Author：Yen Le Espiritu

Publisher：Temple University Press

Publishing Year：1992

Call Number：E184.A75E77

Introduction：With different histories, cultures, languages, and separate identities, most Americans of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese origin are lumped together and viewed by other Americans simply as Asian Americans. Since the mid-1960s however, these different groups have come together to promote and protect both their individual and their united interests. The first book to examine this particular subject, Asian American Panethnicity is a highly detailed case study of how, and with what success, diverse national-origin group can some together as a new, enlarged panethnic group.

Yan Le Espiritu discusses how Asian American panethnicity was able to develop only after the myriad groups of immigrants had children who were born in the United States. No longer separated by old world political conflicts, languages, and customs, these younger Asian Americans could see the political necessity and social advantages of uniting and speaking with one voice. However, the influx of the post-1965 Asian immigrants and refugees has exacerbated intergroup divisions. Making use of extensive interviews and statistical data, Espiritu examines how Asian panethnicity protects the rights and interests of all Asian American groups, including those, like the Vietnamese and Cambodians, who are less powerful and prominent than the Chinese and Japanese.