[Review of] Jade Snow Wong. Fifth Chinese Daughter

I am personally delighted to see the re-issue of Jade Snow Wong\u27s autobiographical novel, Fifth Chinese Daughter. Shortly after I arrived in the U.S. in 1959 as a rather bewildered young girl immigrant of twelve, it was my good fortune to have stumbled onto -- in the local public library -- Jade Snow Wong\u27s wonderful story of growing up Chinese and female in America, in both the ethnic enclave of Chinatown and the San Francisco Bay Area\u27s white college and working worlds. It helped me better understand the experience of being an American-Chinese, the term used in those days. The re-issue has allowed me to introduce the book to my American-born daughters, 15 and 12, who not only enjoyed immensely the story itself, but have gained invaluable insights into their Chinese and Chinese American heritage

[Review of] Ko-lin Chin. Chinese Subculture and Criminality: Non-Traditional Crime Groups in America

This is probably the first monographic study to examine in-depth the present criminal subculture of New York Chinatown, focusing on the youth gangs that have plagued the community during the past thirty years. As such, it makes a valuable contribution to the fledgling field of Asian American studies, whose scholars have yet to tackle this complex and sensitive topic, as well as to the disciplines of sociology and criminology. It will also help puncture the recently created stereotype of a monolithic, model minority Asian population singlemindedly pursuing success in schooling and business

[Review of] Ivan Light and Edna Bonacich. Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Koreans in Los Angeles, 1965-1982

This latest study of immigrant entrepreneurs to come out of the collaborative efforts of sociologists Light and Bonacich is another significant contribution to Asian American Studies specifically, but also to ethnic studies, immigrant studies, urban studies , and business-economic studies in general. It contributes to our understanding of the history of Los Angeles, and it constitutes an important companion piece to existing studies of Korean Americans, such as Illsoo Kim\u27s work on Koreans in New York City. As a case study, it also elaborates on the related theoretical models of middlemen minorities and immigrant entrepreneurs, and how, in this case, both models can be integrated for a more accurate analysis of Korean entrepreneurs

Ethnic Studies in Academe: Challenges and Prospects for the 21st Century. NAES Plenary Session , Kansas City,1995 Missouri, March 19, 1994

The primary intent of organizing the plenary that follows was to engage a number of dedicated and experienced ethnic studies scholar-activists in a focused conversation on the current state of ethnic studies in the academy. At this point many of us have been involved in ethnic studies for more than twenty years. The perspectives and observations offered in this monograph are transcribed from the recordings of the plenary. It offers the reader a far-ranging discussion of the field, its history, its struggles, its pedagogy, and some of its underlying principles

Introduction: Popular Economies and the Remaking of China–Latin America Relations

Chinese investments and loans have increased rapidly over the last fifteen years in Latin America and the Caribbean, as has state-to-state cooperation. From the megaprojects of the Nicaraguan Canal and the transcontinental Brazil–Peru railway—reminiscent of Imperial investment fever a hundred years ago—to countless road construction projects across the region, Chinese state-supported enterprises are at the forefront of the present round of infrastructure building. This investment envisions a new century of trans-Pacific connections and global commerce. Latin America’s politicians and private contractors collaborate with Chinese enterprise across diverse sectors—agribusinesses in soybean production in Brazil and Argentina, and mining, oil, and natural gas operations in the Andean countries—praising the scale and pace of investment as a milestone for Latin America’s future economic growth. Activists and scholars see the same development as entrapping the economy in neo-extractivism, in a renewed dependence on primary resources that violates indigenous, social, and ecological rights

Nationality and migration in modern Mexico

Scholarship on nationalism and the state has examined how immigration and nationality policy create boundaries of inclusion and exclusion. While a handful of countries of immigration have been analysed extensively, explanations of nationality law have not accounted adequately for countries of emigration. This paper's historical analysis of Mexican nationality law and its congressional debate demonstrates that the ways the state has defined nationality at different periods cannot be attributed simply to demographic migration patterns or legacies of past understandings of ethnic or state-territorial nationhood, according to the expectations of received theory. The literature's focus on geopolitically stronger countries of immigration obscures the critical effects of inter-state politics on nationality law in subordinate states. Mexico's nationality laws reflect its experiences as a geopolitically weak country of immigration, despite a net out-migration of its population

Multifarious Transnational Engagements of Contemporary Diaspora Members: From Revolving-door Universalists to Multi-nationals and Site-Hopping Vagabonds

Drawing on recent studies of diaspora and its members’ transnational engagements, which treat the former as fuzzy-boundary, context-dependent groupings, and the latter as multi-faceted (rather than two-pronged) relationships, in this paper I explore the notion of diasporans’ polymorphous and multi-directional transnational commitments; identify different types of such involvements; and propose a preliminary list of macro- and micro-level circumstances contributing to multifarious transnationalism. In conclusion, I consider the implications of the notion of diaspora members’ multifarious transnational engagements for the study of (im)migrant transnationalism in general and suggest some interesting questions for future research on this phenomenon generated by this discussion