon its first publication, A Different Mirror was hailed by critics and academics everywhere as a dramatic new retelling of our nation's past. Beginning with the colonization of the New World, it recounted the history of America in the voice of the non-Anglo peoples of the United States--Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and others--groups who helped create this country's rich mosaic culture. Now, Ronald Takaki has revised his landmark work and made it even more relevant and important. Among the new additions to the book are: The role of black soldiers in preserving the Union The history of Chinese Americans from 1900-1941 An investigation into the hot-button issue of "illegal" immigrants from Mexico A look at the sudden visibility of Muslim refugees from Afghanistan. This new edition of A Different Mirror is a remarkable achievement that grapples with the raw truth of American history and examines the ultimate question of what it means to be an American.
Call Number: E184.A1 T335 2008Publication Date: 2008
The Making of Asian America: a History by Call Number: E184.A75 L43 2015ISBN: 1476739404Publication Date: 2015
Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence by
Learn to talk about race openly, honestly, and productively Most people avoid discussion of race-related topics because of the strong emotions and feelings of discomfort that inevitably accompany such conversations. Rather than endure the conflict of racial realities, many people choose instead to avoid the topic altogether, or remain silent when it is raised. Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race puts an end to that dynamic by sharing strategies for smoothing conversations about race in a productive manner. A guide for facilitating and participating in difficult dialogues about race, author Derald Wing Sue - an internationally recognized expert on multiculturalism, diversity, and microaggressions - explores the characteristics, dynamics, and meaning behind discussions about race as well as the hidden "ground rules" that inhibit honest and productive dialogue. Through emotional and visceral examples, this book explains why conversations revolving around racial issues are so difficult, and provides guidelines, techniques, and advice for navigating and leading honest and forthright discussions. Readers will develop a stronger ability to build rapport with people unlike themselves, and discover how not talking about race impacts society as a whole. Overcome and make visible the fears associated with race talk Learn practical ideas for talking openly about race Facilitate and navigate discussion with expert strategy Examine the hidden rules that govern race talk Understand the benefits of successful conversations Discussions about race do not have to result in disastrous consequences, and can in fact be highly beneficial to all parties involved. It's important that people have the ability to converse openly and honestly with their students, colleagues, children, and neighbors, and Race Talk provides the path for achieving this goal.
Publication Date: 2015-01-21
Margins and Mainstreams: Asians in American history and culture by
In this classic book on the meaning of multiculturalism in larger American society, Gary Okihiro explores the significance of Asian American experiences from the perspectives of historical consciousness, race, gender, class, and culture. While exploring anew the meanings of Asian American social history, Okihiro argues that the core values and ideals of the nation emanate today not from the so-called mainstream but from the margins, from among Asian and African Americans, Latinos and American Indians, women, and the gay and lesbian community. Those groups in their struggles for equality, have helped to preserve and advance the founders’ ideals and have made America a more democratic place for all.
Publication Date: 2014
American History Unbound: Asians and Pacific Islanders by
A survey of U.S. history from its beginnings to the present, this book reveals our past through the lens of Asian American and Pacific Islander history. In so doing, it is a work of both history and anti-history, a narrative that fundamentally transforms and deepens our understanding of the United States. This text is accessible and filled with engaging stories and themes that draw attention to key theoretical and historical interpretations. Gary Y. Okihiro positions Asians and Pacific Islanders within a larger history of people of color in the United States and places the United States in the context of world history and oceanic worlds.
Publication Date: 2015
Asian America: Chinese and Japanese in the United States since 1850 by
In this important and masterful synthesis of the Chinese and Japanese experience in America, historian Roger Daniels provides a new perspective on the significance of Asian immigration to the United States. Examining the period from the mid-nineteenth century to the early 1980s, Daniels presents a basic history comprising the political and socioeconomic background of Chinese and Japanese immigration and acculturation. He draws distinctions and points out similarities not only between Chinese and Japanese but between Asian and European immigration experiences, clarifying the integral role of Asians in American history.
Publication Date: 1988Chinese American Voices: From the Gold Rush to the Present by This anthology provides an intimate and textured history of the Chinese in America from their arrival during the California Gold Rush to the present. Among the documents are letters, speeches, testimonies, oral histories, personal memoirs, poems, essays, and folksongs. They bring to life the diverse voices of immigrants and American-born; laborers, merchants, and professionals; ministers and students; housewives and prostitutes; and community leaders and activists. Together, they provide insight into immigration, work, family and social life, and the longstanding fight for equality and inclusion.
