Asian American and Ethnic Group
There are two concepts one should talk about when approaching the subject of immigration and how it applies to a minority: integration and assimilation. Integration is the acceptance of a country's laws and basic principles while keeping a distinct cultural identity. By contrast, assimilation requires adopting the majority's customs, values and way of life.
Because of the so-called "melting pot", integration is almost always promoted as the shining beacon of America, but most often successful minorities are actually portrayed as assimilated and not integrated.
Assimilation for as diverse a community as the Asian-American creates an underlying problem of trying to put asians into neat little labels and it also calls for the question: how does the social and cultural history of Asian migrants go against a deep-anchored ethnicism within the American society?
To answer these questions, we will first give you a broad outline of the historical aspects of the Asian-Americans' attempts at integrating in America. In a second part, we will talk about the notion of minority and how it relates to what is regarded as the
Asian-American ethnic group. Finally, we will discuss labels and ethnicity and question the definition of the term "Asian-American" as a whole.
I. The process of integration of the Asian-Americans
A/ Arrival (Lamia)
First, we'll try to give a few important dates to give you framework and context as to when Asian immigration started in the US and in what type of conditions they lived:
- 1 Jan 1587: Momentous landmark in Asian American history that represented the first recorded arrival of any person with Asian-descent to the United States.
- 1 Jan 1785 saw an opening of the trade between Baltimore and Far East.
John O’Donnell, the commander of the East Indiaman Pallas, arrived in Baltimore, effectively opening up trade between Baltimore and Far East. 32 East Indian Lascars and 3 Chinese seamen named Ashing, Achun and Aceun were left
Because of the so-called "melting pot", integration is almost always promoted as the shining beacon of America, but most often successful minorities are actually portrayed as assimilated and not integrated.
Assimilation for as diverse a community as the Asian-American creates an underlying problem of trying to put asians into neat little labels and it also calls for the question: how does the social and cultural history of Asian migrants go against a deep-anchored ethnicism within the American society?
To answer these questions, we will first give you a broad outline of the historical aspects of the Asian-Americans' attempts at integrating in America. In a second part, we will talk about the notion of minority and how it relates to what is regarded as the
Asian-American ethnic group. Finally, we will discuss labels and ethnicity and question the definition of the term "Asian-American" as a whole.
I. The process of integration of the Asian-Americans
A/ Arrival (Lamia)
First, we'll try to give a few important dates to give you framework and context as to when Asian immigration started in the US and in what type of conditions they lived:
- 1 Jan 1587: Momentous landmark in Asian American history that represented the first recorded arrival of any person with Asian-descent to the United States.
- 1 Jan 1785 saw an opening of the trade between Baltimore and Far East.
John O’Donnell, the commander of the East Indiaman Pallas, arrived in Baltimore, effectively opening up trade between Baltimore and Far East. 32 East Indian Lascars and 3 Chinese seamen named Ashing, Achun and Aceun were left