Asian American Politics (POS 4202)
Spring 2015
Dr. Sharon D. Austin
Director of the African American Studies Program and Associate Professor of
Political Science
The University of Florida
Dr. Austin's Contact Information:
Office Hours:
Office: 104 Walker Hall
Office number: 273-3060
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 11:40am-1:40pm
E-mail: polssdw@ufl.edu
Purpose and Format of Course:
In the Asian American politics course, we will examine the political behavior, attitudes,
and mobilization of Asian Americans in America by examining a variety of topics such
as the racial stereotypes which plague them, their electoral behavior, the mobilizations
tactics utilized in their communities, their responses to issues that affect their
communities, Asian American conservatism, Asian American elected officials, their
views on affirmative action, and the politics of Asian American women. The format will
be a combination of lecture and discussion.
The Required Textbooks:
Asian American Political Action: Suburban Transformations. James S. Lai. Lynne
Rienner Publishing. 2011.
Asian American Politics: Law, Participation, and Policy. James Lai and Don Nakanishi.
Rowman and Littlefield. 2003.
The Reserve Articles and Recommended Readings:
These readings are on reserve on the www.uflib.ufl.edu web site. To read or print these
articles, click on the course reserves link, type in my last name, and click on the article’s
title. The recommended readings may be useful if you would like additional information
on the topics we’re discussing or if you need sources for your research papers.
Attendance Policy and Missed Work:
After three unexcused classes are missed, you will not receive the percentage points for
class participation (and will not have the option of submitting a paper). It is your
responsibility to sign the attendance roster that will be given out at the beginning of each
class session. If you forget to, sign it during the next class. Also, try to get to class on
time. The policy for missed work in this class is consistent with the university’s policy
(https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx).
Classroom Behavior (Cell Phones and Laptops):
In the past, several of my students have forgotten to turn off their cell phones in class. I
am asking you to please turn off your phones before our class begins. If your phone rings
more than once during the semester, five points will be deducted from your highest test
grade. Remember, a student who takes his/her work seriously will make sure that his/her
phone is off during class meetings.
Also, if you engage in behavior such as texting, browsing the internet, napping, loud
yawning, or any other behavior that I consider to be disrespectful to me or to your
classmates, you may not receive all of the percentage points for class participation.
The Examinations:
You will be tested on all material covered in the films, readings, and class discussions.
Each test will have three essay questions - two of which are worth 40 points and one
worth 20 points. In order to earn the highest grade possible, show me that you have read
the assignments and taken detailed notes. None of the tests, including the final, will be
comprehensive. One week before each test, we will have a review. Also, I would like to
request that you use the bathroom before you begin your examinations on exam days if
possible.
Class Participation and the Optional Paper Assignment:
We will discuss a number of political and public policy issues during the course of the
semester. I understand that some students are more comfortable participating in class
discussions than others. Therefore, I am giving you the option of either participating in
our class discussions on a regular basis (once or twice a week) or writing a paper.
If you participate verbally (or attempt to and I don't call on you for some reason), email
me on the day that you've participated so that I can keep a record of it. Throughout the
semester, I will email the class listserv to let give you the names of those who are
participated regularly. If you participate in our discussions, you will not have to write a
paper. If not, a 5-8 page typed, double-spaced paper is due on the last day of class. You
can write an analysis which gives your opinion on any topic(s) we've discussed in class
and upload it onto sakai.
Your Grade will be Based on:
Attendance
Participation or Optional Paper
First Test
Second Test
Third Test
Research Paper
10%
10%
20%
20%
20%
20%
Grading Scale:
94-100 A
74-76 C
90-93 A70-73 C-
87-89 B+
67-69 D+
84-86 B
64-66 D
80-83 B60-63 D-
77-79 C+
Below 60 E
A C- will not be a qualifying grade for major, minor, Gen Ed, Gordon Rule or College
Basic Distribution credit.