Publication Date: 2006
The First Chinese American The Remarkable Life of Wong Chin Foo by
Chinese in America endured abuse and discrimination in the late nineteenth century, but they had a leader and a fighter in Wong Chin Foo (1847-1898), whose story is a forgotten chapter in the struggle for equal rights in America. The first to use the term "Chinese American," Wong defended his compatriots against malicious scapegoating and urged them to become Americanized to win their rights. This evocative biography is the first book-length account of the life and times of one of America's most famous Chinese--and one of its earliest campaigners for racial equality.
Publication Date: 2013
Democratizing the Enemy : The Japanese American Internment by
In this insightful and groundbreaking work, Brian Hayashi reevaluates the three-year ordeal of interred Japanese Americans. Using previously undiscovered documents, he examines the forces behind the U.S. government's decision to establish internment camps. His conclusion: the motives of government officials and top military brass likely transcended the standard explanations of racism, wartime hysteria, and leadership failure.
Publication Date: 2010
The Internment of Japanese Americans in United States History by
The loyalty of Japanese Americans was questioned after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, simply because of their ancestry. Author David K. Fremon looks at the events behind this unfortunate episode from American history, highlighting the personal accounts of many Japanese Americans who were forced to live through this difficult time. The effects of this internment are still emerging, but the United States today recognizes that injustices were inflicted on thousands of Japanese Americans.
Publication Date: 2015
The Color of Success: Asian Americans and the origins of the model minority by
The book tells of the astonishing transformation of Asians in the United States from the "yellow peril" to "model minorities"--peoples distinct from the white majority but lauded as well-assimilated, upwardly mobile, and exemplars of traditional family values--in the middle decades of the twentieth century. Wu provides an unprecedented view of racial reform and the contradictions of national belonging in the civil rights era. She highlights the contests for power and authority within Japanese and Chinese America alongside the designs of those external to these populations, including government officials, social scientists, journalists, and others. And she demonstrates that the invention of the model minority took place in multiple arenas, such as battles over zoot suiters leaving wartime internment camps, the juvenile delinquency panic of the 1950s, Hawaii statehood, and the African American freedom movement. Together, these illuminate the impact of foreign relations on the domestic racial order and how the nation accepted Asians as legitimate citizens while continuing to perceive them as indelible outsiders.
Publication Date: 2015
Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans facing racism by
The book depicts the "double consciousness" of many Asian Americans--experiencing racism but feeling the pressures to conform to popular images of their group as America's highly achieving "model minority.
Publication Date: 2015
Identity Construction among Chinese-Vietnamese Americans being, becoming, and belonging by
Introduction -- Historical background -- Theoretical perspectives on ethnicity and assimilation -- The data : enumeration and access -- Who are the Chinese-Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans? -- Location, location, location : ethnicity is where the home is -- I am what I (sort of) speak and celebrate : culture and identity -- "Know thyself" : college, Asian American studies, ethnic organizations and identity -- Conclusion : moving forth with history.
Publication Date: 2009-11-01
Filipino Americans: Transformation and Identity by
When Asian Americans are discussed in the media the reference is often to people of Chinese or Japanese descent. However, the largest Asian American ethnic group is Filipino, a group of which little is known or written, despite its long-standing history with the United States. This interdisciplinary analysis rectifies this dearth of information by addressing ethnic identity, the impact of different colonizations on ethnic identity, personal and family relationships, mental health, race and racism.
Publication Date: 1997
Leaving deep water : the lives of Asian American women at the crossroads of two cultures by
Claire Chow deftly explores the many ways that women of Asian descent have created a place for themselves in modern society. Drawing on the personal narratives of dozens of women from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and other Asian countries, Chow explores such common themes as coming of age, parental expectations, marriage and divorce, career experiences, family relationships, and aging. It offers guidance, inspiration, and a shared sense of struggle while breaking down myths and celebrating the human ability to craft a new identity in a new place.
Call Number: E184.O6 C49 1998Publication Date: 1998-03-01
Forever Foreigners or Honorary Whites? by
What does it mean to be an Asian-American in the United States today? Are Asian-Americans considered "honorary whites" or forever thought of as "foreigners?" Mia Tuan examines the salience and meaning of ethnicity for later generation Chinese- and Japanese-Americans, and asks how their concepts of ethnicity differ from that of white ethnic Americans. She interviewed 95 middle-class Chinese and Japanese Californians and analyzes the importance of ethnic identities and the concept of becoming a "real" American for both Asian and white ethnics. She asks her subjects about their early memories and experiences with Chinese/Japanese culture; current lifestyle and emerging cultural practices; experiences with racism and discrimination; attitudes toward current Asian immigration.
