Asian American Studies

The stereotype that Asian Americans are universally successful, hardworking, and high-achieving, which masks significant disparities within Asian American communities and is used to delegitimize the struggles of other racial minorities.

A racist ideology originating in the 19th century that frames Asian peoples as an existential threat to Western civilization, fueling xenophobic legislation, media representations, and periodic waves of anti-Asian violence.

The strategic grouping of distinct ethnic communities under a single racial or political label, such as 'Asian American,' to build coalitions and political power despite significant cultural, linguistic, and historical differences among the groups.

The forced removal and imprisonment of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II under Executive Order 9066, justified by wartime hysteria and racial prejudice rather than any evidence of espionage or disloyalty.

A concept articulated by Edward Said describing the Western construction of 'the East' as exotic, inferior, and fundamentally different, which produces distorted knowledge systems that justify colonial and imperial domination of Asian peoples.

A theory developed by Michael Omi and Howard Winant describing race as a socially constructed category that is continuously created, transformed, and destroyed through political, economic, and cultural processes rather than being a fixed biological reality.

The maintenance of social, cultural, economic, and political ties across national borders by immigrant communities, challenging the assumption that migration is a one-way process of assimilation into the host country.

A form of colonialism in which outsiders come to a land and seek to permanently replace the indigenous population. Asian American Studies examines how Asian Americans are situated within this structure as both beneficiaries and subjects of colonial power.

The practice of breaking down broad racial categories into specific ethnic subgroups to reveal disparities in health, education, income, and other measures that are hidden when data is reported only at the aggregate 'Asian American' level.

A coalition of student organizations at San Francisco State College and UC Berkeley in 1968-1969 that led strikes demanding ethnic studies programs, open admissions for students of color, and community-controlled education, directly leading to the creation of Asian American Studies.