Disabilities Statement:
Students requiring accommodations must first register with the Dean of Student’s office,
Disability Resource Center. The Dean of Student’s office will provide documentation,
which the student will then give to the instructor. For more information, see
HTTP://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc
Academic Dishonesty:
Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism and cheating on examinations. The penalty for
cheating is a grade of 0 on the exam or paper. In addition, the Dean of Student's office
may choose to administer a harsher punishment such as a temporary suspension from this
class or a permanent expulsion from the university.
The Internship and Fellowship Information:
I receive a lot of information about internships, undergraduate scholarships, and law and
graduate school fellowships. At the beginning of most of our classes, I will share this
information with you because I strongly encourage you to apply for these things. In the
past, several of my students have received a variety of internships and fellowships. You
can also look at the careers or scholarships links on the afam.clas.ufl.edu site for
internship and scholarship information.
Course Evaluation:
You will have the opportunity to evaluate the class on the last day. You can also fill out
an evaluation on evaluations.ufl.edu during the last two weeks of class.
Class Schedule: Films will be shown at the end of class.
Stereotyping and De Jure Discrimination
1-6
Introduction
1-8
Film: The Massie Affair (60 minutes. Available on youtube) In the early years of
the 20th century, at a time when the U.S. Navy dominated Hawaii, Americans
thought of the islands as a Pacific Paradise. But in 1931, a rape allegation made
by a white woman resulted in murder and false allegations against Asian men and
revealed the racially polarized political and social relations in Hawaii.
Textbook Readings:
Understanding Asian American Politics, pp. 1-18
Reserve Reading: (I will email this to you.)
Different and Common Asian American Roads, 1800s-1960s
Recommended Readings:
Strangers from a Different Shore. Ronald Takaki. New York: A Back Bay Book,
2002.
The Politics of Asian Americans in Hawaii
1-13
Suburban Transformations Book:
From Exclusion to Inclusion: The Four Stages of Asian American Politics
Political Mobilization and Incorporation
Reserve Readings:
Hawaii Sends First Asian American Woman to Senate
Participation in Electoral Politics: Evolving Patterns in Hawaii and Mainland
States (I will email this to you.)
The Massie Case: Injustice and Courage
Recommended Readings:
Hawaii: The Past Fifty Years, The Next 50 Years by George Ariyoshi
For more information on the Massie Affair and Hawaii Politics, see the following
links: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/massie/sfeature/sf_sources.html
Japanese American Internment and the Issue of Reparations
1-15
Film: Unfinished Business: The Japanese American Internment Cases (55
minutes) examines the internment of 120,000 Japanese, German, and Italian
citizens and legal residents in “relocation centers” for 3 ½ years during the 1940s.
Textbook Readings:
Takao Ozawa v. U.S, pp. 35-40
Yick Wo v. Hopkins, pp. 23-28
Suburban Transformations Book:
Locating Contemporary Political Incorporation: The Suburb vs. the Metropolis
Gardena, California: Two Generations of a Japanese American Majority City
Council
Recommended Readings:
Only What We Could Carry. Lawson Inada.
Yellow: Race in American Beyond Black and White. Frank H. Wu. New York:
Basic Books, 2002.
Racial and Ethnic Relations. Seventh Edition. Joe Feagin. New York: Praeger
Publishers, 2003.
Recommended Films: (Available on youtube)
All We Could Carry
Going for Broke: Japanese Americans in World War II
Greatest Mysteries of World War II: The Japanese Internment Camps
Jim and Jap Crow: A History of 1940s Japanese American Internment and
Interracial America
1-20
Reserve Readings (I will email these to you):
The Myth of the American Concentration Camp
Reparations, Revisionism, and the Race Card
Readings from the Asian American Politics Book:
Korematsu v. United States, 29-34
Japanese American Redress and Reparations, pp. 407-420
Recommended Reading:
Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans Obtained Redress by
Mitchell T. Maki, Harry H.L. Kitano, and S. Megan Berthold. University of
Illinois Press, 1999.
In Defense of Internment. Michelle Malkin
Judgment Without Trial. Tetsuden Kashima
The Asian American Movement: 1960s to Present
1-22
Film: Who Killed Vincent Chin? (60 min.) discusses the 1982 murder of
Chinese American Vincent Chin at a Detroit bar by two unemployed auto workers
and the political mobilization efforts of Detroit’s Asian communities after Chin’s
murderers received light sentences. It also examines the prejudiced views of
Americans toward Asian citizens during a time of high unemployment in the auto
industry.