Call Number: E184.O6 T8 1998Publication Date: 1999
Orientals: Asian Americans in popular culture by
The author examines stereotypes of Asians in the United States including Coolies, the Yellow Peril, Model Minority, and Gook. Orientals comes to grips with the ways that racial stereotypes come into being and serve the purposes of the dominant culture.
Call Number: E184.O6 L48 1999Publication Date: 1999-03-22The State of Asian America: activism and resistance in the 1990s by This is a series of essays that give voice to contemporary Asian-American activism, offering thoughtful, radical analyses on a range of pressing issues, including: the 1992 Los Angeles uprising, the protest against the Broadway musical Miss Saigon, anti-Asian and domestic violence, feminism, neo-conservatism, art and politics, the social construction of race, and the politics of Asian American Studies.
Call Number: E184.O6 S7 1994Publication Date: 1994
Chains of Babylon The Rise of Asian America by
Daryl J. Maeda presents a cultural history of Asian American activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, showing how the movement created the category of Asian American to join Asians of many ethnicities in racial solidarity. Drawing on the Black Power and antiwar movements, Asian American radicals argued that all Asians in the United States should resist assimilation and band together to oppose racism within the country and imperialism abroad. As revealed in Maeda's in-depth work, the Asian American movement contended that people of all Asian ethnicities in the United States shared a common relationship to oppression and exploitation with each other and with other nonwhite peoples. In the early stages of the civil rights era, the possibility of assimilation was held out to Asian Americans under a model minority myth. Maeda insists that it was only in the disruption of that myth for both African Americans and Asian Americans in the 1960s and 1970s that the full Asian American culture and movement he describes could emerge.
Publication Date: 2009
The Sympathizer by
Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Winner of the 2016 Edgar Award for Best First Novel Winner of the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction "[A] remarkable debut novel"--Philip Caputo,New York Times Book Review (cover review) The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as seven other awards,The Sympathizer is one of the most acclaimed books of the twenty-first century. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Vladimir Nabokov,The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. The narrator, a communist double agent, is a "man of two minds," a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who comes to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.The Sympathizer is a blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping spy novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship.
Call Number: PS3614.G97 S96 2015bPublication Date: 2016-04-12Dragon Ladies by 'Groundbreaking....Dragon Ladies explores the emergence of a distinct Asian American feminist movement through the rich perspectives of well-known Asian American activists, writers, and artists who analyze personal experiences through a political lens.' Ms. MagazineThis book showcases the growing politicization of Asian American women and their emerging feminist movement. These prominent writers, artists, and activists draw on a wealth of personal experience and political analysis to address issues of immigration, work, health, domestic violence, sexuality, and the media. In doing so, they seize the power of their unique political perspectives and cultural backgrounds to transform the landscape of race, class, and gender in the United States.
Call Number: HQ1426 .D845 1997Publication Date: 1997
America Is in the Heart by
This classic of Asian American history is now available in an unabridged audio edition. First published in 1946, this autobiography of the well-known Filipino poet describes his boyhood in the Philippines, his voyage to America, and his years of hardship and despair as an itinerant laborer following the harvest trail in the rural West. Bulosan does not spare the reader any of the horrors that accompanied the migrant's life; but his quiet, stoic voice is the most convincing witness to the terrible events he witnessed. Replaced by ISBN 9780295993539
Call Number: PR9550.9.B8 A8 1973Publication Date: 2003-12-01
American Born Chinese by
A tour-de-force by rising indy comics star Gene Yang,American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he's the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny's life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twistin this action-packed modern fable.American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax. American Born Chinese is a 2006 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature, the winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, an Eisner Award nominee for Best Coloring and a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Call Number: EWU-Cheney Lower Level Curric Center Graphic YA Yang Gene AmericanPublication Date: 2006-09-05
They Called Us Enemy by
In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten "relocation centers," hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard. They Called Us Enemy is Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future. What is American? Who gets to decide? When the world is against you, what can one person do? To answer these questions, George Takei joins co-writers Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott and artist Harmony Becker for the journey of a lifetime.
