Week 1 - William Chan "Clash of Roots"

In Sau-Ling Wong's article, "Denationalization Reconsidered: Asian American Cultural Criticism at a Theoretical Crossroads", Wong explains that there is a shift in beliefs among the 'Asian-Asians' and 'Asian-Americans'. I can fully agree with her idea that there is a growing gap between the 'Asians' and 'Asian-Americans' and that the perceptions are usually manipulated through a lot of stereotypes, popular culture expectations, and identity. When I was growing up, I would have never thought about saying 'I was an American', because I would tell people I am Chinese when asked about my ethnicity. Through my perception, I was raised inside a Chinese household; my mother, father, and grandma are all immigrants from China and I am the first born in America. I was raised to be Chinese, and under the roof I lived in, my parents raised me as we were still in China.So, growing up in America, I was faced with stereotypes of being Chinese, expectations of what Chinese people do, and how Chinese people are suppose to act/behave. At a young age, my perception was changed when I went to China, and people in China treated me and called me an 'American' and this was when I felt like my identity is up to the world and what the rest of the world tells me.I am treated as "Chinese" when in America, and treated "American" when in China so, this disrupts my idea of identity. Through my past experiences, I can agree with this idea of 'Asians' vs. 'Asian-Americans' because it seems that neither side has an idea and/or definition of what it means to be 'Asian' or 'Asian-American'.

-Who gets to define what it means to be 'Asian' or 'Asian-American' ?

Wong, Sau-Ling C. "Denationalization Reconsidered: Asian American Cultural Criticism at a Theoretical Crossroads"

http://economyincrisis.org/content/china-is-the-only-beneficiary-in-the-china-america-relationship