Textbook Readings:
The Four Prisons and the Movements of Liberation, pp. 135-162
Serve the People, pp. 163-180
Reserve Readings: (I will email this to you. Both were written by Yuri
Kochiyama.)
Asian American Movement
Work And Friendship With Malcolm X & Harlem Freedom Schools
1-27
Reserve Reading:
Why Vincent Chin Matters
Recommended Readings:
Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People. Helen Zia
1-29
First Exam
2-3
Guest Lecture: Asian American Activism at UF: Alexander Cena, UF Director of
Asian Pacific American Affairs
Immigration
2-5
Film: Sentenced Home (70 minutes. Available on youtube): profiles three
Cambodian immigrants who lived in Seattle illegally as they are deported to
Cambodia. The film discusses the unequal treatment immigrants of color receive
from the American legal and immigration systems.
Suburban Transformations Book:
Bellevue, Washington: Asian American Politics in a Pacific Northwest Suburb
Textbook Readings:
Making and Remaking Asian Pacific America: Immigration Policy, 81-88
New Immigrants, New Forms of Transnational Community: Post 1965 Indian
Migrations, pp. 181-192
The Immigration Act of 1924, pp. 47-80
Reserve Reading:
Governor Nikki Haley Joins Immigration Lawsuit
2-10
Textbook Readings:
Becoming Citizens, Becoming Voters: The Naturalization and Political
Participation of Asian Pacific Immigrants, 113-133
Reserve Readings:
Caught in the Middle: Asian Immigrants Struggle to Stay in America
Immigrant Incorporation and Political Participation in the United States (I will
email this to you.)
Why Immigration is an Asian American Issue
The Politics of Asian American Women
2-12
Film: Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority (55 minutes) examines the life and
political career of the first woman of color elected to Congress - the late U.S.
Representative Patsy Mink.
Textbook Readings:
Beyond Politics by Other Means, pp. 231-246
Transcending the Bamboo and Glass Ceilings, pp. 331-355
Reserve Readings:
Linking Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender: Asian American Women and
Political Participation (I will email this to you.)
The City is the Black Man’s Land (From Living for Change by Grace Lee Boggs)
(I will email this to you.)
Recommended Reading:
Living for Change, Grace Lee Boggs
Revolutions from the Heart: The Making of an Asian American Woman Activist,
Yuri Kochiyama
The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First
Century by Grace Lee Boggs, Scott Kurashige and Danny Glover, 2012.
2-17
Textbook Reading:
Remarks at the Tenth Annual Conference of the Committee of 100, 355-358
Reserve Readings:
Elaine Chao
In Kentucky, Elaine Chao Endures Racist Attacks from Liberals
Mitch McConnell's Secret Weapon: His Wife
Patsy Takemoto Mink
2-19
Film: L.A. is Burning (55 minutes) discusses the conflicts among African
Americans, Korean Americans, Whites Americans, and Hispanic Americans
which resulted in several days of riots in 1992 in the city of Los Angeles.
Suburban Transformations Book:
Daly City, California: The Barriers to Filipino American Political Incorporation
Textbook Reading:
America’s First Multiethnic Riots, pp. 431-440
Reserve Reading:
Post-Incorporation Politics in Los Angeles (I will email this to you.)
2-24
Textbook Readings:
Conflict Between Korean Merchants and Black Customers, pp. 113-130
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots and the Black Korean Conflict, pp. 75-90
Reserve Reading: (I will email these to you.)
Doing Politics Without the Politics
The Politics of Incorporation and Marginalization Today
Recommended Readings:
Bitter Fruit: The Politics of Black-Korean Conflict in New York City. Claire Jean
Kim.
The Politics of Minority Coalitions. Wilbur C. Rich.
Legacies of Struggle: Conflict and Cooperation in Korean American Politics.
Angie Chung.