Call Number: EWU-Cheney Lower Level Curric Center Graphic 921 Takei George Takei 2019Publication Date: 2019-07-16
Redefining Race by
In 2012, the Pew Research Center issued a report that named Asian Americans as the "highest-income, best-educated, and fastest-growing racial group in the United States." Despite this seemingly optimistic conclusion, over thirty Asian American advocacy groups challenged the findings. As many pointed out, the term "Asian American" itself is complicated. It currently denotes a wide range of ethnicities, national origins, and languages, and encompasses a number of significant economic and social disparities. In Redefining Race, sociologist Dina G. Okamoto traces the complex evolution of this racial designation to show how the use of "Asian American" as a panethnic label and identity has been a deliberate social achievement negotiated by members of this group themselves, rather than an organic and inevitable process. Drawing on original research and a series of interviews, Okamoto investigates how different Asian ethnic groups in the U.S. were able to create a collective identity in the wake of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Okamoto argues that a variety of broad social forces created the conditions for this developing panethnic identity. Racial segregation, for example, shaped how Asian immigrants of different national origins were distributed in similar occupations and industries. This segregation of Asians within local labor markets produced a shared experience of racial discrimination, which encouraged Asian ethnic groups to develop shared interests and identities. By constructing a panethnic label and identity, ethnic group members took part in creating their own collective histories, and in the process challenged and redefined current notions of race. The emergence of a panethnic racial identity also depended, somewhat paradoxically, on different groups organizing along distinct ethnic lines in order to gain recognition and rights from the larger society. According to Okamoto, these ethnic organizations provided the foundation necessary to build solidarity within different Asian-origin communities. Leaders and community members who created inclusive narratives and advocated policies that benefited groups beyond their own were then able to move these discrete ethnic organizations toward a panethnic model. For example, a number of ethnic-specific organizations in San Francisco expanded their services and programs to include other ethnic group members after their original constituencies dwindled. A Laotian organization included refugees from different parts of Asia, a Japanese organization began to advocate for South Asian populations, and a Chinese organization opened its doors to Filipinos and Vietnamese. As Okamoto argues, the process of building ties between ethnic communities while also recognizing ethnic diversity is the hallmark of panethnicity. Redefining Race is a groundbreaking analysis of the processes through which group boundaries are drawn and contested. In mapping the genesis of a panethnic Asian American identity, Okamoto illustrates the ways in which concepts of race continue to shape how ethnic and immigrant groups view themselves and organize for representation in the public arena.
Publication Date: 2014-09-25
Potent Mana by
Potent Mana offers a uniquely holistic and intimate portrait of the long-term effects of colonialism on an indigenous people., the naka maoli (Native Hawaiians). The book moves the conversation on the dangerous effects of colonialism forward by exploring the theories and practices of Native Hawaiians engaged in decolonization. Decades of substance abuse, mental illness, depression, language loss, and the concomitant dispossession from sacred lands have accompanied colonialism. Consequently, healing, both mental and physical, are essential to decolonization and indigenous sovereignty in twenty-first century Hawai'i. The effects of colonialism and the measures taken to counter and move beyond it, as Wende Marshall convincingly argues, do not take place solely on a supralocal level but shatteringly involve the physical and emotional well-being of real individuals.
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Desis Divided by
1. South Asian Americans and Immigration Regimes: Exclusion, Ghadar Rebellion, and Silicon Valley -- 2. Political Incorporation and New Immigrants: Beyond Racial Solidarity -- 3. Race, Religion, and Communities: South Asians in the Post- 9/11 United States -- 4. Mapping the Modes of Mobilization -- 5. Transnationalism and Political Participation: The Challenges of "In-Between" Americans -- 6. Diasporic Nationalism and Fragments Within -- Conclusion: Negotiating Identities and Crafting Political Solidarities
Publication Date: 2016-01-01
Aspiring to Home by
Aspiring to Home explores South Asian immigrants as they create new ethnic identities through popular cultural works that bind together narratives of multicultural and postcolonial citizenship.
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Streaming Videos available at the EWU Library
To access our streaming video resource, you will need to login with your EWU NetID username and password.
Vincent Who? The Murder of a Chinese-American Man
Breaking Big. Episode 2, Eddie Huang
Long Story Short
Moving Mountains: The Story of The Yiu Mien
A Most Unlikely Hero
Journey of a Paper Son
Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story
Hollywood Chinese
Puhipau at the Yamagata International Film Festival
West Sand: Voices from L.A.
From Bhagat Singh Thind to Miss America: South Asian Immigrant Experiences in the U.S.
Bittersweet Survival; Southeast Asian refugees in America
PBS' Asian Americans Series
Explore the impact of Asian Americans, the fastest-growing population in the United States, on the country's past, present and future, told through individual lives and personal histories.
You can watch the entire 5 episode series for free at Asian Americans, or through the library's steaming videos below (you will need to login with your EWU NetID username and password).
Episode 1. Breaking Ground
Episode 2. A Question of Loyalty
Episode 3. Good Americans
Episode 4. Generation Rising
Episode 5. Breaking Through
Subject Experts
Qing Stellwagen
Librarian for Diversity & Inclusion Studies, Political Science, and International Affairs
qstellwagen@ewu.edu (509) 359-2403
Steven Bingo
University Archivist & Manuscripts Librarian
sbingo@ewu.edu (509) 359-2303