The Impact of Affirmative Action on Asian Americans
2-26
Film: A Question of Fairness (45 minutes) examines the issues involved in the
landmark, recent Supreme Court case, Gratz v. Bollinger, which upheld the use of
race in university admissions decisions, but struck down a points system at the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Textbook Reading:
The Affirmative Action Divide, pp. 377-406
Reserve Readings:
Asian Americans in the Argument
3-3
NO CLASS (Spring Break) (Je veux aller a Paris!)
3-5
NO CLASS (Spring Break) (I am going to Paris!)
3-10
Reserve Readings:
Asian Americans Are The Hidden Bystanders In Michigan Affirmative Action
Case
Fisher v. University of Texas
Gratz v. Bollinger
3-12
Second Exam
The Electoral Politics of Asian Indian Americans
3-17
Textbook Reading:
U.S. v. Bhagat Singh Thind, pp. 41-46
Reserve Readings:
Ami Bera
Ami Bera, lone Indian-American Congressman, retains US House seat in comefrom-behind win
Asian American Immigrants as the New Electorate: Exploring Turnout and
Registration of a Growing Community
3-19
NO CLASS
3-24
Reserve Readings:
76 Reasons Nikki Haley Is Unfit to Lead South Carolina
Black, White, Brown and Cajun: The Racial Dynamics of the 2003 Louisiana
Gubernatorial Election
Nikki Haley
Nikki Haley: Rival's laughter after sexist slur was 'kick in the gut'
The Most Boring Governor in Louisiana History (I will email this to you.)
Recommended Readings:
The Making of Asian America through Political Participation. Pei-te Lien.
Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2001.
The Politics of Asian Americans: Diversity and Community. Pei-te Lien and
Margaret Conway. New York: Routledge Publishing, 2004.
The Political Participation of Asian Americans: Voting Behavior in Southern
California. Pei-te Lien. New York: Garland Publishing, 1997
Congressional, Gubernatorial, and Presidential Politics
3-26
Paper Is Due Today.
Film: The Choice 2012 (55 minutes) discusses the political careers and personal
lives of 2012 presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
Textbook Reading:
The One-Hundred Year Journey, 359-364
Reserve Readings:
Asian Pacific Americans in the U.S. Congress (I will email this to you.)
The Gary Locke Effect: Does Race Matter for a US Ambassador?
3-31
Reserve Readings:
Asian Americans Turn Democratic
Race-based considerations and the Obama Vote (I will email this to you.)
Hurricane Katrina and Asian Americans in New Orleans
4-2
Film: A Village Called Versailles (50 minutes) discusses the way in which older
Vietnamese immigrants and American-born youths worked together to rebuilt the
Versailles community in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Suburban Transformations Book:
Garden Grove and Westminster, California: Vietnamese American Political
Incorporation in Orange County’s Little Saigon
Eau Claire, Wisconsin: The Political Rise of the Hmong American Community
Textbook Reading:
Asian Pacific Americans and the Pan-Ethnic Question, 247-260
Reserve Readings:
In the Eye of the Storm by Bobby Jindal (I will email this to you.)
4-7
Reserve Reading:
Evacuation and Return of Vietnamese New Orleanians Affected by Hurricane
Katrina
4-9
Evaluate Class
Textbook Reading:
Profiling Principle, pp. 297-302
Reserve Reading: Civil Liberties Today
Films:
Flying while Muslim: Racial Profiling Post 9/11 (11 minutes) discusses the
experiences of several individuals who have been racially profiled while
attempting to board flights in American airports.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey1VtRdiMrs
Face the Truth Racial Profiling in America (11 minutes) discusses the experiences
of Southeast Asian men after September 11, 2001.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpbNUPrF6II
4-14
Textbook Reading:
Wen Ho Lee and the Consequences of Enduring Asian American Stereotypes, pp.
303-316
Reserve Reading:
Police Practices in Immigrant-Destination Cities
Recommended Reading:
My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account by the Los Alamos Scientist who
Was Falsely Accused of Being a Spy. Wen Ho Lee.
4-16
Third Exam
4-22
NO CLASS (Extra Credit Paper on Grace Lee Boggs and Optional Papers are
Due. Please upload them to sakai.)